Backing 5th wheel

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
C

Carolinafella

Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2021
Posts
7
Location
27012
I have real difficulty backing our 41 ft 5th wheel into our driveway. My neighbor is a veteran truck driver and has put it in for me a couple of times. He said that it is pretty long for the space we have to get it in. We have talked about a shorter unit for the past 6 months but have not made a change yet. Is it easier to back a 32 to 35 ft 5th wheel?
 
Not really. You just have to practice backing more. This spring I taught a young woman how to back her brand new 42 foot toy hauler in just a couple of hours. Learn to watch your mirrors, pay attention to the trailers axles, and remember to start following the trailer once it starts to turn.
 
The trick when backing is to watch the path of the trailer wheels, not the back of the trailer. Pay enough attention to the rear end so you don't hit anything but drive the wheels to where you want them to end up. The long rear overhang will make the rear end move back and forth as you change the turn radius and this can really throw you off.
 
First, welcome to the forum. Second, I feel you man. Now my 5th wheel is only 30' long, but that truck was a long bed crew cab. A lot of truck and trailer for this road and driveway. Those drainage ditches are about 5' deep. It's not quite so bad on the other side of the road, but still, you don't want to get off the side of the road too much.

So, my take on it is, a shorter trailer might be a bit easier, but like was said above, it really is practice. And patience. Many times I have given up on my first shot at hitting the driveway squarely, and gone around the block and started over.

One other thing I finally did was widen my driveways. This helped, but I have still had to abort my first attempt many times and make a trip around the block. So if you find a smaller trailer that you really like, take a chance and hope it's a little easier to back in. Or just keep practicing and be prepared to make a trip or two around the block in case you just get all twisted up and need to start over.

Good luck.
 

Attachments

  • DSCN0507 (Large).jpeg
    DSCN0507 (Large).jpeg
    254.2 KB · Views: 10
make surewhen backing that you use you’re good side and not the blind side. What I mean is back it in from the direction that you can see the entire side of the trailer. I won’t back in my driveway using my blind side. I go down the road a bit and turn around .
 
Last edited:
Pick up a pair of highway traffic cones and practice in an empty parking lot. Take it slow and easy, be PATIENT and you will get it. A spotter who doesn't get excited easily will make it easier.
 
Always pull forward more that you think you need to when setting yourself up. It is easier to make small corrections then cranking the wheel stop-to-stop.
 
Roy M said:
Pick up a pair of highway traffic cones and practice in an empty parking lot. Take it slow and easy, be PATIENT and you will get it. A spotter who doesn't get excited easily will make it easier.
Click to expand...
I disagree about the spotter. I would rather do it myself. I check the spot first and note where everything is located; utilities, end of pad and what is behind pad, picnic table placement, etc. if backing into my driveway I already know where everything is. We were forced to use spotters in the military and I always found them to be a hindrance. But if someone is more comfortable using one that’s what they should do.
 
The vital part is the correct mirrors on the truck! OEM mirrors are woefully inadequate unless they can extend wider than the trailer.
When approaching your driveway,(re;Rene's advice) get as close to the side of your driveway and street as possible, then as RRR said, pull forward more than you think you should, and once the 5er is turning get back under the hitch to prevent the 5er from over-reacting.
Ever watched a semi driver work? That's years of practice in use. My instructor once told me, "anyone can drive a rig down the road, where you make your money is in the dock area. (cleaned up language for this forum)
So find a vacant lot and practice, also practice staying calm at the same time.
IF you use a ground guide you both should know and use the same hand signals. Ignore everyone else.
 
Just don't over correct when turning. A little movement of the steering wheel has a major impact on how fast the trailer turns. I had the same with my 32 foot bumper pull. Once the trailer starts to turn bring the steering wheel back towards center.
 
One issue with the longer fifth wheels you have to be careful with is tail swing. You can't see it from your mirrors either.
 
Ray-IN said:
The vital part is the correct mirrors on the truck! OEM mirrors are woefully inadequate unless they can extend wider than the trailer.
When approaching your driveway,(re;Rene's advice) get as close to the side of your driveway and street as possible, then as RRR said, pull forward more than you think you should, and once the 5er is turning get back under the hitch to prevent the 5er from over-reacting.
Ever watched a semi driver work? That's years of practice in use. My instructor once told me, "anyone can drive a rig down the road, where you make your money is in the dock area. (cleaned up language for this forum)
So find a vacant lot and practice, also practice staying calm at the same time.
IF you use a ground guide you both should know and use the same hand signals. Ignore everyone else.
Click to expand...
This is absolutely true. I once told a customer that I delivered his freight for free, but I charged him $1200 to back into his miserable dock.
If someone tries to guide you in, ignore them. I personally don't like people guiding me in. While they think they have the better view, you actually have the better vantage point. You know your rig better than they do and how it will react, how much to cut the wheel, how fast the truck comes around.
It's not hard, it just takes lots of practice to get used to it. To figure out where all the corners are. You'll just notice one day that everything comes together and you'll hit your mark first time and you didn't even think about it or break a sweat.
And yes, I'd rather parallel park a 53 footer (yep, done that) than back up a 40 footer any day.

Kevin
 
My occasional spotter is a trucker with over 50 years of experience. Another friends wife insists on spotting him, he tries very hard to ignore her which usually starts an argument. He almost ran over her when she stepped behind the trailer flapping her arms, she heard about that one!
 
As it has been stated watch the trailer tires when backing. Have your spotter watch for tail swing and the front of the TV and other obstacles. You need to concentrate on where the trailer tires are going.

I have found it helps to put a leveling pad or a stick where you want the trailer tires to be when done. This gives you a reference to help in which way you want to steer the trailer.
 
Roy M said:
Pick up a pair of highway traffic cones and practice in an empty parking lot. Take it slow and easy, be PATIENT and you will get it. A spotter who doesn't get excited easily will make it easier.
Click to expand...

This is a good idea also. I got to practice a little in the dealer's lot when I picked up my 5th wheel. But an empty school parking lot, or deserted mall lot, etc. should work fine also.

And I absolutely depend on my spotter wife. Not so much for telling me which way I need to turn...I pretty much have that part. Her part though is to make sure I don't hit something, or when I'm parking it at home, to make sure I don't miss the driveway. As you can see, those ditches are mighty deep, and I would not want to have to have my trailer pulled out of one of those ditches. Her job is to start yelling and jumping up and down if it looks like my wheels are going to close to the edge of the driveway. And I always listen, even if it's not quite as close as she may think. I don't take any chances with those ditches.

Anyway, lots of good advice. I hope you have what you need to help you out.
 
Something you need to realize is all of us that gave you tips on how to back a trailer, gave you tips on what works for us. You have to determine what works for you; what you are comfortable with. I can’t tell you how many times I witnessed couples nearly come to fisticuffs when trying to get their unit into a spot. it was entertaining for the ones that grabbed a beer to watch the show but I’m sure their difficulties didn’t make for a pleasant start to their adventure.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 800 (members: 5, guests: 795)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,929
Posts
1,387,653
Members
137,677
Latest member
automedicmobile
Back
Top Bottom