fiver v/s TT

Another of those questions with no real true answer, Kinda like the Frod vs chebby vs dogde vs _______ question. OR what tires, be it brand or tread design, which motor, gas vs diesel, or size of displacement. Which rear axel ratio..........

I had a tt as I could home from work, with my lumber/ladder/wood/pipe rack on the truck, hook up and GO! Try that with a 5W! or I could load a canoe on the rack and go too.

Reality is, ANY trailer, be it a bed mounted one, like a 5W or goose neck, WILL sway just as bad as a ball/pintle hitch set up if they are loaded incorrectly! If you need a special hitch, ala Hensly or pull-rite to keep a given trailer straight behind you, you have other issues that make that trailer unsafe. Just as I have seen 5w's that were wiggling side to side! as I have seen and felt ball/pintle hitch setups go side to side when loaded incorrectly!

There are too many variables as to how any one can say, a ball or 5w is the better trailer per say. As there are about as many variables as to how you use a trailer also! Then there is floor plans, useage etc as to which will make a better Towing rig! "Better" can be used in many different ways mind you!

Take the poison pill of your choice, enjoy it! That is the best one can say on this issue frankly!

marty

BarneyS wrote:

Buck50HD wrote:
Snip... The worst day towing a 5th is still better than the best day towing a TT.:)

I just couldn't let this one go.:B
Not true if you have the right hitch!
Barney

Add to that the right trailer as well. The right hitch meant I could do maneuvers with my 34' TT that would INSTANTLY put a 5'er over on its side. And do them all day long. A TT with true aero design and fully independent suspension is, when properly hitched, a sports car compared to a crude Model A of a typical 5'er.

ALL 5'ers are limited in what winds they can travel in due to sail area and high center-of-gravity. They're about good enough to trundle down the local lake a few times yearly by comparison to a rig optimized for best road performance. They VERY quickly run out of suspension travel when heeled over in a crosswind (ignored/unknown to the driver of the crude steering pickup).

There is enough info around here to make decisions. Vehicle design and construction should be part of it WITHIN the category of camper chosen not just one category versus another. Independent suspension should be high on the list for ANY teetering, tottering 5'er . . which is all of them.

.

Buck50HD wrote:
Snip... The worst day towing a 5th is still better than the best day towing a TT.:)

I just couldn't let this one go.:B
Not true if you have the right hitch!
Barney

Sorry, there are too many posts about 3/4 tons unhappy with handling of TT's. Obviously, a heavier 3/4 ton will not wiggle near as much but even your truck would be more stable with a 5th. You didn't say if you've ever towed a 5th or not?

I may have had a really poor TT compared to others. It was 11'5" tall, suspension was light enough that when we put out the slide, it would tilt a few degrees (our 5th does not, even when still on the pivoting hitch). But, I know for a fact there was over 1000 lb of tongue weight of 7000 total, a tight Equalizer hitch and towed it with the same truck we have now. Absolutely no comparison in stability. This is also just physics. And, for reference, our old GMC 1/2 ton moved around about 5x worse than this F150HD in bad wind with the TT. Same setup, hitch adjusted to get about 80% back on the front axle. I did have to lower it 2" on the shank and take out a washer because the hitch in the F150 is so stiff it doesn't flex.

There are never any comments about stability on the 5th forum but it's about 1 out of 5 for TT's. We don't need any other proof. The worst day towing a 5th is still better than the best day towing a TT.:)

my observation:
If you use the exact same pickup to tow a TT as you would a 5ver , there is no problem . the equivalent TT will be lighter and lower .
too many folks pull a travel trailer with a half ton when they should use a 3 /4 ton pickup.
with a 3 /4 ton pickup ( the same PAYLOAD as you would REQUIRE with a 5th wheel ) it is possible to eliminate sway with a TT .
Heavy tongue weight percentage eliminates sway .
Pickup payload capacity ( with a reserve ) must be adequate to add 13 -16 % tongue weight .
we use a lockable snugtop canopy on our short box duramax .
we carry heavy stuff in the pickup bed such as : cooler full of cold pop , boxed plywood scraps and duraflame logs , two EZ-UP Quik Shade canopies , a propane tank to run our bbq , an extra 5 gallons of fresh water , and so forth .
what really works well for us is a 9200# GVW pickup towing a 7200 # (axle ) GVW travel trailer .
for a long ( non hookups ) camping trip we will often be 8600 # in the pickup and 5600# on the trailer axles .
here is a shock ! the trailer does not wag the tow vehicle .
simple physics .
to change to a fifth wheel i would lose the versatility of the locking canopy .
half tons have much smaller brakes , smaller driveline capacity , and smaller frames. go to a tire store and compare them on the rack .

That and the bathroom is in front, along with the water pump. No noise near the bunk room so early bed time is no problem. And, if you get one with a door instead of curtain, it's even better. That was our must-have. Bathroom is also never blocked by a slide in most 5th layouts.

It may sound trivial, but we went with a 5er ultimately because we wanted a shower in a bunkhouse. All of the bunkhouse TT we looked at had tub/shower setup.

We love the 5er. Personally, we did have sway on our previous smaller TT. No issues whatsoever with the 5er. Just spend some time in them before you buy. Good luck.

We have had both. Towing with 5er is SO much nicer. It is very stable under cross winds and don't even feel those semi's passing us anymore. Feel very safe driving the 35 foot 5er compared to our old 27 foot TT (same truck for both trailers: 2005 Ford F250 PSD). Also, hitching up is much quicker with 5er. Backing into tight spots is easier with 5er. And you don't totally lose the bed of the truck, still room for stuff in front of the hitch and firewood behind it.

Loosing the bed is a pain but the towing characteristics of the 5th has me convinced after 2200 miles. I'm never going back to a TT unless I move to a place that has no wind, lots of trees and no bumps.

We traded our 31' TT on a 38' 5er & all I can say is what a differance! First thing you notice is the roominess due to the higher ceiling. Towing is quite different, I no longer get "sucked in & spit out" when semi's pass. Kitchen storage is much better, & hitch/unhitch time is quite a bit shorter...no more dealing with hitch head/spring bars etc.