Fifth Wheel Turning vs. TT

[Dave L]

Hi!  I've have a question regarding turning a fifth wheel trailer, and haven't had much luck finding an answer via Internet search.  I'm hoping some of the pros on this forum can help.  We currently have a 23' TT that we park alongside our house which is on a hillside.  To park the trailer, I have to back down a steep road, around a sharp corner (over 90 degrees) and then onto a narrow level surface along the house (about 16' wide).  Pretty tricky, but with my wife on the radio and plenty of practice, we have it pretty much mastered.

We are thinking about going to a fifth wheel of similar length for our next trailer.  I understand abouth a fifth wheel's manuverabilty advantage in the yaw axis (left/right turns), but how do they compare to a travel trailer in terms of pitch (nose up/down) and roll axes?  I am particulalry concerned about roll, as the transition around the corner brings that into play a lot.

Thanks in advance for your wisdom!

 

[donn]

Double pivot hitch head pretty much takes care of those issues

 

[Lou Schneider]

On the roll, if you have a 4 way swivel hitch the limitation will be the clearance between the bottom of the trailer and the top of the truck bed.  Tilt the trailer too far and the trailer will hit the bed rails.  You'll be able to judge how far the trailer can tilt as soon as you hook it up to your truck.

On backing into the spot, particularly on that 90 degree turn, you'll find the 5th wheel responds much more slowly to steering changes than the trailer.  When a conventional trailer turns, the extension behind the tow vehicle's rear wheels moves the hitch pivot towards the outside of the turn.    This reduces off-tracking while going forward and while backing up, this movement exaggerates the change in direction of the tow vehicle so the trailer starts and ends turning more quickly.

On the 5th wheel, with the hitch directly over the truck's rear axle, you don't have this side to side movement.  The truck has to make a greater change in direction for the 5th wheel to respond.

 

[lavarock1210]

As for pith that is dragging tail of trailer that will depend on how far it is from trailer axles to back of trailer.  This is a function of how long the trailer is.  Most 5th wheels have more ground clearance than travel trailers. You should have less trouble with a 5th wheel.  When the truck pitches a 5th wheel has less effect as the pin is over the rear axle which does not pitch the trailer where a travel trailer hitch is a couple feet behind the axle thus the trailer will be affected by pitch of the truck.  As for side to side if you have proper bed to trailer clearance hitting the bed rails should not be a problem.  After you understand the difference between 5th wheel and travel trailer characteristics you will find you can back a 5th wheel where you were never able to back a travel trailer.

 

[Dave L]

Thanks for all the advice!  It helps with the decision process once we decide to start looking for a new trailer.

 

[Mopar1973Man]

I've got no problem getting a good jack knife going on to turn a tight corner. Like in my yard it a obstacle course of a driveway. It's a L shaped driveway with a bush at the pivot point. So even turn the trailer around in the yard I got to start a hard jack knife and shove out in the grass and the pivot the truck back around and change directions. But as for the travel trailer hitch absolutely no problem getting all 52 feet of vehicle jockeyed around in tight places.  ;D

 

[kjansen]

I have a "y" shaped driveway and to put the 5er by the garage, I have to back down one short leg and the down the other-much more than 90 degrees
but with alittle practice have no problems.  Still like the 5er over TT

 

[John From Detroit]

Generally, at VERY LOW SPEED (And backi9ng up clearly qualifies here) a 5er can corner a bit tighter than a TT,  However there are enough variables in the equations to make that word "Generally" a serious consideration.

One thing you need to look at is the distance betwen the hitch pin/coupler and the wheels.

Another thing is sometimes, in a tight situation, the fact the TT tracks a bit "Tighter" is important. 

One thing you need to do is this: On a surface that will "Take footprints" (IE: sand covered concrete) pull both the TT and the 5ER round a corner.  Note the tire tracks.