Pulling A Fifth Wheel vs. Bumper Pull
I've been researching travel trailers and I'm not sure yet whether I want a fifth wheel or a bumper pull trailer. I've read more than once that a fifth wheel is easier to handle/more stable on the ro...
Forum Discussion
My personal experience started with travel trailers, then to fivers and now a MH. All of them required some tweaking to get them to perform "better". I don't care what TT you have but weight distribution and side load buffer would be required on most vehicles. One key is making sure you have a great tow vehicle capable of handling your TT. Make sure it's loaded properly. All our travel trailers setup right always had more sway from wind and pushing from other passing traffic.
Someone mention the distance from the hitch on a bumper pull to the rear wheels on the tow vehicle. It makes a difference in the stability, especially if loaded wrong or lack of the above mentioned added features. One thing with our RV adventure was as we moved up in style the truck got bigger too.
Worrying about the space in the bed is ridiculous as your safety should be your main concern. Besides on a fiver setup you can set it up to remove the hitch if not being used. More thought should be placed on getting the best vehicle for what your towing.
Now the fiver, yep, it's gonna chuck like crazy if you don't set it up right too. Even then you still get a little. Get the right hitch and pin box setup out of the gate. The traffic pushing you around in a fiver is way less noticeable compared to a travel trailer. It's more stable due to the weight over the axles.
Now the motorhome ( which we finally have a DP) doesn't experience any of the issues with the TT or Fiver. But weighing the coach and adjusting tire pressures correctly makes a world of difference on its ride. I never owned a front engine MH but listen to many complain about issue getting them under control. If you go this route I think your best bet is a diesel pusher as they seem to be more stable, less noise in the driving area, and many more suspension and driving benefits. BUT ... yes you can improve these too beyond the proper inflation. Our new coach shocks jarred us to death. We put new shocks on the first year with way better performance. Also a add on was Blue Ox true center to take away any steering correction input by me while driving out of the steering wheel ( road crown, wind, etc).
So looking back, I wish we bought a motorhome a long time ago. But the biggest thing with a TT and Fiver is getting a superb towing platform. Our last truck was a dually long bed ( which bed length is important too) Dodge diesel. It even had a 60 gallon transfer tank in the bed. I never had problems worrying about room in the bed. There wasn't anything in there while towing anyway. Believe it or not, if you do have stuff in the bed while towing a fiver you better tie it down. You wouldn't believe the suction force and stuff that will get sucked out of your bed with the fiver attached.
Someone mention the distance from the hitch on a bumper pull to the rear wheels on the tow vehicle. It makes a difference in the stability, especially if loaded wrong or lack of the above mentioned added features. One thing with our RV adventure was as we moved up in style the truck got bigger too.
Worrying about the space in the bed is ridiculous as your safety should be your main concern. Besides on a fiver setup you can set it up to remove the hitch if not being used. More thought should be placed on getting the best vehicle for what your towing.
Now the fiver, yep, it's gonna chuck like crazy if you don't set it up right too. Even then you still get a little. Get the right hitch and pin box setup out of the gate. The traffic pushing you around in a fiver is way less noticeable compared to a travel trailer. It's more stable due to the weight over the axles.
Now the motorhome ( which we finally have a DP) doesn't experience any of the issues with the TT or Fiver. But weighing the coach and adjusting tire pressures correctly makes a world of difference on its ride. I never owned a front engine MH but listen to many complain about issue getting them under control. If you go this route I think your best bet is a diesel pusher as they seem to be more stable, less noise in the driving area, and many more suspension and driving benefits. BUT ... yes you can improve these too beyond the proper inflation. Our new coach shocks jarred us to death. We put new shocks on the first year with way better performance. Also a add on was Blue Ox true center to take away any steering correction input by me while driving out of the steering wheel ( road crown, wind, etc).
So looking back, I wish we bought a motorhome a long time ago. But the biggest thing with a TT and Fiver is getting a superb towing platform. Our last truck was a dually long bed ( which bed length is important too) Dodge diesel. It even had a 60 gallon transfer tank in the bed. I never had problems worrying about room in the bed. There wasn't anything in there while towing anyway. Believe it or not, if you do have stuff in the bed while towing a fiver you better tie it down. You wouldn't believe the suction force and stuff that will get sucked out of your bed with the fiver attached.
