Hitch angle availabe?

[thirtydaZe]

Just curious from a TT owner who thinks every year about this time we need to gain more space.

With a slanted driveway, and having no problems backing up it with my 35'er, how much angle can i expect a 5th wheel hitch to have?

My conncern obviously my TV being in the level street, anf the 5er up at an angle, being able hookup and unhook, and not causing equipment harm to anything in the process.

Correct, i dont know much about the 5th wheel setup.

[john_bet]

Bed clearance should only be a problem if his driveway slops down vs up from street.

[ACZL]

thirtydaZe wrote:

ACZL wrote:
Also have to consider the distance between rear stabilizers and ground. We have same condition as OP. Old truck, no prob w/ rear stabs. New truck, stabs were closer to ground (less clearance). Lowered the RV susp 1 hole and now have good gap at stabs. A 4-way head on hitch helps a lot as well.

Are you talking about the 2 hydraulic stabilizers up front?

Just curious on thoes as well, how do they compare with an electric tongue jack as far as strength and lifting capacity?

No, the 2 rear stabilizers, They will be going up the driveway 1st if you will and as you back off the street, they will be closest until camper tires start up the driveway. All the while this is happening and as others have pointed out, the underside of front of 5er will start to tilt in relation to angle of truck on street, camper on driveway thus creating a temp loss of clearance or gap between top of box and underside of 5er.

[Dtank]

thirtydaZe wrote:
great points. i hadn't even considered clearance issues with the bed.

i appreciate your help.

The bed to front of 5th clearance issue is your major concern -
when tow vehicle starts up or down (or vice-versa, if backing)

Bed clearance *can* be increased a bit, but not seeing your situation -
a friend with a 5th giving it a test (or offering his on-site opinion) would be helpful.

.

[thirtydaZe]

ACZL wrote:
Also have to consider the distance between rear stabilizers and ground. We have same condition as OP. Old truck, no prob w/ rear stabs. New truck, stabs were closer to ground (less clearance). Lowered the RV susp 1 hole and now have good gap at stabs. A 4-way head on hitch helps a lot as well.

Are you talking about the 2 hydraulic stabilizers up front?

Just curious on thoes as well, how do they compare with an electric tongue jack as far as strength and lifting capacity?

[ACZL]

Also have to consider the distance between rear stabilizers and ground. We have same condition as OP. Old truck, no prob w/ rear stabs. New truck, stabs were closer to ground (less clearance). Lowered the RV susp 1 hole and now have good gap at stabs. A 4-way head on hitch helps a lot as well.

[thirtydaZe]

great points. i hadn't even considered clearance issues with the bed.

i appreciate your help.

[AZ_T_T]

I have only owned a B&W hitch, so I can't say for other brands. My hitch has quite a bit of pivot front to back and side to side.

[BB_TX]

Unless it is a severe slope you should not have a problem. The 5er hitches have quite a bit of tilt to them. And if the front of the 5er is up on the slope of the driveway, the rear tires of the truck will also be on that slope as you hook up, reducing the angle. The king pin will be located above or slightly in front of the rear axle.

[agesilaus]

It's just geometry and will vary by hitch brand and track model. Assuming there is a 6-8 inch clearance between the top of the truck bed and the bottom of the fifth wheel, then you can calculate the angle from the hitch pivot point to the far end of the top of the truck bed.

You have two sides of the triangle, the clearance is one and the distance from the pivot point to the end of the bed is the other. You'll need to measure the distance from the bottom of the fiver over the pivot to the end of the truck bed.It will be an obtuse triangle and given the three sides you can calculate the angles.