5th wheel towing question

[hondapro]

The wife and I are considering getting a 5th wheel.We now have a 35 foot TT. My question is do 5th wheels have the bow wave effect when trucks pass on the interstate? My TT has it when trucks pass by,I hate the suck push feeling,I was thinking because of the hitch point of the fiver over the truck rear axle that it should not do it as much.

[RinconVTR]

ReneeG wrote:
I understand everyone's viewpoint on FW's towing much better than a TT, but unless you've towed also with a Hensley Arrow on your TT, you can't make a fair comparison. We towed a 32' Komfort with a GVWR of 11K with our F250 Short bed, 6.8L, V10. When we first purchased it, it was a nightmare towing it. White knuckle. We tried redistributing weight, partial tanks, full tanks, etc. and no avail. We bit the bullet (or pocket book) and purchased a Hensley Arrow and never looked back. The Arrow makes the sway an issue of the past and trucks passing? What trucks!? Hooking up takes practice, but so does hitching up a fifth wheel. Hensley offers a money back guarantee if you don't like it. We purchased the Hensley Helper to help fine tune hooking up. Having towed with a bad setup and with the best with a TT, switching to a FW to correct this problem is overkill when there is another solution with a money back guarantee if you don't like it.

I very much agree.

[ReneeG]

valhalla360 wrote:
There is a trick for backing a 5th wheel (actually works with TT also) to prime the turn when backing into a spot.

- When you pull up move as close to the side the spot is on as possible.
- As the back tires of the truck get in front of the spot, turn hard away from the spot.
- Continue until you run out of room.
- Turn hard the opposite way and continue until the truck is parrallel to the road.

You may have to play with exactly where you start the turns but this should leave the trailer angled towards the site and at an angle to the truck. This gets you past the slow start to turning so you can quickly bring the trailer around in a tight site.

This is good advice and one we use when backing into campground sites. It works.

[ReneeG]

valhalla360 wrote:

troubledwaters wrote:

hondapro wrote:
Thanks everyone.Sounds like the fiver is the way to go for the best towing expereince.

Don't forget to include a few $1,000 to cure the chucking problem.

What chucking problem? We've been pulling 5th wheels for about 9yrs and haven't had any chucking issues.

Correct, with the right hitch and/or pinbox setup, you won't have any chucking. We have an air hitch - TrailerSaver BD3.

[valhalla360]

There is a trick for backing a 5th wheel (actually works with TT also) to prime the turn when backing into a spot.

- When you pull up move as close to the side the spot is on as possible.
- As the back tires of the truck get in front of the spot, turn hard away from the spot.
- Continue until you run out of room.
- Turn hard the opposite way and continue until the truck is parrallel to the road.

You may have to play with exactly where you start the turns but this should leave the trailer angled towards the site and at an angle to the truck. This gets you past the slow start to turning so you can quickly bring the trailer around in a tight site.

[valhalla360]

troubledwaters wrote:

hondapro wrote:
Thanks everyone.Sounds like the fiver is the way to go for the best towing expereince.

Don't forget to include a few $1,000 to cure the chucking problem.

What chucking problem? We've been pulling 5th wheels for about 9yrs and haven't had any chucking issues.

[troubledwaters]

hondapro wrote:
Thanks everyone.Sounds like the fiver is the way to go for the best towing expereince.

Don't forget to include a few $1,000 to cure the chucking problem.

[ReneeG]

I understand everyone's viewpoint on FW's towing much better than a TT, but unless you've towed also with a Hensley Arrow on your TT, you can't make a fair comparison. We towed a 32' Komfort with a GVWR of 11K with our F250 Short bed, 6.8L, V10. When we first purchased it, it was a nightmare towing it. White knuckle. We tried redistributing weight, partial tanks, full tanks, etc. and no avail. We bit the bullet (or pocket book) and purchased a Hensley Arrow and never looked back. The Arrow makes the sway an issue of the past and trucks passing? What trucks!? Hooking up takes practice, but so does hitching up a fifth wheel. Hensley offers a money back guarantee if you don't like it. We purchased the Hensley Helper to help fine tune hooking up. Having towed with a bad setup and with the best with a TT, switching to a FW to correct this problem is overkill when there is another solution with a money back guarantee if you don't like it.

[mr__ed]

DReisinger wrote:
A dually will give you a more stable platform for the 5th wheel over a SRW truck, four wheels in contact with road instead of two. My 97 Cummins is towing it's third fiver and still going strong at 210,000 miles.

My Dodge 1-ton diesel w/ SRW was always perfectly stable when towing my fiver. I can understand the DRW setup if pin weight is high.

[mr__ed]

Regrettably, I had to sell my fifth wheel and truck. Towing all around the country, I can attest that passing trucks had little to no impact on my fiver (29 ft long). I could continue driving with one hand while being passed without any concerns. Same with towing on a 2 lane road and having trucks pass by from the opposite direction. I'm not sure if a longer fiver would make a difference, but I know I was happy with my setup.

[laknox]

justme wrote:
The trouble with filling the water tanks is the suspension on most trailer are marginal at best.

If you're under your GVW, the suspension =should= handle it. Some guys I've seen only fill their fresh tank, or fresh and partially fill grey and/or black.

Lyle

[rhagfo]

MarkTwain wrote:
Backing up 5th Wheel trailers---
The best technique I learned about backing up 5th wheels was to frequently " pull forward and back up" as many times as needed to keep your 5th wheel as straight as possible while backing up.

That isn't necessarily needed, one. Reds to anticipate that the 5th wheel will continue turning for a bit as you start to straighten out. So therefore one needs to start to straighten out before the 5er has finished turning.

[mtofell1]

Yep, 5th tows waaaaay better than TT. Virtually no push/pull from passing semis. Backing is different but not really easier or harder. Just different pivot point. You'll figure it out the first time you back it up. Hooking/unhooking easier with the 5th once you have the hitch in your bed. When taking off from home I have to empty my bed, set the hitch, then hookup. That does take longer than with the TT for sure. It's all trade-offs. Overall, I'm super happy with my 5th wheel.

[ReneeG]

MarkTwain wrote:
Backing up 5th Wheel trailers---
The best technique I learned about backing up 5th wheels was to frequently " pull forward and back up" as many times as needed to keep your 5th wheel as straight as possible while backing up.

Agree! this is what DH does and also agree that backing up with a FW is different than a TT. Strange, but backing up our previous 32' TT was easy compared to the 19' we had. Physics.

Take your time, don't let anyone, including yourself, rush you. We practiced at a school parking lot and DH even had me back it up so that I would understand what he's doing when I'm the spotter with the walkie talkie.

[justme]

The trouble with filling the water tanks is the suspension on most trailer are marginal at best.