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hondapro's avatar
hondapro
Explorer
Aug 27, 2017

5th wheel towing question

The wife and I are considering getting a 5th wheel.We now have a 35 foot TT. My question is do 5th wheels have the bow wave effect when trucks pass on the interstate? My TT has it when trucks pass by,I hate the suck push feeling,I was thinking because of the hitch point of the fiver over the truck rear axle that it should not do it as much.

38 Replies

  • We own a FW and no, we rarely get that affect when semi's pass, if we do it's slight. With that said, we also did not get it with our previous RV, a 32' TT, but that was because we had the Hensley Arrow and it was amazing it preventing this. It was worth every penny and Hensley allowed us to get a trade in credit of the Arrow for our BD3 TrailerSaver hitch for the FW.
  • In my experience with both TT and 5'er with a TT the trailer and truck seem to be effected by wind independently of each other.

    With a 5'er wind pushes the trailer and truck as one. No sway, no push/pull effect. When a semi passes it pushes the truck and trailer together if at all. HUGE improvement. With my old TT I had to grip the wheel and prepare myself for the push/pull. Even with a good anti-sway hitch setup it still wasn't fun. Love the 5'er towing experience!
  • rhagfo wrote:
    I will state I have never noticed any sway from a passing semi with our setup. We have a 2001 Ram 2500 pulling a 32' Keystone Copper Canyon. I drive many two lanes and pass many coming the other way and zero sway. On 4 lanes I usually pass the semis and zero sway. Lastly have driven on the Oregon Coast on 101 exposed directly to the Pacific with 25 to 30 mph winds and no feeling of being pushed around.


    X1! My current 3500 Dodge is more stable than even my previous 2500 Dodge. No bowing or swaying:)
  • A dually will give you a more stable platform for the 5th wheel over a SRW truck, four wheels in contact with road instead of two. My 97 Cummins is towing it's third fiver and still going strong at 210,000 miles.
  • rhagfo's avatar
    rhagfo
    Explorer III
    azdryheat wrote:
    Wind has very little effect on 5th wheels. Everyone else seems to get blown around but not 5th wheels. Very stable.


    This is why I would rather see a 1/2 ton pulling/carrying a long lite 5er, even if pushing limits than a long TT. WAY more stable, as long as they are not exceeding the tire, and close to axle rating far better than a tail wager. Not that I recommend it, but more stable is better.
  • rhagfo's avatar
    rhagfo
    Explorer III
    I will state I have never noticed any sway from a passing semi with our setup. We have a 2001 Ram 2500 pulling a 32' Keystone Copper Canyon. I drive many two lanes and pass many coming the other way and zero sway. On 4 lanes I usually pass the semis and zero sway. Lastly have driven on the Oregon Coast on 101 exposed directly to the Pacific with 25 to 30 mph winds and no feeling of being pushed around.
  • Wind has very little effect on 5th wheels. Everyone else seems to get blown around but not 5th wheels. Very stable.
  • They have very little to none. That is the great thing I love about ours because our previous TT suffered terribly from the bow wave effect. Hookup is easier too I believe. Good luck, John