How do I know I have enough room to back down driveway?

[Daedalus]

Hello all,

I would like to get into RV'ing and UTVs, and am starting to look for a 5th wheel/gooseneck toy hauler. I've done some searches but want to confirm if I would have any issues being able to back a trailer down my driveway (other than a complete absence of skill).

This is a diagram of my street/house. I live in the orange house, with the driveway to the left of it. Not to scale, obviously.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/OMTNOb6OFKyUUJf93

Maybe I'm overthinking this, but if I had a 35' gooseneck hitched to a fair-sized truck, say a 2500 or 3500, would it be fairly straightforward getting the trailer down the driveway?

I am thinking I would drive past the driveway from right to left, then back in, swinging the trailer around the telephone pole. The overhang would pass over the yard, hopefully without taking out the bushes, though I guess that would be negotiable. The telephone pole, walls and house are not negotiable, of course.

Is this a no-brainer, or is there some kind of tool/resource to help determine how much room you need to back down a certain type/size of trailer hitched to a certain size truck?

Thank you!

[tinstartrvlr]

It looks like you would have plenty of room to maneuver, as long as there are no cars parked on the street or anything else to interfere and make things a little more tricky.

From the first sentence in your post, I'm guessing this is your first RV. As others have said on this forum, finding a big empty parking lot to practice in before tackling your driveway would be a really good idea.

Once you get the feel for things, you'll feel much more comfortable dealing with tight spaces.

[Sam_Spade]

Daedalus wrote:

I would like to get into RV'ing and UTVs, and am starting to look for a 5th wheel/gooseneck toy hauler.

For some people, a small A or C toy hauler is a better choice.
They often are easier to maneuver than a trailer.

Do you already have a heavy duty truck that will work to tow ?
If not, you should add that into the total price.

My situation is a little different as my "toy" is also my "tow vehicle", originally a motorcycle and now a CanAm Spyder.

Just keep all your options open early in this process.

[kerrlakeRoo]

After trying once or twice you should ind a way that you are comfortable with, the only thing I will ask is that you show a telephone pole at the corner of the driveway, does a line go from there to your house and is it up high enough to clear your 5er?

[MFL]

You are right to be concerned, as this is not the best backing situation, especially for a beginner. Can it be done with the size truck/trailer mentioned? I think so, but not easily. Then you may have traffic, or cars parked on the street, in the way for maneuvering. Lots of RVers deal with similar issues, just depends on your patience/tolerance for manuevering, and a helpful spotter.

Jerry

[Nicholsfamily05]

Where we store our RV for right now is a normal sized street.
We have a 42’ fifth wheel with a 2016 Ram Crew Cab short bed. Yes it has the slider but we never use it.
So basically I drew it out on the photos to give you an idea of how we do it.
I drove past the driveway on the wrong side of the road, then begin to back in.
Usually I have to pull forward just to realign myself so I pull up to my bumper on neighbors drive across the street.
Then a straight shot back in.

[SweetLou]

Start from the right to left side where the yard is located. You may need to make that turn tighter and go over the some of the front yard but I could do it as long as I had a spotter. Start as close as you can to the across the street sidewalk. If you have a good relationship with your across the street neighbor you straighten it out using part of his driveway. Easy. I am sure a few maneuvers will be in order.

[gbopp]

I don't tow or own a 5th wheel. But, looking at your sketch, your driveway is 13-10 wide. If the RV you get is 8-5 wide that will pretty well take up your driveway.
Does the driveway continue back past your house so you have space for your car/truck?
I don't think you will have any problem actually backing into the driveway. I've seen 5th wheel owners back them into really tight spots.

When we bought our 96 Southwind I drew a rough sketch, to scale, to see if I could get it through a large gate into the yard.
I had to remove part of the fence.