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davisenvy's avatar
davisenvy
Explorer
Jul 20, 2017

Most extreme angle for fifthwheel

I live in the mountains of NC and have always wanted to park my FW next to my house, but I am concerned about the slant of the road, hills, and curves. I can physically place my camper where I want it. I'm not sure if it will tip over or not. Is there a rule of thumb or even pics of the most extreme road you have towed your camper on without fail. Any help would be appreciated.
  • When you park it, will it be level? If not, there will be too much stress on the slide outs and suspension/tires. And refer will not work. But as far a tipping over on the road I would be less concerned, the center of gravity is not that high since the majority of the weight is in the frame/floor/axles. Wind blow over is a more likely problem when towing in windy conditions.
  • I remember a place in AZ that I was boondocking and thought I might tip over but after I got down the hill it was really not to bad. Then I watched another truck like mine with a 5th wheel come down the same hill and watching him I felt a lot better.
    I don't know what the tip over point is but I'm sure it is a lot greater then I will ever put myself in.
  • Yes, it is level next to my house. I just don't want to find the tipping point myself. I'd rather have more of an educated guess before I try it.
  • davisenvy wrote:
    Yes, it is level next to my house. I just don't want to find the tipping point myself. I'd rather have more of an educated guess before I try it.


    OK, lets say the the center of gravity is roughly 2 ft above the top of the floor or about 5 ft off the ground. Guaranteed the center of gravity will be significantly less than 1/2 the total trailer height. Until the center of gravity falls outside the tire patch, the unit will not tip over. That is roughly 52 degrees. In reality the tire and suspension will flatten out due to the extra weight, so you are probably safe up to about 45 degrees. Just a quick guess and I doubt you will ever get close to that angle.