Backing The Fifth Wheel (90 degree jack?)

While 5er's are built to accommodate that type of a turn, I'm not sure if it is necessary!
If you get the unit jacked that much, you no longer are controlling the unit ie. just pushing and sliding the tires on your RV and pushing sideways on your TV!
In my opinion, the ability to turn like that benefits the sharp forward turns.
I've never needed to put a big truck in that position although I have came close but a short pull up allowed me to continue spotting the trailer with out jacking the trailer!
To me the rounded front cap on the 5er is a selling point for aerodynamics and the ability to use it in most 6-1/2 ft boxes with out a slider hitch and it just happens to accommodate a sharper turn then really needed, but only to a certain advantage!
I say use the full angle if you need to position your RV side to side! It just something I dont like to do in the event the tire fails or an axle gets pushed out of place. I cant blame it on the manufacture as in a tire failure from pushing on the sidewalls of the tires!

Just pull forward and straighten out your truck!!!!! Repeat process until trailer is parked into site??

at 90 degrees there is zero power available from the tow vehicle to move the fifth wheel on it's wheels any further. The only thing the truck can do is to push the nose of the trailer, so unless that somehow helps park the trailer, then nothing useful is being accomplished

Personally, I would lock the trailer brakes long before getting to the 90 angle if I thought I needed to "scoot" the nose without the trailer moving backwords. Why get close enough to risk contact (plus have more torgue on the suspension) when the same could be accomplished with less (more ???)angle ---giving you a chance to actually counter-steer back out of the jacknife. Old trucker's trick :B

Have you every "jacked" so far going forward that the trailer actually starts going backwards? Is that possible with a 5er???

I use to have a stop that I frequented when I drove tractor-trailer that required that sharp of a turn----passenger could reach out and touch the trailer I was turned so much :R. Only caught the grab handle on the back of my sleeper once (no damage) but I watch a lot of guys bend their sleeper at that dock....48' trailer could spin with the ICC bumber removing a bit of the hillside---53' trailer bent something....

My company knew to only send a 48 footer.... I went to work locally for another company, was talking to a road driver about to take a load into that place on a 53'. Told him NOT to do it. Next week he wants me to help him yell at his dispatcher----he passed on the news, and his dispatcher said: "What does that local driver know? A 53 footer will fit".....he bent the sleeper.

Sorry. Got off track with the old trucker stories.:Z

I'm not a 5er owner, but one of the fascinations I've always had about a 5er scenario is the ability to hit that 90 degree angle. (I'm a bit envious being a TT owner). I really never thought it though, that at 90 degrees, the 5er is really not going backwards any more, but pivoting at the trailer tires and really going no where, except the back end is swinging. DUH! well, that just resolved my fascination and jealousy of you 5er owners for your ability to do just that.

Thank-you for the post. Next time I see a 5er pull into the campground, I'll pay more attention to his angle of entry! As a TT owner, we don't have that problem. The trailer will jack-knife the truck bumper before hitting that 90 degree, so we TT owners have to know exactly where that angle is. I'm not so envious now... THANKS for the lesson!

When visiting friends in WA had to 'jack' 5vr in order to get it into spot next to their driveway..........dumped lots of shovel fulls of sand on driveway first so tires could SLIDE

And thru out the yrs of FT travel had to 'jack' the 5vr in order to get into just the right spot between the trees. Course lots of loose dirt for tires to slide on.


One doesn't have to maneuver much when backing to cause tires/suspension to 'rack'

First answer, steering wheel cut on most cars and light trucks is in the range of 36 degrees. Most motorhomes and trucks above 1 ton will have a wheel cut of 54 degrees. There are also some F350s with an optional wide track front axle that have the 54 degree cut. Not sure how this really answers the question, but those are the limitations that all vehicles have.

Second answer, basic vector physics, at 90 degrees there is zero power available from the tow vehicle to move the fifth wheel on it's wheels any further. The only thing the truck can do is to push the nose of the trailer, so unless that somehow helps park the trailer, then nothing useful is being accomplished. Well, except for contact between the truck and trailer:S. Also, when nearing 90 degrees, you quickly lose the power and ability to move the trailer anyway so getting to 90 degrees seems pretty worthless.

Yep Dave, back in the early 90s, when I got my first FW, I installed my new hitch in my new 92 Ford 8' bed truck. The pin was 52"s behind cab. I went to a gravel parking lot to practice. I backed to 90 degrees once, just because I could. It was easy to see, that a point well before 90*, I was no longer backing, just twisting my suspension and tires.

I agree, your point being, it makes no sense to back any trailer to this degree.

Jerry