NEWB 5th wheel slider questions

oldstairdog wrote:
I have searched for answers to the question "can you drive through normal traffic turns without sliding the hitch"? Can someone point me in the right direction,or answer the question? Can I pull into a gas station,make a right hand turn on the street? How much maneuvering can you do before you have to slide the hitch?

6.5 ft bed, B&W Patriot slider
thanks
OSD

As others have said, we need more info. Did you set the B&W uprights in the rear position. How and where is it mounted in the bed.

Going forward I have no problem.

Chris

As already posted, there are a lot of variables, but normal maneuvering is not a problem. With a 6.5ft bed, you should have somewhere between 65 and 88 degrees depending on king pin location and design of the fifth wheel front cap. Your front wheels can only turn about 36-37 degrees so when making a 90 degree turn at an intersection, the max angle between truck and trailer will be around 45 degrees. So, no problem. But beyond that you need to be careful, maybe don't turn the steering wheel full lock, maybe jockey the rig back and forth to change the angle, whatever it takes. But all this assumes an extended pin box which is used almost exclusively these days.

I've pulled many fifth wheels with GM short bed trucks since 1988, I do not use a sliding hitch and so far no problems.

This is with my B&W Companion non-slider. Have a slider base that I bought initially. It was heavy and a pain to put in and out by myself. Bought the nonsliding base and love it.

Another angle

thanks for the quick replies!
OSD

I had a 37' Keystone Everest and a Chevy Duramax shortbed. I made all sorts of sharp turns without needing the slider. Come to think of it, I only used the slider once for a super tight back-in. To know for sure, get out in a big parking lot and see how much you can turn with out contact. You might be surprised just how much you can turn.

Way too many variables you have not addressed

what type of truck do you have ???--I assume it's the 6.5 bed but --what type of fifth wheel do you have????

is it a newer one with the radius Corners ----or square one ? or sloped front ???

these are all questions that would change the answer

the best bet is like the other person said ---go out into a big empty parking lot with a spotter and try it and have them stop you before you break a window!!!

I used to pull my 29' Laredo with a short box pickup and never used the slider in many 1000's of miles of travel. I would have had to have been in an extreme jack knife condition to need it. Your best bet is to take your trailer out to a big empty parking lot and with the help of a spotter, see how tight you can turn before you would need the slider. I'm guessing that when you are going in the forward direction your truck's turning radius is not small enough to ever worry about it