How tight can you turn a 5th wheel?

[tuffr2]

I have an 8' bed and live on a dead end street with a small turn around at the end. I have a F-450 that can make the turn by it self. I am thinking since the truck can make it I am thinking the 5th wheel will not hit the cab on an 8' bed.

What do you guys think? Ok or no?

[Skip426]

The truck with 8' bed should be fine, as very few contact with cab issues happen while driving forward ; it's backing up where the automatic and manual slider hitches and extended pin boxes on the fivers come into play.
I towed all 4 of my fivers with short box trucks , and never came close to contact while going forward.
In 7 years towing with a manual slider hitch , I only moved the hitch to avoid contact ; backing up ; three times , but all 4 , 5ers had extended pin boxes .
Anyone with a short box and straight down pin box will have different stories.

EDIT : BTW, looking at your avatar photo , fiver length and overhang swing are going to be the limiting factors , if the turn around has trees, posts and poles around it , you may have issues.

[Bob_C]

Depends on the front cap design and where the pin sits in the bed.... measure from pin opening in hitch and swing that thru an arc, then measure the pin to the corners of the cap...

[BirchyBoy]

One thing to consider is the side load that could be placed on the trailer axles if the turn is too tight. They’re meant to spin forward and backward, not twist.

[mobilemike]

Up to you. My daughter lives on a narrow road with a small cul-de-sac at the end. My truck will just make the 180 turn but I am sure anything larger than a 20ft towable will not.

[tuffr2]

The pin is right over the rear axle. Agree side forces on the tires has me worried some but going forward, slowing to make a tight circle turn with a tight turning truck. Tonight the truck and 5th wheel will be parked in front of the house. Then tomorrow I will need to make this turn.

Wife says no so my instinct is to do it.

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by BirchyBoy

One thing to consider is the side load that could be placed on the trailer axles if the turn is too tight. They’re meant to spin forward and backward, not twist.

Very; very , true .

All you have to do is stop the RV part way through a tight turn and go back to look at the sideways scrub that the rear axle tires are being subjected to, then think of the load being transferred to the springs and frame.

[Searching_Ut]

With my short bed Ram, the turning radius isn't tight enough that the fifth wheel doesn't have some forward motion during a forward moving turn. At least it takes awhile for the turn to tighten up enough it might be an issue. Doing a 180, or U-turn even with the short bed I have enough nose cap to cab clearance that I don't have to worry about hitting. If I maintain the turn longer than a 180 I gradually get less cab/nose cap clearance, and the trailer forward movement slows down to where axle/tire issues might become an issue because of the side loads. Playing around with my setup in a parking lot to see what I could do when it was easy to straighten out, or even disconnect if necessary was something I did early on with my setup.

[DKRITTER]

One of the greatest things about a F450 is the 45 degree turning over the F350 which is only 33 degrees. I have no idea if the increased ability if the 450 would make a difference. So....

I'd find a mall parking lot or something like it and slowly make a full turn and if possible have someone outside watching incase it's to much.

Worst place would be at the end of a dead end street to figure it out.

[bddadles]

If I was doing it I would hook up and back up to check if the front end will even touch the cab. I would doubt that it would. That means that you should be able to turn under the hitch until the RV comes all the way up to the truck side. I would not think the truck would turn short enough to allow the trailer to touch before you were coming out the other side of the turn. I would try it out in the open to see how short you can turn.
Isn't this easy when it is someone else's rig??

[dayle1]

All fivers turn inside the tow vehicle track and therefore at some point in a continuous turn, there will be cab to fiver contact. Will it be less than 180 degrees or more? Not enough info to know. But rather than a continuous turn, a 3 point turn should work.

[Bipeflier]

You can throw some sand down where the trailer tires will be sliding to make it easier on the axles/suspension system.

[tuffr2]

I tested in an empty lot, but the test is inconclusive. Looks like I can make it but in the lot I did not swing out like I will need to make the little turn around circle.

The rig is now sitting in front of the house so the only other option is maybe back into the short driveway and start a 17 point turn, might get stuck between the house and trees across the street.

[buc1908]

You will put a lot of stress in the axle and tire turning so sharp.