Compare and Contrast TT's and 5er's
I have towed Travel Trailers for over 40 years and just switched to a 5th wheel for the first time. Everyone Camping World kept telling me that I will love the 5th wheel because it is so much easier ...
Forum Discussion
Since I switched to a FW myself a few years ago allow me to share some thoughts on your questions.
At risk of offending anyone I tend to discount what I hear from CW!;) And I think most offers here (probably including you) are in the same boat. This is not a useful reply of course but I couldn't help myself...
My experiences exactly. After nearly three years I'm still waiting for that casual familiarity I had with the previous TT to kick in!
Fortunately this has not been a problem for me. Not sure if it's due to the hitch I'm using or what, but so far I can just yank on the handle after unloading the weight from the hitch & it releases fine. YMMV
Agree. Maybe******is a strong word but definitely seems to be more challenging. I think you're correct about the pivot point which not only causes the view problem but also the response time for the trailer to turn. For me it really helped to set up some cones in an empty parking lot & spent a couple hours spotting the trailer from various approaches. Still not a whiz at backing up a FW now, but at least I have some idea of what to expect.
I too am looking forward to some sage advice from others here. Other than posting etiquette of course! :)
FWIW I really feel it's easier & faster to hitch/unhitch a fiver than a pull trailer. I've got our hitch & go times down to an easy 20 min. & that includes the missus schlepping all the stuff inside & stowing while I take care of the outside tasks. 15 min if we're in a hurry. And the unhitch & setup is running about 30 -45 min. including utilities & leveling...depends on how much the neighbors want to jawbone while watching.:S The actual unhitch is <5 min.
beelbill wrote:
Everyone Camping World kept telling me that I will love the 5th wheel because it is so much easier to handle than a Travel Trailer.
At risk of offending anyone I tend to discount what I hear from CW!;) And I think most offers here (probably including you) are in the same boat. This is not a useful reply of course but I couldn't help myself...
beelbill wrote:
...I had to learn how to do things with the Travel Trailer but over the years they have become second nature and I did them without even thinking about why. Now with the 5th Wheel, things are similar but not the same...
My experiences exactly. After nearly three years I'm still waiting for that casual familiarity I had with the previous TT to kick in!
beelbill wrote:
But when I went to unhitch the 5er, I pulled on the handle to release the trailer and it wouldn't release.
Fortunately this has not been a problem for me. Not sure if it's due to the hitch I'm using or what, but so far I can just yank on the handle after unloading the weight from the hitch & it releases fine. YMMV
beelbill wrote:
Fifth Wheels tow better than Travel Trailers, but they don't back worth crap.
Agree. Maybe******is a strong word but definitely seems to be more challenging. I think you're correct about the pivot point which not only causes the view problem but also the response time for the trailer to turn. For me it really helped to set up some cones in an empty parking lot & spent a couple hours spotting the trailer from various approaches. Still not a whiz at backing up a FW now, but at least I have some idea of what to expect.
beelbill wrote:
Please share your experiences
I too am looking forward to some sage advice from others here. Other than posting etiquette of course! :)
FWIW I really feel it's easier & faster to hitch/unhitch a fiver than a pull trailer. I've got our hitch & go times down to an easy 20 min. & that includes the missus schlepping all the stuff inside & stowing while I take care of the outside tasks. 15 min if we're in a hurry. And the unhitch & setup is running about 30 -45 min. including utilities & leveling...depends on how much the neighbors want to jawbone while watching.:S The actual unhitch is <5 min.
