TT vs. 5th wheel

[mustnggt619]

Can anybody tell me the difference on how loads will effect a 5th wheel vs TT?

I have been told loading to much weight in the back of a TT will make it dangerous to tow. Curious if the same problem exists with the 5th or is it to a way lesser degree? Could i haul a SxS, atv and 2 dirt bikes in a 5th as long as it has the capacity?

[Armymags1]

People do it all the time. As long as your tow vehicle is not overloaded it should be ok especially in a fifth wheel, weight will be farther forward.

[Raider47]

I have been doing a lot of research on this lately so I will share what I have learned and the conclusions I have come up with:

Bumper pull travel trailer: to keep it safe and comfortable to tow, it is probably best to keep it no longer than 25-30 feet with about 10% of the weight over the hitch and you probably want a weight distribution hitch as well. As you get longer and taller, it will be more effected by wind. As you shift more weight aft, the trailer becomes more unstable and prone to sway. For weight, you add up the trailer, water and cargo, (will probably be close to GVWR) and plan 10% on the hitch. You then look at your tow vehicles GVWR and max tongue weight and make sure you are in limits, (include passengers and fuel of course).

There is a pretty big leap in GVWR between single rear wheel and dual rear wheel trucks so once your load exceeds single rear wheel limits, it really makes sense to move up to a 5th wheel or gooseneck.

5th wheels (and goosenecks) carry more weight over the tow vehicle but move it over the rear axle. They are more stable to tow and generally preferred by most people with experience in both. You can google bumper pull vs 5th wheel and there is a lot of information out there.

My conclusion from research is to go with a 5th wheel or gooseneck if you want to go bigger than 25-30 feet or 10,000 lbs and be willing to buy a tow vehicle that can handle it.

[Nwcid]

Balance is every thing no matter the style.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mW_gzdh6to

[xrated]

Originally Posted by Raider47

I have been doing a lot of research on this lately so I will share what I have learned and the conclusions I have come up with:

Bumper pull travel trailer: to keep it safe and comfortable to tow, it is probably best to keep it no longer than 25-30 feet with about 10% of the weight over the hitch and you probably want a weight distribution hitch as well. As you get longer and taller, it will be more effected by wind. As you shift more weight aft, the trailer becomes more unstable and prone to sway. For weight, you add up the trailer, water and cargo, (will probably be close to GVWR) and plan 10% on the hitch. You then look at your tow vehicles GVWR and max tongue weight and make sure you are in limits, (include passengers and fuel of course).

There is a pretty big leap in GVWR between single rear wheel and dual rear wheel trucks so once your load exceeds single rear wheel limits, it really makes sense to move up to a 5th wheel or gooseneck.

5th wheels (and goosenecks) carry more weight over the tow vehicle but move it over the rear axle. They are more stable to tow and generally preferred by most people with experience in both. You can google bumper pull vs 5th wheel and there is a lot of information out there.

My conclusion from research is to go with a 5th wheel or gooseneck if you want to go bigger than 25-30 feet or 10,000 lbs and be willing to buy a tow vehicle that can handle it.

I owned a 34 1/2' tow behind Toy Hauler until recently and a tongue weight of 10% made the truck/trailer look like a herd of snakes going down the road when speeds got up to about 50 mph. I know the 10% number is tossed around alot, but in my opinion, as you get into some of the larger trailers, that 10% just simply isn't enough to stabilize the trailer behind you. I kept adding weight to the front of the toy hauler until I got right at 11 1/2% of the GTW on the tongue (as per CAT scale numbers) and the sway was almost completely non-existent. My W.D. system was a Blue Ox Sway Pro and set up correctly by me, so I did not have sway issues because of anything else except the tongue was just too light with everything that I had in the garage of the T.H. making it too lite up front. Trailer in question here was a 13K GVWR T.H. with 1340 lb of tongue when empty. As soon as I loaded two motorcycles (approx. 900 lbs total) in the back, added my tool box, pop up canopy, had fuel in the 30 gallon onboard tank, chairs, pit stands, etc. the scaled tongue was down to 10% of my trailer weight....right at 11,200....and it simply wasn't enough.

[mustnggt619]

Raider47, I have discovered about the same, but couldn't come up with an idea if the load will effect the camper as much as a TT as i found a couple TT that would be able to handle the weight and had enough room but wasnt thinking about the toys taking to much weight off the hitch and cuasing sway

[mustnggt619]

Nwcid, I just cant find anyway of knowing how much the load in the rear will effect the pin weight and if its a problem with the 5th wheels like it is the TT. I was planning on buying a TTTH and carry 2 atvs on the truck, 1 atv, 1 SxS and a couple dirt bikes in the TH. I have since been warned about the TT would not be stable with that much weight in the back even though by my math i would still be under all of the gvwr, gvcwr and tow cap.

[Raider47]

Originally Posted by mustnggt619

Raider47, I have discovered about the same, but couldn't come up with an idea if the load will effect the camper as much as a TT as i found a couple TT that would be able to handle the weight and had enough room but wasnt thinking about the toys taking to much weight off the hitch and cuasing sway

If you look at the trailer specs, it should list an empty tongue weight. An ATC toy hauler, 28’ front bedroom model for example weighs about 6k empty with a GVWR of about 11K and an empty tongue weight of 1.1K or 10% of the GVWR. That means it should exceed the 10% tongue weight empty and if it is loaded mostly centered over the rear axle, it should stay about the same. You can increase the tongue weight for more stability by loading more weight in front of the axles up to your tow vehicle limit. Basically, the empty tongue weight is a starting point and you can adjust it by how you balance your load over the rear axles.
As xrated pointed out, 10% might still be a little squirrelly on a longer trailer and more weight over the hitch would probably be better coupled with a good weight distribution hitch.

[Nwcid]

Originally Posted by mustnggt619

Nwcid, I just cant find anyway of knowing how much the load in the rear will effect the pin weight and if its a problem with the 5th wheels like it is the TT. I was planning on buying a TTTH and carry 2 atvs on the truck, 1 atv, 1 SxS and a couple dirt bikes in the TH. I have since been warned about the TT would not be stable with that much weight in the back even though by my math i would still be under all of the gvwr, gvcwr and tow cap.

I would contact a couple of the manufactures you are looking at and ask them. It will depend on a lot of things like double vs triple axel, where the axels are located, how much weight is in the front already.

A 5th wheel or gooseneck is going to be way more forgiving than a bumper pull, but it is still a factor.

I could be wrong, but with a SRW truck, putting that much weight in the bed and then hooking up a trailer might put you over weight. If the truck is riding level, and the trailer is level and properly loaded it should pull fine.

[Sixgunz]

In my experience, I have never had sway in a 5th wheel aside from an occasional wind gust and it corrects itself immediately. Now, I have towed tandem numerous times and the second trailer, which is a bumper pull, must be loaded with at least 50% of the load forward of the axle(s).

My opinion is to only pull a 5th wheel... funds permitting of course. The sleeping arrangements are better and the tow benefits are beyond words. It is almost fool proof with regards to weight distribution. You don’t have to think about it due to the design of the trailer...load and go.

There’s a small learning curve at the beginning t with regards to learning the hitch and connecting, etc, but it’s quick and once you’ve done it once or twice, it’s a piece of cake.