U-turns

Bumper pull trailers don't jackknife unless backing up.

jmtandem wrote:

Can you do a full lock U-turn without contact?

Why is that important? Just know how much truck to trailer angle you can have before contact and take it from there. A longer shank will allow for a tighter angle if it is that important. One thing is for sure you never will damage the rear window of a pickup turning a travel trailer around unlike some shortbed trucks and
fifth wheels.

After I found out I can't make a full lock U-turn with our short bed F250 and 31' 5th wheel, not with damage but with careful watching, I'm curious what others are finding with travel trailers since we're planning on going back to a travel trailer. Sometimes we run into instances where a U-turn is necessary. My mom lives at the end of a long street on a cul-de-sac just big enough to turn my F250 around at full lock left. My inlaws have a tight turn around on their 3 acre lot just big enough for a full lock U-turn with the F250. I'm just curious if, with a 30' TT, is it possible, out of the question or a maybe depending on other variables. If someone asked the same question in the 5th wheel forum about a short bed and 5th wheel, I can say with "my" rig, almost but no, I can't do a full lock U-turn without contact. Others can so it would be a maybe.

Can you do a full lock U-turn without contact?

Why is that important? Just know how much truck to trailer angle you can have before contact and take it from there. A longer shank will allow for a tighter angle if it is that important. One thing is for sure you never will damage the rear window of a pickup turning a travel trailer around unlike some shortbed trucks and
fifth wheels.

Huntindog wrote:

There are a LOT of variables. The WB of the TV. The length of the TT tongue. How severe of an angle can the TV wheels turn. Length of the drawbar. Where the TT wheels are located. Even the shape of the front of the TT. (To make it worse, all this changes when turning on a slope such as a steep driveway) And probably some more that escape me at the moment.

Unless someone hear has excactly what you are contemplating, it will all be a guess.

Yeah, I agree. I was just looking for a rough idea. Yours for example is no small TT. Can you do a full lock U-turn without contact? I plan on my usual trip to the mall parking lot to get a feel of it's limits like I've done with all of our trailers so I know ahead of time. Right now I don't know if none can, they all can or like you say, some can.

Why! risk damage with tight U turns. To save a few mins. Not I

Hannibal wrote:
We currently tow a 31' (I just measured it) 5th wheel with an extended pin box. I can "almost" make a full lock 3.5 lane U-turn with it without tapping the back of the cab of our short bed F250 and the hitch in it's 3.5" forward of the axle position. With a previous 26ft 5th wheel, I could do a full lock three lane U-turn with our 2500HD ram short bed with the hitch 3" forward of the axle with plenty of clearance. We're thinking of going back to a travel trailer of about 30ft. Curious to what approximate length it typically becomes impossible to do a full lock U-turn without contact based on your experiences. Our ol' 19' Aljo TT would follow us anywhere with plenty of clearance going forward. I haven't towed a longer travel trailer. Not an exact science I know. Just trying to get a rough idea.

There are a LOT of variables. The WB of the TV. The length of the TT tongue. How severe of an angle can the TV wheels turn. Length of the drawbar. Where the TT wheels are located. Even the shape of the front of the TT. (To make it worse, all this changes when turning on a slope such as a steep driveway) And probably some more that escape me at the moment.

Unless someone hear has excactly what you are contemplating, it will all be a guess.

I can usually go around the block or swing wide enough to avoid contact but a couple of instances recently got me wondering about our future plans to go with a travel trailer again. One on a six lane divided highway that required a U-turn to get back to an entrance on the other side. The truck full lock without the trailer will just barely clear the curb from the left turn lane making a U-turn. With the 5th wheel in tow, we went on until we found a parking lot to turn around in. The other was Fort Desoto Park's entrance. We got there too early and needed to U-turn and head back out for an hour. Just enough room for the truck to turn around with the wheels fully locked left but the front cap wasn't going to clear the cab. No chance of backing up to turn even sharper. We had to drive through the campground to get back to the exit. This got me wondering if a 30' TT would follow my truck around a full lock U-turn without contact with the back of the truck. I have a standard Quality S WDH that I'll be using for the future TT.

A shank that lets the tailgate fully open will help with clearance on tight turns.

Mine is 36' and it takes every bit of 3.5 lanes. When possible I try to go around the block or find connecting driveways in parking lots or a really big lot like WalMart or mall etc.

We currently tow a 31' (I just measured it) 5th wheel with an extended pin box. I can "almost" make a full lock 3.5 lane U-turn with it without tapping the back of the cab of our short bed F250 and the hitch in it's 3.5" forward of the axle position. With a previous 26ft 5th wheel, I could do a full lock three lane U-turn with our 2500HD ram short bed with the hitch 3" forward of the axle with plenty of clearance. We're thinking of going back to a travel trailer of about 30ft. Curious to what approximate length it typically becomes impossible to do a full lock U-turn without contact based on your experiences. Our ol' 19' Aljo TT would follow us anywhere with plenty of clearance going forward. I haven't towed a longer travel trailer. Not an exact science I know. Just trying to get a rough idea.

You can always do a 'U' turn with a travel trailer. It just depends of how much room you have between the truck and trailer and how much room on the road or parking lot you have to do it in. If in a tight situation there is always the turn and back up and turn some more until you have completed your 180 degrees. If you use a PullRite trailer hitch it pivots and can make incredibly tight turns towing a trailer.