Community Forums

Fl2GaScotts · 08-07-2018, 06:03 PM

Haven't had a problem in any CoE or federal park in North ga finding a site to accommodate

2106Midnight · 08-07-2018, 09:43 PM

Most if not all Ohio state parks can handle my 36' TT. I've only had a problem once (with older 30' TT) when there were a couple trees in the way. Took a lot of back and forth to get it parked but made it.

tuffr2 · 08-08-2018, 05:11 PM

I am talking about all the crazy big travel trailers like the Jayco 330 TS. 39' 3" long and a GVWR of 11,700lbs. I saw this trailer yesterday. It is just like a 3 slide 5th wheel but all on 1 level.

Dry weight was around 10,000lbs. I am wondering what truck you need to control the sway.

Fl2GaScotts · 08-08-2018, 05:38 PM

Yep, unit is a GD Reflection 315RLTS. 38'6. GVWR 11K. Handled fine by 2500CTD

Jshopes81 · 08-29-2018, 08:46 PM

The longer the better! If a 40footer is a problem, you guys should consider some practice. Its like a motorcycle. Every year i make it a point to practice basic skills to keep myself sharp. Same with a trailer. If you need a 45ft wide road to back in a 40ft trailer, youve got a problem. Get some cones and find a big parkinglot and go practice. Im not trying to be rude or offensive but we werent all born truckers. It takes practice, patience, and determination. A good spotter helps as well. My wife isnt a pro, i just tell her to stay visible and dont let me hit anything.

Searching_Ut · 08-29-2018, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jshopes81

The longer the better! If a 40footer is a problem, you guys should consider some practice. Its like a motorcycle. Every year i make it a point to practice basic skills to keep myself sharp. Same with a trailer. If you need a 45ft wide road to back in a 40ft trailer, youve got a problem. Get some cones and find a big parkinglot and go practice. Im not trying to be rude or offensive but we werent all born truckers. It takes practice, patience, and determination. A good spotter helps as well. My wife isnt a pro, i just tell her to stay visible and dont let me hit anything.

All the practice in the world won't eliminate the basic physics involved. It takes a certain amount of space to turn due to the distance between the trailer wheels, trucks rear wheels, and of course trucks wheelbase and turning radius. There's no getting around it. Simple fact there are thousands of campsites I could get the little bumper pull into that I couldn't get the twice as long one I traded it in on. The road simply wasn't as wide as the trailer was long, and obstacles at site meant trailer had to come in pretty much straight. You also have to remember most bumper pulls can't be put into a full 90 degree jacknife without damaging things which limits you even more.

V3600 · 08-29-2018, 09:38 PM

I drag around a 40' 3 axle toy hauler and don't think a thing of it. Wife even drives our dually pulling it. No big deal.

Jshopes81 · 08-30-2018, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Searching_Ut

All the practice in the world won't eliminate the basic physics involved. It takes a certain amount of space to turn due to the distance between the trailer wheels, trucks rear wheels, and of course trucks wheelbase and turning radius. There's no getting around it. Simple fact there are thousands of campsites I could get the little bumper pull into that I couldn't get the twice as long one I traded it in on. The road simply wasn't as wide as the trailer was long, and obstacles at site meant trailer had to come in pretty much straight. You also have to remember most bumper pulls can't be put into a full 90 degree jacknife without damaging things which limits you even more.

I work with alot of frac crews and your mouth would hit the floor if you saw what some of those boys can do with a truck and trailer. 3-4ft on either side of the truck, 20ft clearance out the front, 45 ft trailer, standard kenworth day cab. The first few times i saw it i couldnt help but to scratch my head. Im nowhere near that level but theyve had alot more practice. Practice will get you a long way, youve just got to want it.

tuffr2 · 08-30-2018, 07:07 AM

When I was younger I would go boating 3 - 5 times a week. I kept the boat at my house. At the ramp I had to back the boat into the water.

Agree 100% that practice really helps. I could back the boat like a pro.

Now, I back my travel trailer once every few weeks. Not enough practice to ever get good at it.

The 5th wheel was even worse. As a snow bird I would back it into the RV site and not move it again for 5 months. Lucky, to me a 5th wheel is much easier to back.

Freqz · 08-30-2018, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jshopes81

I work with alot of frac crews and your mouth would hit the floor if you saw what some of those boys can do with a truck and trailer. 3-4ft on either side of the truck, 20ft clearance out the front, 45 ft trailer, standard kenworth day cab. The first few times i saw it i couldnt help but to scratch my head. Im nowhere near that level but theyve had alot more practice. Practice will get you a long way, youve just got to want it.

And yet the sandhaulers will run over a gate post leaving an otherwise empty staging pad. [emoji35]

mtofell · 08-30-2018, 09:11 AM

TT length was a big factor in why I went with a 5th wheel. To get all of the things I wanted in the floor plan I was going to be 38-40' tip to tail. For me one of the biggest issues I run into is parking at home. My street is somewhat narrow and I can't swing as wide as I'd like. The relatively shorter 5th wheel is easier to park.

For anyone wondering my 5th is 35' and my overall length is about 2' shorter than a buddy towing a 30' tip to tail TT. The 5th saves you somewhere in the neighborhood of 6' if I remember right from my research.

Searching_Ut · 08-30-2018, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jshopes81

I work with alot of frac crews and your mouth would hit the floor if you saw what some of those boys can do with a truck and trailer. 3-4ft on either side of the truck, 20ft clearance out the front, 45 ft trailer, standard kenworth day cab. The first few times i saw it i couldnt help but to scratch my head. Im nowhere near that level but theyve had alot more practice. Practice will get you a long way, youve just got to want it.

Not disagreeing that practice is important, it simply doesn't change the fact that the longer the trailer, the more room you need to turn it in. You really need to understand just how much space a longer trailer takes to turn, and be prepared to accept that it prevents you from going a lot of places you can get in a smaller rig.

As for practice, I got my first commercial license over 40 years ago, and have towed a wide range of setups to include 300,000 lbs aircraft using a towbar and 4 wheel steering tug. I've owned and have a lot of experience with towing double bumper pull setups, the last being a 28 foot total length TT towing a boat on an 18 foot single axle trailer. Most of the time I would back and launch the boat prior to setting up in the campsite as it was easier to deal with the trailer without the boat on it. I could move it by hand then. I've even towed a pop up trailer on the Shaffer trail in canyonlands, as well as the entire white rim trail as well as numerous trails most haven't heard of. To many, I'm pretty experienced and skilled at towing, while there are indeed quite a few that are better. Not many that can make my jaw drop though. Again, while your skill improves with practice, it doesn't change the simple physics where a longer trailer takes more room to rotate around the pivot points, and even more room to pivot from tip to tail, with either distance being the limiting factor depending on site specifics.

Jshopes81 · 08-30-2018, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freqz

And yet the sandhaulers will run over a gate post leaving an otherwise empty staging pad. [emoji35]

winter driving in pa can be pretty stressful with alot of those guys. many of them are pulled right out of wherever they're from and thrown in a truck. they'll put that truck in a ditch quicker than you can blink. always happens right at shift change too. we were on a pad the guy drove 12 miles back onto a lease only to put it in the ditch right at the mouth of the pad at the widest, flattest, straightest part of the road. he even made it down an s curve hill that was as slick as an ice rink. sand can drivers are typically in a class of all their own.

Freqz · 09-01-2018, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jshopes81

winter driving in pa can be pretty stressful with alot of those guys. many of them are pulled right out of wherever they're from and thrown in a truck. they'll put that truck in a ditch quicker than you can blink. always happens right at shift change too. we were on a pad the guy drove 12 miles back onto a lease only to put it in the ditch right at the mouth of the pad at the widest, flattest, straightest part of the road. he even made it down an s curve hill that was as slick as an ice rink. sand can drivers are typically in a class of all their own.

Permian here but have worked in PA...I don’t know where they find the sandhaulers but it has to be some kind of failed Army experiment trying to make really obedient soldiers that turned out just making them dumb. Those guys...sheesh.