Different kind of Jack-knife

[happycamper1942]

I did this a few days ago. I was making a sharp left turn out of a narrow driveway onto the highway and the wheels of my fiver went down the ditch resulting in the bed area twisting and digging into the side of the truck bed. Very little damage to the 5th wheel.

[Veebyes]

OOPS! I have been close enough not to be able to get a spark plug feeler guage between trailer & bed rail but never damaged anything. Good reason to keep the 2006 low truck.

[JIMNLIN]

Todays brakes are larger diameter requiring larger diameter wheels. I think 17" is the smallest diameter wheel that will work on 1/2 ton...3/4 ton....one ton trucks.

[Curly2001]

I don't understand why the truck manufacturers are going with such large wheels and tires. I have 16" on my good 'ole truck and when I started looking for new trucks, the wheels range from 17" to 20" for 2500HD trucks. That 3" can really through you off with your bed rail to trailer spacing. Hard to find new trucks with smaller wheels.

[packnrat]

never fear it can happen to any of us.
heck i have seen the aftermath of when a commercial seat warmer has done this to a big rig and trailer.
if i had the cash i would modify my pu bed to never let this happen. ju$t need lot$ of ca$h.

[TxGearhead]

I do things like that when I'm stressed and/or get in a hurry.

[4x4ord]

My daughter's boyfriend did something similar to that to my truck. I kicked his a$$ and told him he was an idiot..... and he still wants to marry my daughter.:B

[kccamping]

I understand it all too well, did same damage to our truck a year ago, just done in a different way. I now understand what people mean when they say that owning an rv can be really expensive!

[lee_worsdell]

Did the same thing but not as bad. Leaving a sloped driveway didn't notice until I got to my destination 12hrs later. I thought I had heard a weird noise but didn't think nothing of it.

[valhalla360]

wanderingaimlessly wrote:
With it appearing that all the truck makers are building them taller from the factories with 18-20 inch wheels and taller off road suspensions, this will continue.

One side of the 5er dropped into a ditch...a couple inches more clearance likely wouldn't have solved the issue.

[SDcampowneroper]

Your hich should not have allowed more that a 7 deg. side to side tilt. If you have the minimum recommended 6" bed to overhead clearance, the hich would limit the roll between tow and towed, making the truck tilt with the trailer when that limit is reached.
Should you also encounter a high point vs a low point dip, the risk of bed to trlr. increases.
Raise the trucks 5er hitch, or lower the pin box to give better clearance.

[blofgren]

alexleblanc wrote:
That plain sucks, I’ve seen that damage many times before though, so clearly you aren’t the only one that’s had this happen to over the years.

X2. I’ve seen this type of damage as well and wondered how it happened.

It doesn’t take much of a glitch with a truck and fifth wheel to make for a very bad day.....

[wanderingaimles]

With it appearing that all the truck makers are building them taller from the factories with 18-20 inch wheels and taller off road suspensions, this will continue.
How many now have a problem of not being able to lift full profile 5ers any farther without going above the 13'6" mark? Folks either are already are or soon will be forced to reduce side rail clearance to stay lower overall.

[Roger10378]

I drove through the ditch getting my 5er home for the first time. It didn't hit the truck but the steps of the 5er took a beating. I ended up widening the driveway 4 ft so that I can get in and out of it.

[valhalla360]

It sucks but not really a "jack knife"

Also not a new issue. Plenty of discussion about minimum clearance between truck bed and 5er overhang...though not many will have enough to handle falling into the ditch.