20k Reese Sidewinder vs. 16k Airborne Sidewinder

[Jomani]

I currently have a 20k Reese Sidewinder on my Reflection 303RLS and have been happy with the performance. I came across a slightly used 16k Airborne Sidewinder for under $400 and am seriously thinking about picking it up. Just curious if anyone might have experience with both they would be willing to share.

My thinking goes something like this...

1. Sidewinder is a must due to Ramboxes
2. Airborne will provide a better ride and should reduce chucking

Cons.

1. The 20k sidewinder uses turret bearings that are easily lubricated (grease zerk) where Airborne uses wear plates that require disassembly for service.
2. 20k Sidewinder has easy wedge adjustment (thumb wheel) where Airborne has manual adjustment (hammer tight and lock down bolts)

Trying to figure if the ride quality outweighs the cons.

Anyone?
Joe

[Jomani]

Follow-up to my post regarding the two different Reese Sidewinder pin boxes. I went ahead and purchased the Airborne Sidewinder, cleaned it up, painted and lubricated it. Just got back from it’s test run - we put over 1000 miles on it.

While the overall ride was much smoother - less chucking and reduced secondary jerking when the trailer hits a bump, I was not overly impressed with the turret performance of the Reese Elite Airborne Sidewinder. I ended up putting the Reese 20K Sidewinder back on.

Click below to see the side by side review of the two Sidewinders.

https://youtu.be/8Nhz0khqIjI

[JustDucky]

Follow-up to my post regarding the two different Reese Sidewinder pin boxes. I went ahead and purchased the Airborne Sidewinder, cleaned it up, painted and lubricated it. Just got back from it’s test run - we put over 1000 miles on it.

While the overall ride was much smoother - less chucking and reduced secondary jerking when the trailer hits a bump, I was not overly impressed with the turret performance of the Reese Elite Airborne Sidewinder. I ended up putting the Reese 20K Sidewinder back on.

Click below to see the side by side review of the two Sidewinders.

https://youtu.be/8Nhz0khqIjI

Excellent video. Thanks