New Fifth Wheel

[DWeiler]

Ok fellow TDR members,i"ve been hauling a travel trailer around for the past 7 years and me and the Mrs traded it in this week for a 2008 30 ft Glendale Titanium fiver for our RV lot at the lake. Just want to know how much"SAFE" clearance should there be between the box and the front of the trailer and any more advice is more than welcome from the experience of the fifth wheel folks. PS--I have already put the stock wheel back on ---no 315/75/16 for towing as per my sig and will turn the smarty to way low. Thanks for the advice---DW

 

[RJOL]

Kind of depends on what type of roads you will be traveling on. If you primarily stick to paved roads you can get by with 5-6 inches. You might have to watch out when entering or leaving the road into a steep driveway or parking lot especially if it has a big curb to get over. If you are planning on back roads, or rough terrain, then I'd go for at least 7-8. " You don't say what type of truck you have (4X4, ect). The 4X4's are a lot higher off the ground and you will need to pay attention to keeping the trailer as level as possible when hitched. This could mean a "spring over" with the trailer axles, or adjustable height brackets on the trailer. HitchHikers come with this option and it allows you to adjust the trailer to three different heights.

 

[Dieselnerd]

I've got almost 8" with my HitchHiker and my 4x4 truck. I never get close to hitting the truck bed. My problem was the spare tire and hitch on the trailer would drag on steep drives. I ended up adding heavy duty casters on the rear of the trailer.

 

[RustyJC]

6" bed rail clearance is generally accepted as a safe minimum with 8" to 9" preferred if you're going to be in rough or uneven terrain - even pulling into gas stations with steep entrance/exit ramps.



Rusty

 

[ScottLewis]

Another factor is bed length. The short beds don't have quite as much vertical movement at the tailgate so you can fudge a little with them. Anything less than 6" means you need to watch it more closely. I was lucky with mine in that I had just over 6" without modifying either the truck or RV. I could gain another inch or more by running the RV more nose up while travelling by adjusting the hitch.



Dan

 

[DWeiler]

Thanks for the suggestions/advice. I just dropped my travel trailer of at the dealer tonight---said "goodbye to it", and left my truck there for the hitch install. Our new one is inside the shop having slide out toppers(3) installed as well as PDI. I pick the new one up on the 14th. Oh yes ----this new trailer comes with the Moride(i think that right) suspension system and from looking at the standup model in the showroom it looks like the leafs/suspension can be adjusted. Thanks again. DW

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

On our 5er, I had to make "adjustments" for proper bed clearance on the '02 truck (moved up from a '91) by switching 5er spring perches from below the axles, to the top. Regardless of the level roads that you THINK you will always be traveling on , you WILL ultimately be face with that serious unplanned one that then damages your 5er and truck - COUNT on it!



On my truck, when sitting on a level surface, I figure that at the minimum, I need enough room between the underside of the 5er and truck rail to easily get my head/shoulder between for decent access to items stored in the truck bed - this is about 8-9 inches or so - and so far, NO clearance issues, even over some pretty significant irregularities on road/off-road surfaces.

 

[DWeiler]

Thanks Gary---i"m learning ,i could set up my travel trailer in the dark no problem and always had a step by step hookup system/procedure memorized in my head that i followed faithfully. Throw that out the window and start over with a new unit=== new hookup and "NEW PROCEDURES". PS---Just want to be safe/cautious cause there is a guy up the street from me that reminds me every time i see his Dodge with the nice ripples in it from him either dropping or hitting his box with the fiver. :{ :{ :{ #@$%! #@$%! #@$%!

 

[DWeiler]

More of an update----just picked up my ride with the new hitch---trailer will not be ready for another 10 days due to parts for the slide-out covers. MAN is that hitch big ---new 24000lbs PullRite Super Glide automatic pivot hitch----it was part of the deal(went with the biggest in case i upgrade truck/trailer 10+ years from now),list was 2795. 00US from there website,got it for 1800. 00Can with install. Oh yes---they lined everything up with the box/hitch and new trailer and clearance will be minimum6-7 inches. Don't know if this is worth anything but the service manager and installers both said to me at different times that nothing leaves the shop with out the minimum clearance of 6 inches---if not enough they do a "spring over"

 

[plntmgr]

congrats on your new set up. You will have a great time in it. I have a 24E29 with an '03 3500 DRW 48RE with a 20K Pullrite. It might be overkill, but I have dry palms pulling a 7% grade at 60 MPH. To get more info on the rig, you might try http://titaniumrvowners.com and http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group for answers to your rig questions. Don (They were to be highlighted)

 

[DWeiler]

thanks--never knew about the site---i"ll check it outOo. Oo. Oo. DW

 

[MN Cummins Lvr]

DWeiler,



Just wanted to say congrats on the new 5'er. I have a 2002 24E29 and have had zero problems with it. I sometimes forget that it's back there when on a long trip:-laf it pulls that easy. Plntmgr, thanks for the links... I'll have to check those out too.



Paul

 

[DWeiler]

DWeiler,



Just wanted to say congrats on the new 5'er. I have a 2002 24E29 and have had zero problems with it. I sometimes forget that it's back there when on a long trip:-laf it pulls that easy. Plntmgr, thanks for the links... I'll have to check those out too.



Paul

Thanks,just came back from our RV lot today and took some measurements. I will have to do some mods to the older deck that housed our travel trailer,but nothing major. I hope i have a good quality unit like you and again thanks for the "compliment"