Fifth Wheel or TT
We are new to Rving and have a 30ft. Open Range TT towing with a Ford F150 with towing package. The ride is very jerky. We've got the anti sway hitch. Does going to a fifth wheel make for a smoother ride?
Forum Discussion
- Thank you all for your responses! I know we would need a bigger truck for a fifth wheel. This is what I have now:
This is the info from the tag on the truck. 2006 Ford F150;Front: GAWR 3450, Rear GAWR 3850
We do have the brake assist.
The trailer is a 2013 Open Range Light 274rls
Base Weight (lbs / kg): 6660 / 3021
Carrying Capacity (lbs / kg): 2140 / 970.7
Hitch Weight (lbs / kg): 800 / 362.9
Number Of Axles: 2
By jerky I mean like a dolphin. fla-gypsy wrote:
You should start with providing complete info on what you currently have. There is no reason a TT should be jerky if set up correctly
Definately need more info! Such as weight of TT? Then we can advise.
No to 5th wheel on 1/2 ton truck. Oh we know, yes we know!- Lots and lots of speculation here.
OP....can you clairify what year F150 you have, what motor, cab, drive, and axle ratio do you have. Also, can you provide info on your brake control.
What about your WD hitch with either dual friction sway controls or integrated sway controls.
I pulled a "gasp" 31 ft TT with a F150 all over Tennessee and never once felt unsafe or out of control. I actually felt comfortable and enjoyed the ride. The brake controller was properly set up and the WD hitch was ideally set up for my truck. I used dual friction sway control as as well.
The answer to some towing problems may be something simple....tires, hitch, worn parts.... So many get the "gottahaveits" and just buy a bigger truck, replacing a perfectly good and capable truck. Which is fine.
Thanks!
Jeremiah - Our trailer is 31 feet overall, 28 foot cabin. Loaded it weighs 6600 lb.
We traveled 13,000 miles with it last winter. It does not jerk. There is also no push/sway effect from passing or meeting transport trucks. I can feel some effect from strong crosswinds - nothing uncomfortable.
I am towing with a 1500 Chev.
If the OP supplies the info requested by many others he may be able to get assistance in getting his rig set up to tow properly mileshuff wrote:
hmknightnc wrote:
Towing ability is way more about weight and very little about TT length if properly setup.
Have to disagree here! While weight certainly plays a huge role the length is very important as well. Wind effects on the side cross section can be serious, especially on a TT vs 5'er. Longer the trailer, worse effects with all else being equal.
One thing I've noticed is that towing MPG changes very little with the weight of the trailer. Frontal area of the trailer and overall drag play a much larger role. Going from a 5,000lb TT to a 9,000lb 5'er resulted in MPG going slighty up, not down as expected.
I agree with that, your exactly right except if you are properly setup (within weight requirements) you can't practically get to a length of a TT that is a serious problem. If you get that long for using a real tow vehicle you will be over weight as well (talking about true tow vehicles, not the 3/8 ton wanna be's or jeep wranglers and such which would fall prey to exactly what you said).N-Trouble wrote:
hmknightnc wrote:
N-Trouble wrote:
You let your wife pull a 32" trailer behind a short wheelbase Tahoe and are actually proud of that? Really??
The point of my post was that wife doesn't enjoy towing but can certainly do it when necessary but will only do it if she is completely comfortable with a rock solid and stable combination. That Tahoe with that 32' TT was about was about as rock solid and stable as it gets because I took the time to get it setup properly. There is nothing short wheelbased about a 4 door Tahoe, it's basically the same wheelbase as a short bed 4 door pickup which the majority of the TT towing community uses.- .
"N-Trouble" - did you let *your* wife post the same question a second time?.. :S..:S
Really.
~ hmknightnc wrote:
N-Trouble wrote:
Time to upgrade to a 3/4 ton. A 30ft TT is not going to tow nicely behind any 1/2 ton regardless of how well it's setup.
Now that is just flat out untrue. My DW pulled a 32' TT weighing in at 5,700# with a heavy tow equipped Tahoe for 5 years and around 40k miles while I pulled the horse trailer. My DW hates towing but didn't complain about that setup. If there was anything even a little scary about it believe me I would have heard about it and it would have occurred only once and that would have been the end of that. Towing ability is way more about weight and very little about TT length if properly setup.
You let your wife pull a 32" trailer behind a short wheelbase Tahoe and are actually proud of that? Really??hmknightnc wrote:
N-Trouble wrote:
Time to upgrade to a 3/4 ton. A 30ft TT is not going to tow nicely behind any 1/2 ton regardless of how well it's setup.
Now that is just flat out untrue. My DW pulled a 32' TT weighing in at 5,700# with a heavy tow equipped Tahoe for 5 years and around 40k miles while I pulled the horse trailer. My DW hates towing but didn't complain about that setup. If there was anything even a little scary about it believe me I would have heard about it and it would have occurred only once and that would have been the end of that. Towing ability is way more about weight and very little about TT length if properly setup.
You let your wife pull a 32" trailer behind a short wheelbase Tahoe and are actually proud of that? Really??hmknightnc wrote:
Towing ability is way more about weight and very little about TT length if properly setup.
Have to disagree here! While weight certainly plays a huge role the length is very important as well. Wind effects on the side cross section can be serious, especially on a TT vs 5'er. Longer the trailer, worse effects with all else being equal.
One thing I've noticed is that towing MPG changes very little with the weight of the trailer. Frontal area of the trailer and overall drag play a much larger role. Going from a 5,000lb TT to a 9,000lb 5'er resulted in MPG going slighty up, not down as expected.
