5th Wheel Driving - Best Practices

[gahirsh]

All,

Any "nuggets" of wisdom that you can share with a newbie with regards to towing a 5th Wheel (a 3750FL in my case).

I've driven a 40' pusher in the past but knwo that there is a ton of wisdom that is contained within the group. Looking for guidance of any sort:

Any tips/tricks for learning to handle such a large animal?
What not to do?
Should I use checklist as I learn, what woudl it look like?

Thanks again
Glenn

[BB_TX]

I would say first and foremost is to watch your turns. The 5er wheels turn well inside the track of your truck wheels and it is very easy to run them over curbs, or worse, hit the side of the 5er on something. Take your turns wide, especially the right turns at street corners.
Height is another concern in areas with lots of trees. Most of us are at 13' or greater. Always be watchful of any overhead obstructions. And again the 5er turning inside the truck can get you into overhanging tree limbs you did not expect to be a problem.
Find a large empty parking lot and go practice. A high school stadium parking lot is often a very good place as it is typically empty except on game days. Get some cheap orange cones (got mine at Walmart), set them up about the size and shape of a typical RV park site and access road, and practice backing. Backing a 5er is a little different than a regular trailer. But with practice you will see the difference and learn to account for it.

[NCFischers]

Take the rig to a big parking lot on a Sunday morning where you can practice. Bring some cones or something to mark turns.

[bncinwv]

Go to a big open parking lot, take some cones, and practice backing and learning the "delayed" response time when backing the rig. Pay attention to turn radius, practice swinging wide and noting the distances involved with the help of the cones. Practice and experience is the key, and one way or another you will get both.
Bingo

[8.1al]

All good advice above. When in tight quarters remember there is a lot of trailer behind the wheels that will swing out when you are making a tight turn. As previously mentioned a fifth wheel tends to cut the corners so you will have to learn to do it like the semi drivers do and drive further into the intersection before starting your turn

[kingdaddy]

Some of the tips you have probably already learned from driving a MH, but the advice given already is unique to 5ers.
As a relative newbie myself, I would just add to "anticipate" i.e. really plan ahead to avoid getting into a place you don't want to be.
Pulling into a parking lot, going down a narrow road etc. If you're not sure you can maneuver or exit OK, better to either get out and walk it first or just avoid it all together.
Also anticipate bonehead moves by other drivers whenever possible and plan to brake early!
Don't ask how I know this!
Also, as mentioned, I will reiterate watching the overhead...mine sits with the A/C on top at about 13 1/2 feet or so!
One more thing...check your rear view (side) mirrors often and be aware of whats going on around you, especially important here in So. Cal. freeway traffic!

[indy roadrunner]

When backing the pivot point is the back axle of your pickup. Pull forward way past your "site" to back into. Start your backing and put you hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and move your hand in the direction you want the rear of the trailer to go. Once you have it headed in that direction - reduce your pivot angle and follow your trailer - watching the rear of the unit. There is no shame in having to pull up and make corrections in your pivot angle. Also remember when you "jackknife" to watch your right front fender. Things seem to jump out and get in your way.
Blind side backing into a slot is a whole another animal. I try not to blind side in but there are times I have had to do it. Take your time.
If you can't afford those orange cones, I use to work for a trucking company as a driver instructor. I would use some red plastic cups we got at Wally world and put some water in them. The drivers could see the red cups just fine.

[H. John Kohl]

All good advice.
[*]Use your trailer tires as the pivot point to make your turn. "Box the corner" staying on the outside but remember the back end swings out the opposite way you turn.[*]Practice, practice, practice. The Parking lot is great idea.[*]When getting ready to back into a site pull twice as far forward as you think you should. [*]When passing I use the windshield mirror as my first reference. I look at the nose of the vehicle I am passing under the 5th overhang when the passed vehicle disappears there then I double check other mirrors and know I can move over. This distance test can be done in a parking lot.[*]Your 5th wheel is taller than your motor home always look up.

[pineranch]

Everyone gave you very sound advice. They all missed the most important event you will encounter, THE MISSING DW THAT IS GIVING YOU BACKING SIGNALS. One second they are there, gone the next and all you can see is TREE. You will learn there are two ways to deal with this, the easy way or hard way. Patience, Patience, and more Patience.
Cheers and stuff,
Mike

[Art-n-Marge]

I don't blame DW at all but when backing up, learn how to do this yourself. Trying to get instructions from someone who is not familiar with backing a rig will only be able to tell you what you are about to hit and not how to prevent getting in that predicament in the first place. Take your time and learn how the steering wheels control the trailer and the tow vehicle. When first making the turn you'll need to think opposite, but you'll be surprised how quickly you must then follow the turn or you will be jackknifing pretty quick. A very important thing to remember after a turn with a trailer, is to STRAIGHTEN out the trailer so its wheels and axles are repositioned to straight up and down. With straight, fixed axles and no differential the tires are stressed on a turn and over time leaving the trailer in this position can cause suspension problems (it happened to me).

Backing and turning is the most difficult thing about manuevering a rig. The exception is when you are going forward and turning sharply in tight quarters, then you may experience "tail swing" and the back end of the trailer may clip something if the turn is tight. Compared to a MH, that pivot point at the hitch has gotten people in trouble if you don't make proper turns. Jumping corners or contacting sharp curbs (aka curb cutting) with the trailer tires can cause tire problems even if you go slow over them. The weight each tire carries is much more than typically vehicle weights and this can cause problems with sidewalls.

I try to fuel up without the trailer before the trip and at the end points. If I have to refuel in between I look for truck stops and use the trucker areas - don't use the vehicle pumps because more times than not they are too tight or too low and MANY other drivers don't make allowances for you - it's amazing how clueless they are and will zip around you like you aren't moving.

Many of these are repeats of what's posted and I hope these tips help. Remember the phrase, "Practice makes perfect"? Well, those people never towed a trailer. Our phrase is "Perfect practice makes perfect". When you are at a campground and watching someone back in their rig, you can tell they didn't use the perfect practice techniques because they are correcting and re-correcting too many times. Check out videos and ask plenty of question to learn the correct techniques. It's about anticipation (knowing where the trailer is gonna go before it starts going there), THEN practice, practice, and practice. Like "pineranch" declares, it starts with Patience!

[Fire5er]

All the above is great advice. The one thing that I would add is...when they say "really plan ahead to avoid getting into a place you don't want to be" to me is plan the route and drive the plan. I even ues Google Earth to overfly the the route that my mapping system ( microsft streets and trips, or garmin GPS unit) suggests because the mapping programs and GPS units can get you into trouble if you just follow them without question. I have had to drive through a fast food drive through to get out of an area that looked good on the mapping system. Lood luck, and practice.

[nowinter]

Another idea would be to use two-way radios for backing in to camping sites. This helps tremendously when DW vanishes from my mirrors.

[indy roadrunner]

My DW is only allowed to say one word on the two way radio. "STOP" all other comments are ignored.

And then the fight started.

[Lee F.]

Since you didn't tell us what length bed your truck has and what hitch you have, I'm going to suggest you check very carefully how much clearance there is between the front of the Monty and your truck cab in a very tight turn, especially when backing. If you have a short bed and a standard, non slider, hitch, there's a pretty good chance they can make contact and do serious damage.

[HamRad]

Someone probably has already mentioned this but I didn't see it anywhere. When you are backing up and you can no longer see your spotter just stop! It has already been mentioned but also remember to look up. It is really easy to forget when you are in the midst of backing up. Good luck and enjoy. Dennis

[Hooker]

quote:Originally posted by BB_TX

I would say first and foremost is to watch your turns. The 5er wheels turn well inside the track of your truck wheels and it is very easy to run them over curbs, or worse, hit the side of the 5er on something. Take your turns wide, especially the right turns at street corners.

Agree...since the hitch is in the bed and not the bumper, the RV will cut the corners.

[klash]

Last summer our son got his first 5th wheel, after we gave him our 2003 GMC 2500 HD.
Backing into the driveway along the right hand side of his house was pretty tricky. First he had to cut the rig around sharply to the left. Then while going down the side of the house
he had to keep clear of the fence on the right hand side of the trailer, and on the left side
he had to keep in a straight line to avoid having the left trailer wheels drop down into the in ground steps leading down into the basement.
I gave him a 50 foot length of 3/4" Samson braid rope, bight yellow in colour. This rope is always limp, and it is very easy to stretch it out on the ground in the exact position you want your trailer wheels to follow. Lay it on the drivers side, so much easier to see in the "good" mirror, rather than the difficult one on the right side. Then as I explained to my son, simply follow the yellow brick road. Also as another reader wrote, ALWAYS use a spotter back there. It can save a lot of expense and heart aches.

[Bill-N-Donna]

When in doubt, get out and look about!

[MuddyPaws]

Wish I had known the rope thing abut 30 years ago when I parked our trailer along the side of the house. My storage space is now marked with rope and it's a great aid. If I'm parallel to the rope I'm good.

If you ask me the hardest part is training your spotter. Here's what works for us (44 years with the same spotter)

Rules for driver:

I always get out and walk the site to figure out where the rig needs to be and how to get it there. If possible I mark the ground where the rig steps should be and my spotter will guide me to that spot. Look high & low for expensive obstacles.

Rules for the spotter:

If you can't see me in the mirrors I can't see you. If I can't see you I stop until you move to where I can see you.

Hand signals only. I'm sitting near a running diesel with two very excited (and large) dogs bounding about the cab. I might not even hear a police whistle. (We tried radios. My spotter often forgot to press the button to talk. We tried cellphones. My spotter didn't always say right when she meant right. This led to the next rule.)

Point in the direction the rig needs to go. It's so very simple.

When I get close to something SHOW me how close by holding your hands up at the approximate distance and move them closer together as I get closer.

A held up clenched fist or two hands clasped together means stop.

If we need to talk tell me to stop first. I know it's entertaining for the other campers but yelling back & forth is not good for the general well being and will set the 'tone' for the entire stay.

We've gotten our rig into spaces with less than a foot clearance on either side, in ONE shot. AND we had 2 quadracers and a bike in the back of the truck, couldn't see anything. And it was dark. (OK, it was a very lucky shot but we still claim victory)

I know I presented this in a toungue-in-cheek manner but in all seriousness every RV'ing couple/family goes through this learning process and developes their own way. The keys are patience and consistancy.

Muddypaws

[2Wanderers]

Like the rope suggestion I painted a black stripe about 5" wide for my trailer's left tires to track when backing up my driveway and next to my garage. Painted a short black stripe for the rear trailer tire to mark the point where the trailer rear will enter the gate (the trailer better be perfectly straight at that point). When turning left at an intersection with two turn left lanes, I use the outer lane as my trailer may cut into the left turn lane as I go through the corner. I turn with a hook on very tight corners, as mentioned before, well into the intersection before turning left. If I have to I may straddle both lanes; it's better than a sideswipe accident. IMHO