Towed vehicle type = fifth wheel. Dramatically different mechanical design vs conventional towed trailers for static and dynamic considerations for the body on frame vehicle.
A fifth-wheel trailer is still a trailer, with a pin-and-plate style hitch mounted roughly over the towing truck's axle. Now that these hitches articulate in all axes, the hitch is irrelevant to towing characteristics; indeed, many people convert them to ball hitches and the Escape 5.0's closest competition (the Scamp 19') comes from factory with coupler for a ball - the same style and even size (2") as used on their other trailers. The location of the hitch is more stable than the "tag" or "bumper pull" position, leading to more stable towing... but that's irrelevant to the suspension. The tow vehicle can typically handle much more hitch weight over the axle than behind it, allowing a higher hitch weight proportion and again typically greater stability, but that can be done with any trailer if the tug can handle the hitch weight... and again it is irrelevant to the trailer suspension.
Since it is just a trailer, the mechanical design - which means the suspension hubs/bearings and brakes because those and the coupler are the only mechanical components of the vehicle - are typical trailer parts, in the Escape 5.0 just as in any other brand. The original 5.0 uses the same axle as every other Escape (Dexter's Torflex #10). If one includes frame structure in mechanical design then yes, the tongue is obviously a different shape... still not relevant to the suspension.
When the trailer goes over a bump, the suspension doesn't know or care what's holding up the front end of the trailer.
Yes, the Escape 5.0 is a body-on-frame vehicle, and so are almost all recreational trailers including all of the other Escape models. I must have missed something: how is this relevant to the use of shocks?
I don't know of an Airstream version.
I don't know of any fifth-wheel Airstream, either, nor can I see how that is relevant to the Escape 5.0.
Most/all fifth wheel units I've see (except the current escape) are tandem/triple axles c/w leaf springs (no shocks).
Yes, most 5th wheel RVs are tandems, because their axle weight is in the range for which tandems are conventionally used... just like the larger current Escapes, and just like non-5th-wheel trailers of the same weight. There have been smaller models by various manufacturers (including the current Escape 5.0) which are in the single-axle weight range, and so use a single axle. It has become common for the very heavy "toybox" 5th wheels (35 to 42 feet long and up to 10 tons loaded) to use three axles to handle their weight... and the biggest non-5th-wheel toyboxes are triples as well. Just like most non-5th-wheel trailers, most of these units use leaf springs and beam axles.
It is particularly popular to use "equalized" leaf spring suspensions in tandem and triple sets, because systems like the Torflex don't distribute load between themselves. Perhaps that's one reason for Reace to choose them for the new 5.0, but the load-sharing issue is the same whether or not the trailer is a 5th wheel.
My 34' conventional (stick-built) 5th wheel has tandem beam axles on leaf springs... and shocks. The shocks (which appear to be the common Dexter items) were stock equipment, as is common on better trailers, even if you haven't noticed this.
Designing a close coupled independently sprung tandem axle for optimal dynamic behavior is probably beyond the scope of our little forum and that's a good thing in the opinion of this mechanical engineer ;D
I assume that the 5.0 will used an equalized set of leaf suspensions, not independent of each other, but regardless I'm not suggesting that we jointly design anything. Indeed...
the question was simply whether or not the new 5.0 would have shocks, as are commonly found on premium RV trailers with leaf springs - why is that so offensive to some of you? 
