5th wheel vs really big travel trailers

[Sailor Mike]

Originally Posted by Durango382

Interesting - ...I can back a bumper pull into a tight space SO much easier than a Fiver...

I have never heard anyone say this before!

[Wundertaker]

Originally Posted by Sailor Mike

I have never heard anyone say this before!

Me neither, but OK!

[consolenut]

Depends on truck length compared to trailer length. Short truck long trailer is not bad. Long truck short trailer is extremely tough. Truck and trailer length are important to know when backing up.

[DG N. AL]

Originally Posted by Durango382

Interesting - no one mentions (apologies if I just missed it) the differences in backing a bumper pull vs a Fiver into a camp space.
I've had both bumper pulls (toy hauler and travel trailer) and fifth wheels, and I can back a bumper pull into a tight space SO much easier than a Fiver.
But that could be just a "thing" with me - not sure.
JMHO...

I guess it is personal preference, but I will take backing a fifth wheel or goose neck any day to backing a bumper pull. And I drive all three regularly.

[tizzyfit]

Originally Posted by WAKY

Not beaver but bigger

Come on! Guys like Beavers better. Oh, as in Beaver Class A DP that is.

[JRoyer]

I have been towing a 39’9” Cedar Creek travel trailer at just 11,800 lbs loaded since 2004. I’ve been thru every state east of the Mississippi, some of eastern Canada and 2 western trips to Idaho and Arizona. When I went west I traveled with a friend towing his 38’ 5th wheel. I kept up with him on steep mountains and in hi wind and passing or being passed by semi trucks. We generally ran at 80 or so every day. I have never had a problem with one or two fingers on the wheel of my gas engine Chevy Suburban towing that trailer. Set up properly towing a large TT is not a problem. I use a Reese class 8 equalizer hitch with no added sway control and Kodiac hydraulic disc brakes installed by MorRyde. Do it right and you’ll be just fine. By the way my trailer is setup exactly like a 5th wheel floor plan inside with a rear wall slide and a front bed slide with a washer/ dryer and a dish washer. Oh yea, and the Suburban has 3 rows of seats and a “way back” area for the dogs and still plenty of storage.

[redhooker]

Since I have been reading this thread for like 2 weeks I guess I will throw in 2 pennies.

I tow several trailers regularly. I also tow with a few different vehicles. I read the question about pulling a long TT with a dually, and my answer is easy. I pull a tandem axle pintle hitch weighs about 7k with a tractor on deck. Chucks my 1 ton dually twice as hard as my 16k fiver. And that’s when it’s perfectly balanced, when I put the 1500 pound mower on the 3 point things get interesting.

The comment about the TT backing easier is actually spot on. Jshopes mentioned the 6 foot lever earlier, and it also works against a fiver when backing. The pivot point on a fiver is ahead of the rear axle, a bumper hitch is 3 or 4 feet behind the axle. So when you try to reverse and jack(knife) the trailer the point of your bumper hitch is over the roads edge when the center of the rear axle is still in the middle of the lane. This makes fivers very slow to jack and also is why they don’t swing as wide going forward on those right turns.

So yes you lose some maneuverability with a fiver but for me the comfort of the pull as well as the comfort of the tall ceilings far outweigh. For someone else’s use the priorities could be opposite.

[JRoyer]

I’ve read most of the replys and posts to this thread. As I noted previously, with the proper setup, pulling a long TT is not a problem. I have never noticed any sway or disconcerting effects from 30 mph or more cross winds and the “bow wave” from a big truck; only thing I note is the wind noise, never one inch of movement at any speed. You may recall, I tow a 39 ft 9 inch long trailer weighting 11,800 with 22 ft + long Suburban. And, unfortunately, please do NOT rely on the sales person at your RV dealer to give you accurate info on hitches. Most don’t have a clue. Their only knowledge and responsibility is to sell, sell, sell. Do the research BEFORE you buy !

5th wheel backing vs TT backing comparisons are totally irrelevant there is no difference at all. The true difference is the distance from the pivot point of the hitch to the center point between the trailer axles. It matters absolutely not at all whether it is a 5er or a TT. The shorter that distance, the quicker the response from the trailer to steering inputs. Conversely the greater that distance, the slower the response to steering inputs. It is therefore absolutely true when you say, the shorter the trailer, the more difficult it is to back. It is science, pure and simple, not personal ability, not personal preference, not 5th wheel vs travel trailer; simply science.

And by the way, “bumper hitch” is a misnomer. There haven’t been any true bumper hitches since sometime in the early 1960s. 5ers use a bed mounted hitch attached to the truck’s frame and TTs use a frame mounted receiver hitch.

[grindstone01]

Originally Posted by Sailor Mike

I have never heard anyone say this before!

It all depends on the skill of the operator. I recently hauled corn in a semi from the field to the unload hopper and after 100 loads a operator can back up and stop in the exact tire spot each time. Practice makes perfect whatever you drive/haul.

[consolenut]

The storage of the 5th wheel is not even close. A TT has no underbelly storage hardly. My basement doors on my teton are like 44 inches tall. I can put a golf cart minus the canopy or big 4 wheeler in the belly and have tons of room. Ive seen it done for giggles. But you need a big big truck to haul it which I have.

[rerod]

Surprised no one mentioned mpg..

5ers cut the air better than TT's. Read more than one report of people selling TT's and buying heavier 5ers with same or better mpg's..

I don't own one but considering.

My problem with them is the damage that can occur if your boondocking and your truck bed makes contact with the 5er.

[tizzyfit]

This is one FUNNY tread! Come on! Will 1 mpg less actually stop you from buying the rug you've been coveting for a year or two? Here's a news flash, in the past 2 weeks, a barrel of oil has FALLEN $10 a barrel which translates to .25 -.35 cents a gallon savings. I'm not saying you should run right out there and spend $100,000 on a truck and 5th wheel because fuel costs are off their yearly highs but IF you truly want to travel/camp and have outgrown a tent and can afford the rig by paying cash or financing, don't get hung up on the cost of a set of new tires or the expense of dropping the 5er on the bed rail of your truck. By the way, the truck still works as a truck even with a dent in the bed rail.

[redhooker]

Originally Posted by JRoyer

I’ve read most of the replys and posts to this thread. As I noted previously, with the proper setup, pulling a long TT is not a problem. I have never noticed any sway or disconcerting effects from 30 mph or more cross winds and the “bow wave” from a big truck; only thing I note is the wind noise, never one inch of movement at any speed. You may recall, I tow a 39 ft 9 inch long trailer weighting 11,800 with 22 ft + long Suburban. And, unfortunately, please do NOT rely on the sales person at your RV dealer to give you accurate info on hitches. Most don’t have a clue. Their only knowledge and responsibility is to sell, sell, sell. Do the research BEFORE you buy !

5th wheel backing vs TT backing comparisons are totally irrelevant there is no difference at all. The true difference is the distance from the pivot point of the hitch to the center point between the trailer axles. It matters absolutely not at all whether it is a 5er or a TT. The shorter that distance, the quicker the response from the trailer to steering inputs. Conversely the greater that distance, the slower the response to steering inputs. It is therefore absolutely true when you say, the shorter the trailer, the more difficult it is to back. It is science, pure and simple, not personal ability, not personal preference, not 5th wheel vs travel trailer; simply science.

And by the way, “bumper hitch” is a misnomer. There haven’t been any true bumper hitches since sometime in the early 1960s. 5ers use a bed mounted hitch attached to the truck’s frame and TTs use a frame mounted receiver hitch.

As a owner of both style trailers, I must respectfully disagree. A fiver backs and tracks MUCH differently than a “bumper hitch”, which by the way they still make bumpers with ball mounts today. Usually a circular removable plastic piece behind the license plate. Just as not all fiver hitches are located in “beds”.

Jacking a trailer (causing it to turn) in reverse is most affected by how rapidly and far you can swing the tongue to the opposite side. If you are looking straight down on a truck backing up with the wheels turned, the swing of your “frame mounted receiver hitch”(we will need to shorten that to FMRH)is on a much wider arc than the center point of your truck bed. (Your Suburban does not have one but humor me here). To demonstrate, lay your palm down and back it up like a truck. The FMRH is back in your wrist, the fiver hitch closer to the base of your middle finger. You will easily see why fivers/goosenecks react so much slower and also track tighter driving forward.

Now I am not saying a TT tows easier, but it is definitely more maneuverable. A fiver is less nimble in tight spaces, but pulls with much more stability than a FMRH connected trailer. And as I said before, each individual’s situation can cause one priority to be higher than another making either trailer a better option for them.

[Marshalone]

Everybody I've ever spoken to says a travel trailer is not as 'sturdy' on the interstates especially when the tractor trailers are passing you. I know I don't feel a thing when towing my 14,700 lb 5th wheel on the highways....smooth as can be. And I don't think I could find a similar floorplan in a travel trailer. And until I can find a 2011-2012 dually, my 2014 F250 tows my 5r easy and smooth. Just my two cents worth.