Advice on towing a 5th wheel
We plan to buy a new travel trailer that is 30'2" total length and about 6300 lbs dry. We also plan on upgrading our tow vehicle since we have been towing with an SUV. However, we recently found a 5...
Forum Discussion
We have a 34' (33'10")....that is OVERALL length from front cap to rear cap (ladder not included)
FW measurements are TOTAL Length front to back
roughly 3' is over truck bed
Truck (quad cab/8' bed) is slightly over 19'
With 5vr hitch...total length roughly 50'
5vr tracks INSIDE when turning corners
5vr is slow to respond at first when backing then SPEEDS up
I find it EASIER to back in 5vr vs trailer
No Swaying, no 'bow wave' from passing semis, less involvement when hitching/unhitching
I have towed all kinds of trailers from farm equipment, utility, dollies, TTs and 5vrs
I like 5vrs overall
We FT for 7 yrs and never found a CG we couldn't get into....some took a bit of 'finesse' due to older CG small sites and 90* approaches
With practice (large empty parking lots....churches/closed business etc) one can easily backin a truck 5vr combo
Just make sure you buy truck with actual capabilities to CARRY the wet pin weight of the 5th wheel (truck rear axle weight rating)
Use 22% of 5th wheel GVWR to guesstimate WET Pin weight that would be added to trucks rear axle PLUS hitch weight
Have fun shopping!!!
FW measurements are TOTAL Length front to back
roughly 3' is over truck bed
Truck (quad cab/8' bed) is slightly over 19'
With 5vr hitch...total length roughly 50'
5vr tracks INSIDE when turning corners
5vr is slow to respond at first when backing then SPEEDS up
I find it EASIER to back in 5vr vs trailer
No Swaying, no 'bow wave' from passing semis, less involvement when hitching/unhitching
I have towed all kinds of trailers from farm equipment, utility, dollies, TTs and 5vrs
I like 5vrs overall
We FT for 7 yrs and never found a CG we couldn't get into....some took a bit of 'finesse' due to older CG small sites and 90* approaches
With practice (large empty parking lots....churches/closed business etc) one can easily backin a truck 5vr combo
Just make sure you buy truck with actual capabilities to CARRY the wet pin weight of the 5th wheel (truck rear axle weight rating)
Use 22% of 5th wheel GVWR to guesstimate WET Pin weight that would be added to trucks rear axle PLUS hitch weight
Have fun shopping!!!
