Backing a 5th vs. backing a trailer?
 

We'll be getting a new 5th wheel toy hauler within the next month or so....probably a 28', but maybe a 32'.:cool: I consider myself a pretty good backer-upper of trailers. I've heard backing a 5th is harder/different. Is this true? If so, what exactly is harder or different? I know the pivot point is different. What can I expect?
Also, 'they' say towing a 5th wheel is much easier. So, say you got a 5th wheel and a trailer...both 10,000 lbs. Would my truck be able to tow the 5th wheel better and faster than the trailer?

The 5th wheel is "different", not necessarily "harder" to back up. Since the connection point is very close to the centerline of the rear axle, not the bumper, the 5th wheel will respond more slowly to changes in tow vehicle steering angle than a tag trailer.

Another thing to remember is that the wheels of the 5th wheel will track farther inside the wheels of the truck when making a turn. Give yourself more clearance on the inside of the turn with a 5th wheel than you're used to with a tag trailer.

If your pin weight on the 5th wheel is right (i.e., proper load distribution) and your hitch centerline is correctly located, the 5th wheel really isn't nearly so susceptable to sway as a tag trailer - 40 MPH sidewinds and passing semi's don't bother our 5th wheel at all. It's also much more stable under sudden lane changes whereas a tag trailer might want to "whip".

Most of us who have gone to 5th wheels wouldn't go back to tag trailers unless we absolutely had to. (We pull a 36' 13,500 lb triple slide 5th wheel RV.)

Rusty

We've had our 5er for two months now and I believe I have it figured out. ;) I crank it hard to get the trailer to start turning and then once its turning ease up and adjust it by smaller steering inputs to get it where I want it. At first I wasn't easing up soon enough and would get the trailer turning to much and have to start it over. Obviously if you can do one you can do the other, just a little different technique. We used to have a 30' TT and now have a 34 ' 5er, the 5er is much more solid going down the road, no sway at all.

Thanks. I have an Equlaizer brand hitch on mine, and I can't get it to sway if I tried.

Well, then, the 5ver ought to be at least as good as your TT. :rolleyes: :)

Rusty

I don't think you'll be able to take a 5er through some of the places you've taken your tagger.

Fer instance, the pic you posted recently.

5vers are much less forgiving of extreme angles, both side to side, and up and down.

You might be better off with a gooseneck.

Something to keep in mind.


phox

A true gooseneck is fine, but I wouldn't suggest using a gooseneck adapter on a 5th wheel toyhauler! :eek:

Rusty

Good to know, phox..thanks. I thought the opposite was true, but I'll keep that in mind next time I feel like taking $80 worth of toys (just got sick to my stomach) four bying...[yuk]

Gooseneck???
 

Just my 2 cents worth... I'm not crazy about goosnescks since they put much more strain on the frame, and have been known to bend frames. But that's just what I've heard through several sources, and never personally experienced.

Re: Gooseneck???
 

I've never heard that before, but something to think about. All of the heavy horse trailers, large flat beds all use a goose neck ball hitch. There must be something to the weight bearing capacity advantage of a goose neck trailer. That may be why you've heard of bent frame troubles, stemming from overloading.

It does take much more of a steering imput to get her started turning but small inputs afterward enables fine tuning. I think it is easier to back up for a longer way.

Gooseneck hitches themselfs are rated between 25 to 30 k lbs where most 5th wheel hitches are 15 to 18k lbs rated. The truck will give out before the hitch!

It took a few times to get pretty good at backing up. I have my wife on a walkie-talkie and then ignore her when she tells me how to turn my wheel:) (she doesn't get turning the wheels the opposite direction where you want the back end of the unit to go).

Turning a 5th should be easier than a tag. At least I know my gooseneck is such much easier than a tag.

Only problem is now when I go to parallel park without a trailer, I turn the wheel the wrong way [eyecrazy]

I am still learning to back my 5er but over all I Love it more.

Ditto ... ditto ... ditto.

I was pretty good backing up the TT. Could park with 1 cut where others took 2 or 3. Then bought the 5'er.

I'm darn hard to retrain. [eyecrazy]
Is that what the little lady was referring to? :confused: