Tail spin

My fifth wheel follows the truck when making shallow turns so I tend to stop at large gas stations with pull through islands or truck stops. That way I don't have to worry about the tail swing.

I've never had to use a station where the aisles and drives were too tight to make tail swing an issue.

There no pat answer to "how much is too much". Obviously the longer the over hang, the more tail swing, and the more you have to be careful, especially on sharp turns in tight quarters. What ever is within your comfort zone. People damaged their rears with short ones as well.

I watched and heard a long class C leaving his pull through in a interstate rest stop. He didn't pull out far enough to make his turn and hung a big rigs front bumper tearing loose the class C right rear cap at the bottom and going about half way up .......and his rear tube bumper.
LOL....didn't even scratch the tractors bumper.

All trailers have tail swing. Just pull ahead far enough for the rear end of the trailer to clear a obstacle.

As long as you know the distance needed to clear the "swing" it's not a problem. Regardless of trailer length and tail "swing", every turn is a new challenge, and something to constantly be aware of.

When you first get your camper, take it to an empty parking lot. Of course, practice backing a few times so you begin to learn the trailer limitations. But one other thing you can do is put your camper tow vehicle into a sharp turn. Stop. Put a marker at the end of the trailer (Outside corner), then proceed your turn. If you have a second person, have them lay a marker ever couple feet as you make the turn, forming an arch. After making a 1/4 turn get out and look at the arch. See how much space it took. This is your tail swing. It helps to get a true visual of what's happening back there. Then when you are in actual traffic, at an intersection, or even a fuel station, you'll have a better perception of your turning radius and what's happening at the "end".

The thing you are taking away from this exercise, is to capture that in memory, thus enabling you to make a turn, and know if you can navigate it without clobbering something beside you when you start the turn.

I have on occasion, been in a turn lane, and then realize it's too risky to make the turn. I'll wait for the right moment, then force traffic to let me go straight. Not pleasant, but the other option is to get jammed up and then really tick folks off!

I might worry about tail swing with a TT but not with a 5er that tracks inside of the PU pulling it in a turn. The tighter the turn the more it tracks inside so even in a turn where the PU is at it's best/tightest turning radius I doubt the back of the trailer will be further out than the back of the truck. Now if you back up and get the 5er 90+ degrees to the truck in a turn you can get the inside tires of the trailer to go backwards and tail swing WILL be a issue.

Sorry, Ivy, that is theory talking instead of experience.

What you say may happen in the middle of a nice, smooth, turn, but as you start into a turn, particularly from a dead stop, the tail kicks out dramatically. In tight quarters like a fuel station or a back-in site this can be a real problem. The corner that is kicked out is the one you cannot see. I have no problem putting a spotter on the ground in tight places; taking my time; and waiting for small cars to get out of my way.

Truck lanes are your friend and confidence of your position at all 4 corners comes with practice.

Sorry Allworth but Ivy is correct

Every time I pull my 40' fiver out of my driveway I have to be within two feet of my lamppost at the end of my drive to make the 90 degree turn and keep my trailer wheels on the pavement. The first few times I had my wife to spot for me to be safe. There was very little swing if any.

I have to do the same thing coming in to my drive with my neighbors' brick mailbox.

As Ivy said if you back up and start a sharp turn you will wave tail swing. ( Don't ask me how I found this out.

Doug

I imagine the amount of tailswing has to do with the length of the tow vehicle, the trailer length and the amount of overhang behind the trailer wheels. I've seen videos of a 53' semi trailer catching a parked car on a tight turn and dragging it for a hundred feet before the driver realized that he had more tailswing than he realized.

Ivy wrote:
Sorry, Ivy, that is theory talking instead of experience.

What you say may happen in the middle of a nice, smooth, turn, but as you start into a turn, particularly from a dead stop, the tail kicks out dramatically. In tight quarters like a fuel station or a back-in site this can be a real problem. The corner that is kicked out is the one you cannot see.

Good point.
I know when I towed doubles with a 5th wheel rv or with a bumper pull agriculture combo trailers ....tail swing would cause the second trailer to track outside the first trailer. How much depend on tail overhang and how hard the turn was.
In some campgrounds, corners with a deep little ditch/or the sharp end of a culvert on the inside of the turn were tight. While rolling around the corner I would make a quick deeper turn with the truck making the 1st trailers tail swing out farther quickly, making the second trailer swing out and clear the ditch or culvert end.
Bumper pulls react quicker at the tail and they were easier to get the second trailer to react faster than my GN or 5th wheel combo's.