good article for 5er newbies

[anaro]

I saw this article titled What to know before you tow a fifth wheel from autoguide.com. As a relative newbie to the 5er world, I thought it would be helpful to newbies considering the move to a 5er. If I had to change one thing it would be to tell people to hook the emergency breakaway cable to the truck bed instead of the hitch.

[Cummins12V98]

DickOK wrote:
I thought this was a terrible article. Lots of bad info and pictures. Not all hitches are the same. Mine, you back into with jaws closed. PULL TEST.

I agree I thought it was pathetic!

[DickOK]

I thought this was a terrible article. Lots of bad info and pictures. Not all hitches are the same. Mine, you back into with jaws closed. PULL TEST.

[TakingThe5th]

kohai wrote:

goducks10 wrote:

oweninthekeys wrote:
Wished that they would not of started out by saying you could tow a fifth wheel with a F-150 or Ram 1500. Credibility of article declines from that point.

Well some do. And are maxed out. But what's worse a maxed out 1/2 ton and 5'er or a maxed out 3/4 ton and TT? They're both at their limits but a 5'er is more stable than a TT.

This past weekend I saw a 1/2 ton pull into the campground pulling an old Cougar 5th wheel and then I was really surprised to see a boat attached to the back of 5th wheel. Brave soul!

Tuesday I followed a ¾ ton out of Wisconsin pulling a small Cougar and a small boat. He seemed to be handling OK. I was surprised.

I didn't think that lash-up was legal in Illinois but he crossed the state line.

[Cummins12V98]

kohai wrote:

goducks10 wrote:

oweninthekeys wrote:
Wished that they would not of started out by saying you could tow a fifth wheel with a F-150 or Ram 1500. Credibility of article declines from that point.

Well some do. And are maxed out. But what's worse a maxed out 1/2 ton and 5'er or a maxed out 3/4 ton and TT? They're both at their limits but a 5'er is more stable than a TT.

This past weekend I saw a 1/2 ton pull into the campground pulling an old Cougar 5th wheel and then I was really surprised to see a boat attached to the back of 5th wheel. Brave soul!

I would lean more towards Irresponsible!

[kohai]

goducks10 wrote:

oweninthekeys wrote:
Wished that they would not of started out by saying you could tow a fifth wheel with a F-150 or Ram 1500. Credibility of article declines from that point.

Well some do. And are maxed out. But what's worse a maxed out 1/2 ton and 5'er or a maxed out 3/4 ton and TT? They're both at their limits but a 5'er is more stable than a TT.

This past weekend I saw a 1/2 ton pull into the campground pulling an old Cougar 5th wheel and then I was really surprised to see a boat attached to the back of 5th wheel. Brave soul!

[Allworth]

Somebody knows just enough to be dangerous!

[Cummins12V98]

That article is full of flaws!

"With a fifth wheel, the weight that is placed on the truck is between the rear axle and the cab, eliminating the pivot point and spreading the weight evenly over all four wheels, allowing the suspension to share the load"

I can tell you they are a mile off with that statement! My pin weight is 4,500# and I only add +- 140# to the front axle. Evenly? Don't think so.

A tow behind with weight distribution will "share the load" more than a 5er.

[TakingThe5th]

goducks10 wrote:

oweninthekeys wrote:
Wished that they would not of started out by saying you could tow a fifth wheel with a F-150 or Ram 1500. Credibility of article declines from that point.

Well some do. And are maxed out. But what's worse a maxed out 1/2 ton and 5'er or a maxed out 3/4 ton and TT? They're both at their limits but a 5'er is more stable than a TT.

Sounds more like sales material then good tech info.

If I were towing a DRV with a ½ ton I would like to die peacefully, not yelling and crying and screaming and cussing like my passengers.

[TXiceman]

First photo at the top of the article shows a big old DRV Mobile Suites being towed with a single rear wheel truck. I don't think they make anything within SRW truck ratings.

The article did not even mention how to determine how to what you can tow within the trucks rating.

It looks like a lot of fluff written by a self-proclaimed expert to me.

Ken

[goducks10]

oweninthekeys wrote:
Wished that they would not of started out by saying you could tow a fifth wheel with a F-150 or Ram 1500. Credibility of article declines from that point.

Well some do. And are maxed out. But what's worse a maxed out 1/2 ton and 5'er or a maxed out 3/4 ton and TT? They're both at their limits but a 5'er is more stable than a TT.

[oweninthekeys]

Wished that they would not of started out by saying you could tow a fifth wheel with a F-150 or Ram 1500. Credibility of article declines from that point.

[cummins2014]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
I've hooked my emergency brake cable to my hitch since...forever.

Nothing stated about king pin plate height vs hitch plate.
King pin should be about 1" lower so it slides up hitch plate when hooking up (prevents high hitching)
Nothing about 'pull test'

Article is just so-so IMHO

Hooking the emergency cable to the hitch since... forever does not necessarily make it the correct way to attach, some hitch manufacturers recommend otherwise. Something to consider if the hitch comes loose and remains attached to the king pin ,well the emergency cable remains attached. IMHO towing a 10K plus fifth wheel that the hitch comes loose will go whistling dixie thru a tailgate, especially a louvered fifth wheel tailgate. Many other places to attach the cable, bed rails, truck bed, tailgate etc etc.

[Old-Biscuit]

I've hooked my emergency brake cable to my hitch since...forever.

Nothing stated about king pin plate height vs hitch plate.
King pin should be about 1" lower so it slides up hitch plate when hooking up (prevents high hitching)
Nothing about 'pull test'

Article is just so-so IMHO