Towing behind 5th wheel

[Frac999]

I want to pull a utility trailer with ranger on it behind 5th wheel, is the bumper on those trailers strong enough to pull that with?

[TXiceman]

Ranger as in small Ford truck?
Truck...3500#
trailer...500# plus
Total 4000# plus.

Next thing...what is the GCWR for your truck and next what is your total overall length.

It has to be legal for length and even a double tow in the state that you are traveling through as well as your home state.

Lastly, I doubt if the rear bumper and frame are suitable to handle and additional 4000# plus.

Kne

[Frac999]

The ranger is actually a Polaris Ranger, 1500# plus the trailer 1500, so will be pulling extra 3000#, overall lenght of 5th wheel and trailer is around 50'

5th wheel & utility weight is around 15000#, using durmax to pull with.

[450Donn]

Does that 50 feet include the truck or is the truck additional? Either way, depending on where you are planning to pull this combination it may or may not be legal. Not all states allow doubles. Adding that much weight to the rear of a fiver will seriously tax any fivers frame.

[Frac999]

The 50' does not include the pickup. It is legal in New Mexico and I dont plan on pulling them to far.

[Ray,IN]

That can only be determined by the manufacturer. A few 5er manufacturers use frames strong enough, most do not.

[KTM Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray,IN That can only be determined by the manufacturer. A few 5er manufacturers use frames strong enough, most do not.

Ray is right. Crawl under your 5er and rap your knuckles on the frame members. If they sound like tin, do not double tow. Much of the support for these light frames comes from the sidewalls of the trailer. Your frame may break right behind the rear axle if you load it with another trailer.

Excel, for example, offers a 4,000-pound hitch because their frames are some of the strongest in the business. They offer the Hydralift like I have on my unit as a factory option. Most manufacturers do not. Beware of dealers who say you can add a hitch "No problem!" in order to sell a unit.

Take your trailer to a competent hitch shop for an evaluation. Some shops will not install a hitch on a 5er under any circumstances. Others look at the frame first.

Good luck!

[Frac999]

Thanks for all your comments and replys, I had a welding shop craw under there and check the frame out to make sure it was safe to use and he said the frame was good and would not have a problem pulling 3-5000 lbs behind it.

[tnance]

Having a hitch strong enough to pull 3,000 lbs in one thing, but to handle all the other stresses imposed due to its location at the rear of the fifth wheel is another.
On Hwy 71 north of Limon Colorado yesterday we witnessed a pickup double towing with a small fifth wheel and a second trailer containing two jet ski’s nearly have a very bad accident. The tongue of the jet ski trailer broke. The driver noticed it just before the tongue separated and was able to pull to the side of the road.
I know of other instances where the two inch receiver broke. Check out the Escapees HDT and MDT forums for examples.
If you have ever noticed the up and down movement of the back of a fifth wheel while it is being towed you can see why hitch failure can happen.
The stress put on the hitch on the back of a fifth wheel can be enormous. This is why you need a very well built hitch and a fifth wheel frame to support it.
First, if your fifth wheel manufacturer does not sell a rear hitch as an option then don’t even consider having one built. That tells you the fiver frame is too weak. The Engineers that designed the fiver frame know it is not capable of handling the increase stress.
Example: The frame on a Teton is either a 12 or 14-inch I-beam that extends to the rear of the trailer. Teton sold an optional hitch that was rated around 6,000lbs. In my opinion that hitch was even light. I built my own hitch that far exceeds what Teton offered.
Second, if the weight of the second trailer is high compared to the first trailer you can experience whip lash. In your case your second trailer will be about one-fourth the weight of your fifth wheel. That is high. If you have to make a sudden lane change the weight of the second trailer can whip the first trailer causing an un-safe condition.
Third, you need to consider braking on the second trailer. For most states if the second trailer weighs more than 3,000 lbs you need to have braking on that trailer. If you are using a pickup to tow with then this really becomes important.

[cocoHenry]

I tow a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4 door behind a Travel Supreme 36 KSTSO. My tow vehicle is an 05 Freightliner M2 112 with a MBE 4000 engine at 450 HP.

The jeep is 5800 lbs, truck is 19000, trailer is 22500. After an adequate truck comes a trailer strong enough for the load then a hitch/tow bar system strong enough for the toad.

I have towed my rig through the US and Canada. The only place I have been stopped is BC on the way to Alaska. No tickets yet.

Henry

[Randy the sly old fox]

There is a big difference between towing a Jeep on all fours and a UT with an ATV onboard. I agree that if the 5th wheel frame is not strong enough for the load you should not do it. IMHO this is why they make toy haulers.

[cocoHenry]

I guess that I should have also included that the first thing I towed behind my 5er was a utility trailer with a 1500 cc Gold Wing in it. The TS 5er is rated to tow 6000 lbs with 600 lbs of tongue weight. I used surge brakes on the UT and SMI DUO on the Jeep.

Henry

[Frac999]

Well I got the hitch put on and have been pulling since i started this thread and have not had any problems doing it but can definitely feel that trailer back there when I hit bumps to hard, i just slow down for the big ones.