Fitting in...

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

For those of you who own (or have owned) a 40' fifth wheel, I'd like some feedback.  Is it tough to navigate campground roads and fit into spots, with such a large rig?  This is one of my major concerns and we start to consider a possible change.  The rig Tom likes has 4 slides, so wide when opened up.

 

[Jake74 0]

I pulled my 40ft toyhauler all over the south camping and racing Polaris rzr's. biggest piece of advice I can give is watch the overhang behind the tires when backing and swinging in tight spots and it was very tall so had to be aware of low overpasses and trees.Other than that pulled like anything else except that thing was heavy at over 25,000lbs combined gross weight.

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

Our travel trailer is only 34 ft. I know it was daunting going from an 18ft TT behind a medium SUV to the 34ft TT behind the F250. I still get times I think I can't go there or do that, but then do and realize I worried for no reason. I do know some of the older state parks at least here in Florida have smaller sites with none or a very few larger ones. 

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

It take a little getting used to because they track different than a bumper pull but roads have yet to be an issue for us. 
Around here campsite size can be a bit more of an issue but if you plan well and do a little research ahead of time you can usually figure that stuff out. I think our 5er is just under 43 feet and while we have sized our self out of some campsites, the size benefits far outweigh that. We also tend to stick to more "resort" type campgrounds rather than state or federal parks and that helps with the size issues as well. Most recent campgrounds are designed to accommodate larger RV's.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

3 hours ago, Jake74 said:

I pulled my 40ft toyhauler all over the south camping and racing Polaris rzr's. biggest piece of advice I can give is watch the overhang behind the tires when backing and swinging in tight spots and it was very tall so had to be aware of low overpasses and trees.Other than that pulled like anything else except that thing was heavy at over 25,000lbs combined gross weight.

 

2 hours ago, Cortezcapt (Derek) said:

Our travel trailer is only 34 ft. I know it was daunting going from an 18ft TT behind a medium SUV to the 34ft TT behind the F250. I still get times I think I can't go there or do that, but then do and realize I worried for no reason. I do know some of the older state parks at least here in Florida have smaller sites with none or a very few larger ones. 

 

Thank you both.

 

1 hour ago, Helmsey......Todd said:

It take a little getting used to because they track different than a bumper pull but roads have yet to be an issue for us. 
Around here campsite size can be a bit more of an issue but if you plan well and do a little research ahead of time you can usually figure that stuff out. I think our 5er is just under 43 feet and while we have sized our self out of some campsites, the size benefits far outweigh that. We also tend to stick to more "resort" type campgrounds rather than state or federal parks and that helps with the size issues as well. Most recent campgrounds are designed to accommodate larger RV's.

 That's about where we are... most of our stays are RV "resorts" in that I've seen several large rigs there, so I know it's doable.  I was going back over our trips for the past three years and there are only a couple of times where I can think that the ride (because of tight roads) might have been rough with a 5'er, but the spots were large enough...of course, if you can't get there then that's a problem   Still thinking it all over...

[caveat lector 181]

I hope to be making the same jump during the next year.  I figure other folks have done, so I can too (philosophy doesn't apply to brain surgery or nuclear engineering).

Side note: someone took out the post on 1610 overnight. Wonder how big the rig was?

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

32 minutes ago, caveat lector said:

Side note: someone took out the post on 1610 overnight. Wonder how big the rig was?

Ouch.

In October, a 5th wheel took out part of the fence at the 100/200 loop exit.  He did a decent amount of damage to his rig...but it didn't look horrible.  I felt so bad for him 

[ftwildernessguy 778]

I took out a girl who was built like a post in college.

[dblr....Rennie 224]

As most of you here know we have a very large 5th wheel set up towed by a large truck, the new camper is just over 41' the old one was around 39', have not had the new one at the Fort yet. Our set up is totally different then most but I have not had to much issue with the size, about the hardest spot with the old trailer was Anastasia State park and the Fort, as I tell most people if you learn how to set yourself up to back in that's half the problem. Good luck in your search and feel free to ask any questions.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

2 minutes ago, dblr....Rennie said:

as I tell most people if you learn how to set yourself up to back in that's half the problem. 

Can you help me understand that?  Is that because the truck pivots differently than a bumper pull?  I've never pulled a fifth wheel...which leads to another question:  standard 5th wheel hitch vs gooseneck.  What's the difference and opinions on which is better?

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

1 hour ago, ftwildernessguy said:

I took out a girl who was built like a post in college.

Must have been the sister, to the stick-in-the-mud I dated ?

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

18 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Can you help me understand that?  Is that because the truck pivots differently than a bumper pull?  I've never pulled a fifth wheel...which leads to another question:  standard 5th wheel hitch vs gooseneck.  What's the difference and opinions on which is better?

Gooseneck hitches you usually find on horse trailers or cargo trailers, never seen one on a camping trailer. I know there are adapters for 5th wheel to gooseneck or the other way around to work with whatever you have in your truck.  

 

If you buy a 5th wheel I'd have a regular 5th wheel hitch installed. Our horse trailer was a gooseneck which is really just a ball in the center of the bed of your truck, it was a pain to hook up alone when you couldn't see the ball to line it up.  My grandfather's 5th wheel seemed easier to hitch because you could see the hitch in the back of the truck. Two completely different truck and trailers so may be different for different people. 

 

If I'm wrong and they are making 5th wheel style camping trailers with gooseneck hitches would someone let me know. Haha

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I took out a girl who was built like a post in college.

I'm imagining some awful splinters.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

47 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

I'm imagining some awful splinters.

? oh...good grief ?

[ftwildernessguy 778]

1 hour ago, dblr....Rennie said:

as I tell most people if you learn how to set yourself up to back in that's half the problem.

Oh man.  It is just so hard to leave this alone.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

This went in the toilet fast.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Nacole, setting yourself up is basically know where to place your camper at to back into your site, like knowing how far to pull forward  and at what angle to leave the room needed for the trailer to fit in the site and where in the site, this takes practice, a friend of mine who has been camping for many years still can not figure out how to do this.

As far as goose necks goes Derek explained it but by adding a adapter some mfg's will void your frame warranty, I would just stay with the 5th wheel.

[dblr....Rennie 224]

7 hours ago, ftwildernessguy said:

Oh man.  It is just so hard to leave this alone.

I tried to explain this so not even YOU could twist it around

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

8 hours ago, GaDawgFan.....Kelly said:

This went in the toilet fast.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha...right?! 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

2 hours ago, dblr....Rennie said:

Nacole, setting yourself up is basically know where to place your camper at to back into your site, like knowing how far to pull forward  and at what angle to leave the room needed for the trailer to fit in the site and where in the site, this takes practice, a friend of mine who has been camping for many years still can not figure out how to do this.

Gotcha... so, same as with the bumper pull.  Thank you.

[LONE-STAR 370]

I have had both types of trailers. To me bumper pull backs up easier. For the main reason being that when the truck turns, the camper does also. With a 5er or gooseneck the truck can turn all over the place but the camper does not move as much. This may sound crazy but that was my experience. But going down the highway the 5er was a little more stable.

[bhall 115]

4 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

I have had both types of trailers. To me bumper pull backs up easier. For the main reason being that when the truck turns, the camper does also. With a 5er or gooseneck the truck can turn all over the place but the camper does not move as much. This may sound crazy but that was my experience. But going down the highway the 5er was a little more stable.

I feel this exact same way.  Still after 2.5 years of having a 5er, I can't back it up into my driveway anywhere near as easy as I did with the TT and the various car/cargo trailers I bring home that the day job owns.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

15 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

I have had both types of trailers. To me bumper pull backs up easier. For the main reason being that when the truck turns, the camper does also. With a 5er or gooseneck the truck can turn all over the place but the camper does not move as much. This may sound crazy but that was my experience. But going down the highway the 5er was a little more stable.

Even though I've never driven a 5th wheel...this makes sense to me.  We have an awesome hitch with our bumper pull, so our stability is pretty strong however... on cement highways, we get some of that push/pull tug that I'm guessing might go away with a 5'er.   As for backing into spots, I wonder on that too.

[Roberta 42]

I can't even back in my little pop-up. I'm too embarrassed to ever even try, so DH always does it. 

I wish I had somewhere I could go practice, in an open area. We have 8 acres, but it's all wooded except a small clearing for our house. 

[keith_h 420]

1 hour ago, Roberta said:

I can't even back in my little pop-up. I'm too embarrassed to ever even try, so DH always does it. 

I wish I had somewhere I could go practice, in an open area. We have 8 acres, but it's all wooded except a small clearing for our house. 

Find a large parking lot like a grocery store or Walmart. If you want more privacy there is always school parking lots on the weekend and church parking lots during the week. The lines can also be helpful in providing a reference point for backing and to judge how you did.