Towing question?

[Montana_2503]

I am new to this forum and would appreciate any help you can be with a towing question. I have been towing a 30ft travel trailer for the last 7 years and I have been very happy with it. I am seriously looking looking into purchasing a 36ft 5th wheel. The question is will I notice a big difference between towing the 30ft travel trailer vs. a 36ft. 5th wheel? Will the turning diameter be about the same or alot different? I realize there will certainly be a height difference that I will have to pay attention to. Backing will take some time to learn as well. It seems that there will be little diffence between the two because the 5th wheel will be hitched in the bed of the truck vs. the bumper, so the overall length should be about the same, I think.

Anyway, any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you in advance for the help!

[CountryGuy]

Kevin,

Welcome to the forum.

5th wheels tow like a dream, specially the Montana, everyone will tell you that, CAUSE IT IS TRUE!

Watch for low bridges, yep.

You have to be even more diligent going around corners, TURN LONG!! VERY LONG! The 5er will not follow the truck around true, it cuts inside (right turns you can really see this!)

Backing up, I am still NOT doing this, but the guys and gals that do it, all say, take er out to a large parking lot and practice! and practice some more. Al does it so well that I have never tried, much. It is pretty ugly when I do.

BUT, I will pull er down the road. Pulls like a dream, oh, I said that didn't I?? Cause it is true! Even tho Al does most of the driving, I would not hesitate to get behind the wheel and go, I have before, and most likely will again at some point.

Go to the search engine here on this page and take a look, there are a large number of prior posts just about this subject! Great reading!

Enjoy your 5er!

Carol

[palebluedot]

Kevin,
Welcome to MOC, you will find most of your answers concerning Montanas at this sight. Carol in "right on" about the tracking of the 5er behind your truck. When you turn, the wheels will track a few feet inside where your truck did. The sharper the turn the more pronounced the difference. There is a flower bed in a parking lot island at a Tennessee Cracker Barrel where I first learned this lesson. You should not have many problems with bridges on major highways, but overpasses on city streets should be watched closely. Also pay close attention to tree limbs at campgrounds. The same ones you passed under with the TT will remove your AC unit on a 5er. As for backing, I found the 5er is slower to begin turning, but it turns faster than a TT once it starts. Best advise, ditto Carol, go to a large parking lot and just practice. You will not believe the difference towing a 5er vs. TT. No more white knuckles when the semis go by. It may be the best thing about owning a 5er. Good luck on selecting your new rig.

[stiles watson]

I don't know about towing a TT, but have pulled large trailers. The 5er is much more stable than anything on a receiver hitch. I have never had the 5er sway as a trailer will do under certain conditions.

Vertical dimension is s concern, but not usually on main roads. I had a problem in my own neighborhood. Some of my neighbors did not keep their trees trimmed up to the 14 ft. minimum as required by statute, so I had to replace an amber running light and repair the rubber roof.

I personally think the longer trailer is easier to back than a shorter one. Since it doesn't respond as quickly, it also doesn't over correct as quickly. I was afraid of mine until I learned to take it slow and easy and to see pulling up and correcting as a normal part of the parking process. I am convinced that if you backed that TT, you will have very little trouble with the 5er.

[DHenry]

I was pulling a 30' TT before I got my Montana. The Montana tows like a dream compared to the TT. No sway when a bid rig goes past you. The turning is like the others have described. Backing into a space is a little different than with the TT but you will get the hang of it real quick. Good luck with your decision.

[H. John Kohl]

Kevin,
Just adding to all the above. I went from a 33' TT to the 35 5th wheel. Turning and maneuvering are the key differences. I now really "box" the corners with the fifth wheel. When making a left turn I stay as close to the right as I can then go past the intersection as much as it will let me and then make the left turn. My goal each time is to ensure my trailer tires do not cross of into the oncoming traffic lane at the corner. Do not want to take another front end off.
With the sharp cut or "off track" of the fifth wheels they do give you better maneuverability but it does take some practice so the best info received is to go into the big open parking lot and then work on placing the trailer in positions going forward and backward.
Remember when you get into the parks and all the other campers are watching the show, "they are not there" it is just you and your co-pilot. Make as many adjustments you need to put it into the spot. The ability to jackknife the trailer into a spot does come in handy once you have practiced it.
When setting up to back into a spot pull farther forward than you planned because it takes a little distance to really start the turn unless you intend to jackknife it.
Good luck and go slow and pull forward when need to start again. The only thing more embarrassing that pulling forward is scrapping a side and having the wife yell at you.

[Montana Sky]

I will have to agree with all the above.. I went from towing the 315RLS Montaineer TT to the 3400RL Montana with a length over 39 feet. Going to an empty parking lot is a perfect idea, one thing I also wanted to mention is watch for your "tailswing". The tires are farther back on the TT than the fifth wheels, thus causing when you make a hard right turn, your tail will swing far left as it comes around that corner. I almost took the car out in the lane to my left as I made the first hard right into the subdivision. I was as far to the left side of my lane as I could get. I found that trying to stay more towards the middle of the lane and going farther into the intersection has helped solve this problem. As for backing, yes it is different than the TT, but once you get the hang of it, you will be a pro. I have been backing trailers up for over 10 years and still find myself learning something new every time. Take it slow and try again if you need to. Good luck on your decision.

[Montana_31]

I agree with everyone's appraisal of towing a fifth wheel. An aside note, you actually only had about 27.5' of living space in a 30' TT and now with a 36' fifth you will get 8.5' more living space, plus the storage area will be so much larger. As far as backing up is concerned, a fifth wheel is slower in response than a TT. It all come down to a little practice and you will back up that fifth as well as you did a TT.

[Native Tex]

Kevin I do not think I can add much to all the great advice already listed in this message string. I can say that we made the same upgrade from a TT to 5er. I will say that there will be some major changes, but once you get the feel of the unit, you should have no problem. Best of luck.

[sreigle]

Welcome aboard, Kevin. You got a lot of great advice already so I will try to add only one more thing -- make your backing maneuvers a very slow process and make only very small corrections as needed.

You'll really appreciate that you're towing a fifthwheel when you are towing in a heavy, gusty wind and pass a rest area and see all the travel trailers waiting for the wind to die down.

Keep in mind that most FWs are actually longer than their model number would indicate. But bigger is not necessarily tougher to handle, it just means you wait a little longer before moving back out of the passing lane, you move a little farther forward before starting to back into your campsite, etc.

All that advice about finding a large place to practice backing is excellent advice. This is maybe one of the best things you can do for youself, just to get the feel for how the trailer will react to your inputs, both with small "corrections" and large ones and at different speeds. But never forget that you'll still screw it up occasionally. At least I do. And also your screwups will always be when someone is watching, never when you're alone.

[rames14]

Kevin -

Feel like I'm piling on, but we switched from a 27' TT last year to a 3400 Montana. You couldn't pay me to go back. We almost lost the TT last year with bike rack on the back, downhill, cross wind and trucks going by. Anytime a truck or SUV went by, had to grab the wheel and hold on. Don't have that problem with the 5er. It tracks nice, is much better in the wind and doesn't have the tendency to move around when vehicles are passing you. You won't be disappointed.