Steep Driveway

[chuckm99]

Hi All,

We are planning to buy a fifth wheel soon (our first). But, I am afraid that our driveway may be too steep to park it at home. We live on top of a hill, which is nice. The driveway has a 28 inch in 10 feet rise to start, then eases to a 22 inch in 10 feet rise, before leveling out at the top. There is plenty of level space at the top to park.

How can I figure if it will tail drag when backing up the driveway, before I try to back it up the driveway??? I would rather work out a place to store it than break something with a tail drag.

Thanks.

[CowboyPilot]

So it worked out just fine. I was really impressed with how much that hitch head moved. Some of the angles looked a little odd, but just went slow listened for funny noises and kept an eye on the bed rails. I ended up with about 2" of clearance at the worse point. FWIW-It's a 23' model and the distance from the spare to the landing gear ended up being about 18'. Also, I don't think I'm ever going back to a bumper pull. Even with the load leveling hitch and sway bar this thing was a world of difference on the highway even on a reasonably windy day. Thanks for the advice!

[laknox]

CowboyPilot wrote:
Related to the steep driveway situation. I'm fairly confident that we won't scrape going in or out since our bumper pull had no problems. What I am worried about is the flat area of the drive at the top is only about 21' feet long so the truck will still be on the sloped part of the drive (About a 7° slope at most) after the trailer is backed in meaning we'd be trying to hitch/unhitch in that configuration...the actual angle I think would be a little less just based on the position of the hitch relative to the trailer wheels at that point.

1.) Is that even realistic? Can the hitch travel that far up and down?

2.) If I can unhitch it, is there a chance I'll get it unhitched and then be unable to get it hooked back up later?

Out of curiosity, are there any standardish proportions on these things? ie - if I wanted the trailer's front landing gear to stay on the 21' flat surface what would that translate to for total length (how much of the trailer is forward of the landing gear). We haven't bought one yet so we're trying to figure out what size to look for.

Never pulled a 5th Wheel before so trying to hash out the details ahead of time before I bust something. I can't really modify much since I live in base housing. I'm already kind of on the skids with them for installing a 2 leg 30A outlet in the garage since they put the entire garage and outdoor circuit on a single 20A breaker...

If your truck bed doesn't hit the bottom of the FW overhang, you should have no problems in hitching/unhitching, IMO. Modern hitches should have plenty of fore/aft movement to handle that much. Again, your big concern is bed rail clearance.

Lyle

[CowboyPilot]

Related to the steep driveway situation. I'm fairly confident that we won't scrape going in or out since our bumper pull had no problems. What I am worried about is the flat area of the drive at the top is only about 21' feet long so the truck will still be on the sloped part of the drive (About a 7° slope at most) after the trailer is backed in meaning we'd be trying to hitch/unhitch in that configuration...the actual angle I think would be a little less just based on the position of the hitch relative to the trailer wheels at that point.

1.) Is that even realistic? Can the hitch travel that far up and down?

2.) If I can unhitch it, is there a chance I'll get it unhitched and then be unable to get it hooked back up later?

Out of curiosity, are there any standardish proportions on these things? ie - if I wanted the trailer's front landing gear to stay on the 21' flat surface what would that translate to for total length (how much of the trailer is forward of the landing gear). We haven't bought one yet so we're trying to figure out what size to look for.

Never pulled a 5th Wheel before so trying to hash out the details ahead of time before I bust something.

[chuckm99]

Thanks for all the ideas guys. Looks like I am gonna store it at a facility about 3 miles from my house.

Chuck

[laknox]

Chuckm99, don't forget that if you back up the drive unloaded, then load stuff for a trip, you =might= just weigh things down enough to scrape, even if you didn't going up. You may just have to schlep everything from the street to the house (or the reverse) to keep the FW light enough not to scrape (assuming it doesn't scrape at all).

Lyle

[laknox]

goukcats wrote:
I have a similar drive way & barely clear the rear bumper, pulling into it. I am not sure if it would make a difference backing. I did learn with a previous RV & TV that the trans doesn't do as well in reverse going up hills & it does in drive. That TV would not back that RV up my drive.

If the OP has a 4wd, he could use 4LO to back it up, but it =does= restrict turning ability due to the lockup.

Lyle

[laknox]

ScottG wrote:
I would just buy a 10' board, place it behind the rear wheel and raise the other end up 28".
Should give you a good idea of if it will hit.

Simplest solution, yet. 🙂

Lyle

[Veebyes]

A little bit of geometry. Do the math.

[Ford_Man]

I have the same problem. Once I get to the top I am good but coming off of the street is the problem. Have the dealer bring it out to your house before you buy it and see if it will fit. Also double check the height of there tow vehicle vs. yours. Had a 2013 Landmark that would drag the hitch but the brand new Montana has plenty of distance and both had Goodyear G Rated tires which will help you as well.

[Beaker]

Simple math, isn't it? How far from the back axle to the low point on the back end? How high is the low point on level ground?

This is all you really need to know.

[talonhead]

I took my 25' Prowler with extended bumper up my drive ONCE. Took me three days to get it turned around and back out. It drug the bumper in, the bumper stringers going out. If I stay at this place for any length of time, I'll cut a new drive with an RV space between the old drive and the road. Steep drives suk.

[dadnjesse]

i had a steep driveway also. I installed dolly wheels that i bought from the dealer to the frame at the rear, this worked but after a few times up and down the driveway i noticed the frame bent so be careful if you decide to use them.

[ScottG]

I would just buy a 10' board, place it behind the rear wheel and raise the other end up 28".
Should give you a good idea of if it will hit.

[chuckm99]

Thanks to all for the quick replies and the good ideas!

I like the idea of sale contingent on the dealer backing it in the first time. But he might not - pretty far away...... I am gonna measure and look at the angles. Will let you know how it works out.

Hey Tnclays - where in TN are you? My hometown is Cleveland TN.