Bumper pull to 5er, what should I know?

[madmaxmutt]

We are upgrading from the travel trailer to a fifth wheel after many years of camping. What should I know about the differences? Upside, downside makes no difference to me; all insight is welcome.

All in a effort to NOT do this later:

[GHen]

You will need to take corners a little wider in a 5th wheel, besides that you will like how it it tows and will be quicker to hook and unhook.

[oldmanAZ]

What GHen said, but I'd say 'take corners W-I-D-E-R!'

And I'd add, practice backing before you go camping. I towed several and never did master backing them. IMO, they are totally different than backing 'bumper pull' trailers!

[Dan-Phyllis]

We just made the same transition in August. Our FW is longer and heavier than our TT was and the FW rides much better. Easier getting into sites but you do have to take the corners a little wider. The FW cuts the corners instead of following you through them. My only dislike about towing the FW is the height. The FW came with a full height A/C unit in the front. Ours sits at 13'10" hooked to our truck and 13'7" on level ground. We have had to switch camp sites due to low trees. Dont need a hole in the roof membrane. I have heard Jayco has authorized a low profile unit replacement but haven't tried calling them yet.

[RedHorse1]

What GHen and oldman said.

[TxLoser]

Research hitches. B&W or Andersen would be my choice. I've had mine for a year and half. Backing was totally different for sure. I can't think of anything I miss about having a TT that's unique to TT's. Scratch that... I do miss the bed space traveling.

[madmaxmutt]

Originally Posted by TxLoser

Research hitches. B&W or Andersen would be my choice. I've had mine for a year and half. Backing was totally different for sure. I can't think of anything I miss about having a TT that's unique to TT's. Scratch that... I do miss the bed space traveling.

The Andersen is it for me. Being able to easily remove the hitch to get the truck bed back is pretty important to me.

[madmaxmutt]

Originally Posted by GHen

You will need to take corners a little wider in a 5th wheel, besides that you will like how it it tows and will be quicker to hook and unhook.

Originally Posted by oldmanAZ

What GHen said, but I'd say 'take corners W-I-D-E-R!'

And I'd add, practice backing before you go camping. I towed several and never did master backing them. IMO, they are totally different than backing 'bumper pull' trailers!

Originally Posted by Dan-Phyllis

We just made the same transition in August. Our FW is longer and heavier than our TT was and the FW rides much better. Easier getting into sites but you do have to take the corners a little wider. The FW cuts the corners instead of following you through them. My only dislike about towing the FW is the height. The FW came with a full height A/C unit in the front. Ours sits at 13'10" hooked to our truck and 13'7" on level ground. We have had to switch camp sites due to low trees. Dont need a hole in the roof membrane. I have heard Jayco has authorized a low profile unit replacement but haven't tried calling them yet.

Originally Posted by RedHorse1

What GHen and oldman said.

I know towing will be a little different. I have towed a lot of different types of trailers, but never a 5th wheel. I will definitely do some practice before we try to squeeze into a state park spot

[madmaxmutt]

I thought there would be differences in parking the truck in sites and differences in leveling ? We have always had some form of stab jacks, now I will have the landing gear that appear to operate as one. The rear is also electric. I guess I won't need the impact driver any more

[GHen]

Let me emphasis a little on needing wider turns, depending on overall length, the 5r could cut the corner 3-4 feet to the inside of the corner compared to the trailer. On numerous occasions I have come way to close to getting up on a sidewalk, taking out a corner fence post, tree or dropping into a ditch. Make sure you can see your passengers side wheels.
A trailer actually gets pushed to the outside of the corner by the distance between the rear axel and ball on the hitch.
I have found backing to be pretty easy as long as the first half is good, if I start getting out of wack, I pull forward about 4 feet to straighten the rig and then it finishes fine.

[Duke_26]

Subscribing to this thread as we may make the switch from our TT to a Eagle 32.5’ 5er in a year or two ourselves, see how things go. Looking forward to hearing more pro’s and cons! Good stuff so far! I’m off to a good start as I bought a RAM 3500 CC SRW with the Cummins Turbo Diesel this past spring.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by Duke_26

Subscribing to this thread as we may make the switch from our TT to a Eagle 32.5’ 5er in a year or two ourselves, see how things go. Looking forward to hearing more pro’s and cons! Good stuff so far! I’m off to a good start as I bought a RAM 3500 CC SRW with the Cummins Turbo Diesel this past spring.

A couple of requirements for us:
Must be a trailer for national parks etc. that have a 30' limit AND Must have 2 entry doors. We haven't seen that combination in a 5th wheel.

[madmaxmutt]

Originally Posted by oldmanAZ

A couple of requirements for us:
Must be a trailer for national parks etc. that have a 30' limit AND Must have 2 entry doors. We haven't seen that combination in a 5th wheel.

We tried to stay under the 30' limit. We ended up at 31' 5", to get the floorplan we wanted. The loss of a couple feet for the steps to the bedroom is a downside we discovered. We came from a 25+' trailer that had a king bed slide out the back. So, we ended up with 30 feet of camp space. That trailer had 2 doors, but we found that we rarely used that second door. We would have preferred a central door, but we didn't find that with 2 recliners.

We basically had a list of must haves, wants and don't wants. We didn't find a trailer that met all of them. We chose what we thought would fit us best.

[vcbice]

The best thing about a fifth wheel is handling on the road.

Once you learn how to back them that part is also a piece of cake. It is a HUGE difference between a TT and fiver. Even after 10 years I still pull forward a lot during a sequence.

[GHen]

I agree with the 30’ limit for the state parks. Ours is a 291rsts which tows as a 29’ and is 34 overall. We have always found a spot at the state parks large enough, although some were very tight.

[Witt74]

The big difference (at least to me) in backing a fifth wheel and a bumper pull seems to be once you get the fiver going in the direction you want, you have to get out from under it quicker. Even so,after pulling trailers most of my life, (farm,grain wagons, stock trailers,) I still trn the wheel the wrong way when I start backing, no matter what system I use. I never did learn to back a trailer with the front axle steering. Drove my Dad nuts!

[Thomson]

After years of screaming at each other, I found it is acceptable to pull forward, reaadjust, get out of the truck and look, pull forward, and do it again. I also painted a dotted line on the driveway where the tires should be while backing in. By the way, I finally learned that the easiest is when backing into a spot to try to get one that when you back in the turn is on the driver's side.

[vcbice]

Forgot. A great resource for backing instruction are the ones for truck drivers. And the biggest comment on them is GOAL! Get Out And Look. Second comment is, if it isn't perfect pull forward.

My secret to backing is to mark where I want the trailer wheels to go. Get the trailer pointed in the right direction, then 'follow' it with the truck. If you try to 'push' it like a bumper trailer you will weave too much. Practicing in a largish parking lot is great. Try maneuvering into parking spaces from various angles.

[Chrisb-24]

The difference between the two is like night and day. You'll see when it's windy, the since of security and control is so much better. Also like any trailer, know your turning ability. A 5th wheel tows and tracks completely different than a TT.
Welcome to the 5er family.
Chris

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by Witt74

I still tUrn the wheel the wrong way when I start backing, no matter what system I use.

X2 FOR SURE!!!