We keep our FW in a storage area about 5 mi from our house. It's not terrible, but loading for trips, water etc, gets to be a bit of a pain. It would certainly be easier to bring to the house to load. We live in a gated community, and getting through the gate, while tight, is manageable. But we live at the end of a cul-de-sac. In order to back into my driveway I will have to circumnavigate the cul-de-sac. I used to do it with our 30' MH but that's completely different. Our FW is 30'. My truck is long with the 8' bed and I can make the trip around it, so my thinking is I should be able to do with the FW in tow. I've had it near 90 degrees before so that isn't really an issue. But I certainly don't want to jackknife it. Any thoughts on this? The alternative is to make a right hand turn on the main street across from ours and back the whole way down the road - about 1/8 mi. Less risk with this approach and do-able, but my backing up skills are still intermediate at best. Thinking that would be a long process.

Usually it is easier to turn and maneuver a fiver than a TT. You can make sharper turns for one thing and the mount is over the rear axle not hanging off the rear bumper.Maybe practice in a parking lot on a Sunday when it's empty. Use empty boxes to set up a space about the same size as the cul-de-sac

One of my main concerns I meant to mention is, even if I can do it, should I? Making tight turns on our FW the tires start to drag and move sideways a bit. Our Culdesac is paved and I am afraid doing this could separate the belts, stress the axles etc. Maybe I am borrowing trouble, but that's a lot of stress on the tires and axles as at some point they would basically be moving sideways.

If you can get the truck 90 degrees to the trailer without hitting the cab, should be no problem swinging a U-turn in the cul-de-sac. Your other option, is quite viable also. I assume it's low volume so traffic shouldn't be a problem to back down the road. Just take your time. Since 5th wheels are slow to start turning when backing, you generally have plenty of time to correct. 660ft isn't far. Worst case if it starts to get away from you, pull forward 20-30ft to get it in line and start backing again.Do it a few times and your skills will improve.

way2roll wrote:One of my main concerns I meant to mention is, even if I can do it, should I? Making tight turns on our FW the tires start to drag and move sideways a bit. Our Culdesac is paved and I am afraid doing this could separate the belts, stress the axles etc. Maybe I am borrowing trouble, but that's a lot of stress on the tires and axles as at some point they would basically be moving sideways.One of the differences between passenger tires and ST tires are that ST sidewall construction is designed to tolerate scrubbing. It shouldn't be an issue, especially if you're running load range G or H with steel belts.As far as the axles, I'd be more worried about the leaf hangers. Most fifth wheels I've seen have simple brackets hanging off the frame without any cross bracing.Where we used to store our fifth wheel when we had a sticks and bricks, I had to jack knife it to get it into the space. I never had an issue, repeating this probably over a hundred times.Once we went FT, I added Mor/ryde X-factor Crossmembers because I was concerned about the longevity of the spring hangers with how they were attached. We scrub regularly getting into tight spots and have never had anything related to the axles, suspension, or tires fail. *knock on wood*

Turning a FW around in a Culdesac | Good Sam Community

38 Replies

Durb
Explorer
Jun 10, 2021
If you are worried about your running gear, do a couple of "Y" backups to reduce your turn angles. Even though you don't have to to make the turn it will relieve a lot of axle and tire stress.
way2roll
Navigator III
Jun 10, 2021
A1ARealtorRick wrote:
I'd go back to a motorhome :C

:)

I could put that thing within an inch of where I wanted to be.
way2roll
Navigator III
Jun 10, 2021
valhalla360 wrote:
If you can get the truck 90 degrees to the trailer without hitting the cab, should be no problem swinging a U-turn in the cul-de-sac.

Your other option, is quite viable also. I assume it's low volume so traffic shouldn't be a problem to back down the road. Just take your time. Since 5th wheels are slow to start turning when backing, you generally have plenty of time to correct. 660ft isn't far. Worst case if it starts to get away from you, pull forward 20-30ft to get it in line and start backing again.

Do it a few times and your skills will improve.

Despite being the less convenient option, I am leaning this way. I don't want to do it, but it would certainly help me practice backing up in a controlled environment. Mid day with little to no neighborhood traffic seems an ideal place to practice. You can't park on the road in our neighborhood so it's a straight shot with no obstructions.
n0arp
Explorer
Jun 10, 2021
way2roll wrote:
One of my main concerns I meant to mention is, even if I can do it, should I? Making tight turns on our FW the tires start to drag and move sideways a bit. Our Culdesac is paved and I am afraid doing this could separate the belts, stress the axles etc. Maybe I am borrowing trouble, but that's a lot of stress on the tires and axles as at some point they would basically be moving sideways.

One of the differences between passenger tires and ST tires are that ST sidewall construction is designed to tolerate scrubbing. It shouldn't be an issue, especially if you're running load range G or H with steel belts.

As far as the axles, I'd be more worried about the leaf hangers. Most fifth wheels I've seen have simple brackets hanging off the frame without any cross bracing.

Where we used to store our fifth wheel when we had a sticks and bricks, I had to jack knife it to get it into the space. I never had an issue, repeating this probably over a hundred times.

Once we went FT, I added Mor/ryde X-factor Crossmembers because I was concerned about the longevity of the spring hangers with how they were attached. We scrub regularly getting into tight spots and have never had anything related to the axles, suspension, or tires fail. *knock on wood*
RetiredRealtorR
Explorer
Jun 10, 2021
I'd go back to a motorhome :C
valhalla360
Navigator
Jun 10, 2021
If you can get the truck 90 degrees to the trailer without hitting the cab, should be no problem swinging a U-turn in the cul-de-sac.

Your other option, is quite viable also. I assume it's low volume so traffic shouldn't be a problem to back down the road. Just take your time. Since 5th wheels are slow to start turning when backing, you generally have plenty of time to correct. 660ft isn't far. Worst case if it starts to get away from you, pull forward 20-30ft to get it in line and start backing again.

Do it a few times and your skills will improve.
way2roll
Navigator III
Jun 10, 2021
One of my main concerns I meant to mention is, even if I can do it, should I? Making tight turns on our FW the tires start to drag and move sideways a bit. Our Culdesac is paved and I am afraid doing this could separate the belts, stress the axles etc. Maybe I am borrowing trouble, but that's a lot of stress on the tires and axles as at some point they would basically be moving sideways.
agesilaus
Explorer III
Jun 10, 2021
Usually it is easier to turn and maneuver a fiver than a TT. You can make sharper turns for one thing and the mount is over the rear axle not hanging off the rear bumper.
Maybe practice in a parking lot on a Sunday when it's empty. Use empty boxes to set up a space about the same size as the cul-de-sac

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Turning a FW around in a Culdesac

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