First time fifth wheel owner

[Interpim]

Good morning!

My wife and I just purchased a new 41 ft fifth wheel, and we are excited to get started traveling and camping. I've consumed 100's of RV videos over the last 6 months trying to to learn as much as I can about how to operate every facet of the RV and trying to prevent myself from making any costly mistakes.

One issue we are currently dealing with is the storage. We have a few spots lined up for storage, but I am also considering possibly storing the RV at my house, but the parking location is VERY tight. I'd like to get an opinion from some seasoned veterans on what you would do.

For reference, my truck is a long bed chevy 3500HD and is 22 ft long. My trailer is a 41' 1" fifth wheel. the spot I would like to put it is 43 ft long, and at it's narrowest position is 10' 6" wide The back 17' of the spot has a wooden fence on one side, and my house on the other side accounting for the narrowest width.

My concern is I wouldn't have enough room to pull out before trailer swing would hit my fence or house. I've attached a picture of the spot I am thinking of. The red square is where I would want to put the trailer.

I have never backed a trailer before, and I don't want to get into something that is going to be impossible. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

Does your city allow RV's to be parked in the front of the house?

 

[Interpim]

Does your city allow RV's to be parked in the front of the house?

They do, I'm in unincorporated San Diego County, so I can... the street in front of my house has a 4 degree slope and the amount of space between driveways is barely 41'

 

[Laura & Charles]

Welcome to the forum! Lots of knowledgeable and friendly folks here!

Your concern is warranted; unless you can drive straight out (where what appears to be garbage cans), you’ll have trouble. Is there a possibility of removing the fence? Otherwise, consider putting in a driveway size curb cut so you can pull straight out.

 

[Interpim]

Welcome to the forum! Lots of knowledgeable and friendly folks here!

Your concern is warranted; unless you can drive straight out (where what appears to be garbage cans), you’ll have trouble. Is there a possibility of removing the fence? Otherwise, consider putting in a driveway size curb cut so you can pull straight out.

The trash cans are mine, and I can drive over the curb if I need to. I wasn't sure if there was enough room between the parking area and the other side of the street to get straight enough to not hit the fence

 

[Larry N.]

My concern is I wouldn't have enough room to pull out before trailer swing would hit my fence or house. I've attached a picture of the spot I am thinking of. The red square is where I would want to put the trailer.

I don't know if it's feasible with a 5th wheel, but before I bought a 45' motorhome I had the salesman go with me to test whether I could back it into my driveway with only a 35ish wide street. It was awkward but doable so I bought the rig. However I discovered that when someone parked in the street at my neighbor's house (across the street) I usually had to ask them to move it if I wanted out (or in) while they were there- not a problem most of the time, but there were a few occasions...

You might want a bit of trailer backing practice before trying that, or perhaps the salesman is sharp enough (no guarantee though). But it will be snug at best...

 

[rvlifer]

Can you turn out of the parking spot in the opposite direction? Looks like it is tight only on 1 side. Just have to be careful the rear end doesnt swing out and hit something. The more the back of the rv extends past the rear tire the more swing you will get when turning the rv.

If you can get your hands on a small riding mower with a small cart on the back practice backing up with that. The shorter the trailer the harder it is to back up so if you can get good with that you should be good with the rv. Shorter trailers change direction when backing up a lot faster than 40 ft rvs.

Make sure you have a good route into and out of your parking spot that has plenty of verticle clearance for your rv. I used to have to take a convoluted path to my house to avoid damaging anything on the roof

 

[Interpim]

Can you turn out of the parking spot in the opposite direction? Looks like it is tight only on 1 side. Just have to be careful the rear end doesnt swing out and hit something. The more the back of the rv extends past the rear tire the more swing you will get when turning the rv.

If you can get your hands on a small riding mower with a small cart on the back practice backing up with that. The shorter the trailer the harder it is to back up so if you can get good with that you should be good with the rv. Shorter trailers change direction when backing up a lot faster than 40 ft rvs.

Make sure you have a good route into and out of your parking spot that has plenty of verticle clearance for your rv. I used to have to take a convoluted path to my house to avoid damaging anything on the roof

The south side of my concrete area is elevated about 3-4 feet above my neighbors grass area. The street is on a hill and each house is terraced up slightly due to the 4 degree slope of the street we live on. My driveway is the only place I can move the trailer

 

[rvlifer]

From the pic it looks like you xan get into and out of the spot with the red rectangle by turning away from the fence but you would have to be very good at backing up with it.

Have you measured the actual exterior length of the rv? My 40 ft rv is actually 44 ft long from nose to end of the back ladder.

If you arent sure you can get it in there safely then dont even try. Last thing you need is to damage your new rv or anything else

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Not only will maneuvering be tough, like threading a needle, but that 17' area that is only 10'6" is going to be inaccessible once parked. With only 1 ft clearance on each side, no way to get to a power cords or water/sewer connections, nor can a slide in that area be deployed for interior access.

 

[Interpim]

From the pic it looks like you xan get into and out of the spot with the red rectangle by turning away from the fence but you would have to be very good at backing up with it.

Have you measured the actual exterior length of the rv? My 40 ft rv is actually 44 ft long from nose to end of the back ladder.

If you arent sure you can get it in there safely then dont even try. Last thing you need is to damage your new rv or anything else

I don't even have the RV yet... I'm picking it up on Friday. All of the documentation says its 41' 1" It's a 2025 Forest River Sabre 36FLX

 

[rvlifer]

Have you considered what you will do to load and unload and generally access the rv? Depending on floorplan and slides you might need to move the rv everytime you wanted to get in it. Major pita imo

 

[Interpim]

Have you considered what you will do to load and unload and generally access the rv? Depending on floorplan and slides you might need to move the rv everytime you wanted to get in it. Major pita imo

Right now it's a game of pros and cons... I'm honestly not sure I will have the confidence to put it in that space... I'm going to put it temporarily right in front between my driveway and my neighbors driveway... Although I can park it there by law as there are no restrictions... I'm pretty sure my neighbor to my north is going to complain as she has done some passive aggressive things regarding parking on the street in the past, and I'd like to avoid that as much as possible. We have a couple storage solution possibilities lined up, but the one we have found is 30 minutes drive away.

 

[Kirk]

Part of the issue is the width of the street. By your dimensions, you have only 26' of your property in which to get the RV into a straight line and perfectly centered in the space between the fence and house. A modern, two-way street with 7-foot parking lanes and 10-foot traffic lanes is 34 feet wide. That leaves you no more than 60' to turn an RV combination that is at least 55' long by 90° and get everything perfectly straight and centered in the drive before entering the final 17' of space. I may have known a few people who could put your trailer into that spot, but very few. The only one that comes to mind is a retired, woman trucker. I suspect that even the most skilled RV owner would hesitate to try what you propose. Since you have never backed a trailer before I am thinking that you need to look at the potential storage areas as well since the majority of those require at least some backing skills. Most of us here have seen some new owners have very bad experiences and in places far less difficult than your parking spot at home. You might be wise to consider taking some lessons from someone like the RV Driving School.

 

[MN Blue Skies aka Max]

Hey welcome to the Forum. Lots of great advice here. I'm usually very, very optimistic. Parking looks very stressful not to mention stressful neighbor relationships. DH (dear husband) and I would choose to park the rig elsewhere. That's what we do with our 38' 5th wheel. Good Luck

 

[SMR]

Did you measure from the roof overhang or side of house? Just to be sure
Maybe go talk to the neighbors, especially the one to the north, about your plans.
I would definitely practice backing up before parking at the house. Maybe a parking lot with some cones to get a feel for the space.

 

[Interpim]

Thanks everyone for the comments... I did measure from the roof line... That is what is making it more difficult, otherwise I would have 12 feet of clearance. I'm probably going to forego attempting to squeeze in there for now and park it at the storage lot.

We only intend to be at this house for the next 6 months, so the next house will definitely have a spot to park our trailer.

 

[Kirk]

I'm probably going to forego attempting to squeeze in there for now and park it at the storage lot.

With no experience backing and a new RV, that is a very good idea. How much experience do you have in towing?

 

[Interpim]

With no experience backing and a new RV, that is a very good idea. How much experience do you have in towing?

I've towed really small empty trailers around my Dad's property YEARS ago... but nothing this size

 

[Arch Hoagland]

We like to get to campgrounds early and watch all the new people try to back their trailers into their camping spots. Great fun lol.

All of us were in the predicament when we first started out. Good luck!