Fifth wheel with passengers?

this discussion strikes me as being very similar to some idiot teenagers arguing/discussing about fastening seat belts. Oh you will be trapped in the car, etc. etc. play the odds, fasten up. and to equate airplane crashes and car crashes, etc. is somewhat foolish. you might HAVE to take a plane, you certainly may have to ride in a car, you do NOT have to ride in your trailer.
bumpy

KATOOM wrote:
If its windy enough to blow over a 5th wheel then you shouldnt be on the road. And if a 5th wheel does blow over then its taking the truck with it too.

Rite-on, on heeding the conditions.

Taking the truck with it too.....
Been to many rollover cars & trucks.
Some outcomes were bad for the occupants - some were surprisingly good.
Have opened doors, cut off tops, etc. for extrications on lots of cars & trucks over a 30 year period with various hydraulic tools (Hurst "jaws-of-life", Holmatro, etc.).
Could do the same to a trlr in a tenth of the time with hand tools.

Has everything to do with structural integrity, designed (and required) safety features.

Making "kindling" doesn't have to be the result of a blowover..:S

KABOOM!
Guy I worked with had a front tire blowout (almost new Firestone tires - which were *not* part of the recalls of the era) while towing a 28' TT with a 3/4 T pickup. Summer, daytime, dry road, good weather.
Truck rolled (totaled), trailer completely destroyed (*really* totaled) - he and his wife in the pickup were uninjured.
Utah highway patrol had pics of one of the (separated) sides of the TT with tire marks from the pickup on it. Lots of head scratching on that one!
Two chances anyone in the trailer would have survived: slim and none.

*If* I had my choice of vehicles to *occupy* in an accident of any kind, TTs and 5ths would be WAY behind: trucks, cars, MHs (in that order)..;)

Maybe the NHTSA (or?) will get going on some trlr crash testing..:@


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If its windy enough to blow over a 5th wheel then you shouldnt be on the road. And if a 5th wheel does blow over then its taking the truck with it too.

AuntSmurf wrote:
IMHO, the legality of it Is NOT the priority factor. There are many things out there that are completely "legal", but not smart. Yes, people die in all kinds of ways...trains, planes, automobiles. But the bottom line is that you need to take ALL reasonable steps to insure your safety. So, which would be safer....riding in the fifth wheel, or in your truck? I think the truck wins hands down! If there's not room for all of you in one vehicle, DRIVE A 2ND ONE. Rent a car if you need to. Compare the cost of a 2nd vehicle to the monetary cost of a funeral. (Won't even go into emotional!) You're going to come out waaay ahead. Just not worth the risk.

Okay, now all you have to do to back up this post is show how many 5th wheels are in accidents per miles towed versus motor vehicles per miles driven.

What I'm trying to say is that they may be safer when involved in an accident, but the chances of being involved in an accident may greater if you're driving a vehicle rather than riding in a 5th wheel.

Aircraft are notorious for coming apart when they crash due to the forces involved, but your chances of being in one when they crash is less than if you're driving your car. Go figure.

waltbennett wrote:
Can't imagine that would be legal anywhere - there's no means of communicating to the driver.

TITLE 75 Pennsylvania Vehicle Code

§ 3706. Riding in house trailers, mobile homes or boats on trailers.

(a) General rule.--No person or persons shall occupy a house trailer, mobile home or boat on a trailer while it is being moved upon a highway.

(b) Towing prohibited.--No person shall tow on a highway a house trailer, mobile home or boat on a trailer occupied by a passenger or passengers.

(c) Exception for certain semitrailers.--A semitrailer which is attached to a truck in an articulating manner by means of a fifth wheel semitrailer coupling device attached to the carrying compartment of the truck may be occupied by a passenger or passengers. The coupling device shall have a two-inch or larger kingpin. All windows shall have safety glass. Some means of electrical or electronic communications approved by the department is required between the cab of the truck and the semitrailer.

It is legal to ride in a trailer in more states than you may think as long as the doors can be opened from the inside and as stated previously that it is not a bumper pull. There are several race teams that travel down the road while working in the back, there are several horse haulers with someone in the back, you know like Budweiser for one. It is way more common than most people think. I agree 100% nothing is worth the risk. I was on an ambulance run one day, seems a gentlemen stepped out on his front porch when a car crashed right through him and the front door. Should have went out back I guess.

IMHO, the legality of it Is NOT the priority factor. There are many things out there that are completely "legal", but not smart. Yes, people die in all kinds of ways...trains, planes, automobiles. But the bottom line is that you need to take ALL reasonable steps to insure your safety. So, which would be safer....riding in the fifth wheel, or in your truck? I think the truck wins hands down! If there's not room for all of you in one vehicle, DRIVE A 2ND ONE. Rent a car if you need to. Compare the cost of a 2nd vehicle to the monetary cost of a funeral. (Won't even go into emotional!) You're going to come out waaay ahead. Just not worth the risk.

christopherglenn wrote:
People die in train wrecks, plane wrecks, bus wrecks, car wrecks, etc.

True people die in all sorts of ways. The problem I have is that trailers aren't designed with any passenger safety in mind as cars are. In a roll over people in a car with seat belts have a very good chance of surviving. A trailer self destructs. No thanks. Kinda like riding in the bed of a pickup truck with no seat belt because, like you said, people die in all sorts of ways so why not?

People die in train wrecks, plane wrecks, bus wrecks, car wrecks, etc. Have I had people in the 5er on the road - yes. My (then) 15 year old was ill, and spend half the trip in bed on the way home. And for every picture of a wrecked trailer, there are 50 houses burned to the ground, and 500 totaled cars. People are routinely killed in crosswalks - far more people killed then trailers destroyed - yet we have them in front of schools.
Would I drive 75 across WY in a windstorm - heck no.
FYI in Cali walkie talkies are your best bet - cell phones don't count (no service), or visual signaling (smoke signals?). The idea is to tell the driver to stop when needed.

judelaurenzo25g wrote:
I was reading about fifth wheels and I saw that in some states it is legal to tow with passengers in the trailer. My question is this, would you and have you towed with passengers in the rig?

Would I ? - No death wish, so not a chance..:R

Have I? - as above.

If any doubt remains to advisability of same - see pics of "blowover" 5ths, and estimate what a passenger's chances of survival are/were..:(

On edit: Maybe "Veebyes" will come back & post his pics again.
His 2009 thread brought out other posters with similar "experiences".

Your dice to roll where legal..;)



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