5th wheel Towing

[rbiggs]

Howdy, recently I got rid of my Winnie Minnie and purchased a 29' 5th wheel. My GCVW will be very close to 17,000 lbs. . This puts me at 1,000 lbs over what my vehicle is rated for. I'll be pulling it with 1997 Ram 2500. The current spec's on the truck are 4WD, 230 HP, 605 lbs of torque, recently replaced auto with BD valve assembly, new brakes, Spas gauges-boost/EGT/Trans. Temp. /Rear Diff. Temp. Mag-Hytec Rear Differential Cover, Timbren equalizers front and back, and a Valley 5th wheel hitch. The truck has 114,000 miles on it and runs really good. I'll be departing Wasilla, Alaska the day after Thanksgiving headed South permanently to Lousiville, KY. The route I have selected will be approximately 6500 miles one way. Needless to say I'm new at driving a 5th wheel. Does anybody have any suggestions or warnings concerning my upcoming adventure. Any help provided will be greatly appreciated. Biggalow

 

[BigMike]

Appears to me you're good to go. Make sure your tire pressures are right and you have good mirrors. Take it slow and easy. You won't even know that things behind you after the first couple of hundred miles. 17000 lbs doesn't seem like too much to me. My GCVW is 18000. I'm sure I could do more, but watch my weights pretty carefully.



Have a great trip. What a cultural change

 

[dodger22]

W-I-D-E TURNS, repeat after me W-I-D-E turns



Good luck and enjoy!



Richard

 

[klenger]

I got the 1-2-3-4-5-6 part down pretty well, but that R part is giving me fits. On top of that, I always seem to be alone when I am setting up.

 

[Forrest]

Watch out for low hanging branches The tall 5th wheels sit pretty high in the air. I've found that turning corners in campgrounds is a whole new experience. I learned to turn wide & look up at the same time. The same while backing in! Those motorized mirrors come in real handy.



I put a CB antenna mount on the drivers side of the 5'er, right up front. I put a short fiberglass antenna on it & beat it to death. It really made some cool noises though as it whacked those low hanging branches at speed.

 

[HEYBOSS]

all replies just about covered most of it.

Be Careful pulling into stations and low overhangs as previously mentioned, also if you have roof ac don't forget to account for it.

when thinking or trying to pull through any places try to think ahead, don't get in a situation you can't back out of.

Watch your speed specially with single rear wheels. Be careful of cross winds and trailers flying by you. Always make sure hitch is fully locked before take off, also make sure your trailer brakes are properly adjusted and that you not only can make good normal stops as well panic stops. The problem is not being able to pull it, it's a bigger problem stopping all that weight. Always keep your eyes way ahead and look for objects on the road as well

the brake lights so you have enough time to react.



Have a good trip and enjoy, it's all common sense.



Fred

 

[mvaughn]

5th Wheel

You will love towing the 5th Wheel. For my 2cents, just watch your down hill speed and turn W I D E. Have a safe trip.

 

[rbiggs]

Thank you for all the responses. I didn't mention in my initial message I have the 3. 54 rear end. From what I have garnered from multiple sources it's tolerable in the mountains and no problem on the flat lands, though the 4. 10 is better suited for towing. When I bought the rig, new, I purchased it for the purpose of commercial snow plowing. It had no problem blowing snow off the road going up 6 to 8% goat trails people called roads. It came with the snow plow package-Extra transmission cooler, Burned up tranmission lamp, and heavy duty transfer case. Any way I love my Cummins. If anybody can provide any more good information, fire away. Have a good one. Biggalow

 

[cwsoules]

The powers that be also suggest that you check your wheel lug nuts for tightness on your trailer often.



We found that there we so many things we wanted to do, and not to forget we developed checkoff lists. We have a truck list for departure and arrival and have four lists for the trailer one inside and one outside for arrival an one for departure.



Even if we do not disconnect the truck for an overnight stop we go thru the lists as appropriate. In this manner we discovered that the truck turnsignal had died and we had no lights whatsoever on the rear of the trailer. We might not have discoverd this until we had an accident or were stopped by the Highway Patrol.



Another thing I learned was that the trailer wheels turn inside the wheels of the truck. That is why you must have good mirrors so you can watch out and not hit something.



Chuck

 

[SnoKing]

Another thing to watch is kids like to pull your 5er release when you park for shopping or dinner. If you can padlock the release, do so when traveling. I like my Hijacker hitch, because when the lever goes it, you know it is locked. The lever is an extension of a plate that slides behind the pin, no hidden jaws to worry about being locked. SNOKING

 

[KennyM]

Just Remamber WIDE TURN. My wife still reminds me of the wide turn I missed over two years ago. 5th wheels tow so easy you forget they are behind you. You can ask the street sign I mowed over.

 

[Roger rodbolt]

Additional thoughts

Rbiggs,



I purchased an older Holiday Alumalite XL 28' fifth wheel last year to visit your great state, drove just over 11,000 miles (round trip) and had a great time. Loved the scenery in upper British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska.



This being your first fifth wheel make sure that it sits level with your truck and has plenty clearance between your bed rails and the camper overhang. Some RV dealers promote minimum clearance and a bent bed rail results. On my tall 4x4 I had to weld new spring perches and install the leaf springs atop the axles and still didn't have adequate bed clearance. A new set of taller tires and wheels gave me the extra 1 1/2" needed. The Alumalite was a much lighter trailer than yours but I was surprised that it had no shocks from the factory. Even though I intended to sell it as soon we finished our trip I did weld on a Monroe shock kit and after experiencing your frost heaves , was glad I did.







You'll have a great trip, after all traveling to the LOWER 48 should be down hill!! Please let us know you like the change from the Winnie.

 

[travelweary]

Also keep in mind that the airflow in your truck will actually lift items high enough to go over the tailgate and be sucked under the trailer. You'd be surprised at the just how heavy items will disappear. There are other threads on this subject if your interested. Just remember to secure most the things in the bed of the truck.

 

[Rambling]

Huggin'....

Wide turns when going around corners has been mentioned. With that in mind thre are possible risks on curving roads as well. Rule is to hug the outside of your lane when curving to the left and hug the line when curving to the right. Otherwise, as CWSoules mentioned about the wheels tracking to the inside when the truck turns, the 5'er wheels may cross or be real close to the line on a left hand curve crowding oncoming traffic or crowd a vehicle or have the trailer wheels go off the road on right hand curves.

 

[Loren]

Biggalow,



I can't believe that an exhaust brake is not listed among all those accessories, but if you have one, I didn't see it. You'll really appreciate one for the long downhill sections, especially out west where the downgrades go on forever.



I haven't towed west of the Mississippi for years, but crossing the Appalachians was exciting in my automatic without an e-brake. The next year we had one. The year after that we had a torque converter lock-up switch, although I understand that the upgraded valve bodies are a better solution.



I agree about the wide turns, as well as the high roof issues. Remember, your air conditioner or some other expensive item may be the highest point on your trailer. You don't want to bang it up.



If you don't have an exhaust brake yet, I'll bet you will within a year.



Happy towing.



Loren

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by rbiggs

I'll be departing Wasilla, Alaska the day after Thanksgiving headed South permanently to Lousiville, KY ... . Needless to say I'm new at driving a 5th wheel. Does anybody have any suggestions or warnings concerning my upcoming adventure. Any help provided will be greatly appreciated.



You're likely to encounter snow along that route. Watch out for slippery conditions when braking. In 1994 on I-40 at Clines Corners, NM we jacknifed on snow when the wind caught us. In hind sight, we were going too fast for the conditions, trying late in the day to get to a destination. In my experience since, involving considerable snow here in the Michgan Upper Peninsula, I've found that when normal braking doesn't work and a slide is in progress, engine braking can save the day. Also, I don't think it's ever possible to get the trailer's electric brakes exactly balanced with the truck's, so any hard braking can get one unit working against the momentum of the other, resulting in skids. So I now go REAL easy on snow and ice. Good luck. It 's certain to be an adventure.

 

[Ron Bissett]

You should check at every stop just before moving out the hitch for tampring ,and step in ,walk around . Clean plug in cord and put some type rubber band on cover after hook up to keep in place, remember the trailer has no brakes unhooked wheel chocks a must . Do not pull the wire lanyard to test brake away when plug is in from truck as it will fry controler ,pull cord then check brake away ,don't use brake away as a park brake as soon as battry charge is down no brake. If trailer is equiped with a slide and has slide locks use them some use retaining rods or lock levers . carry only a small amount of water in thanks saves fuel . Lots of luck on you trip. Ron in Louisville ky

 

[Happy Camper]

ALL GOOD SOUND ADVICE! One thing I found out the hard way is to make sure the wheels are chocked(sp) when you are hooking up. I tweeked a jack by not doing that and they are not cheap to replace. Happy trailering.