Towing tips


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Sean Woodruff

New Member
Re: Towing tips

Grandview Trailer Sa - 1/16/2008 11:18 PM



Good luck with your new company, we will wait and see what your new product does for towing and what it costs.

Don't get mad, but I will always feel the 5th wheel tows better. I have towed literally thousands of trailers over the last 33 years. When you get the weight on top of the frame, there is no comparison. In my opinion, the only drawback to a Fifth Wheel is the fact you have to have a Pick Up.

To be fair, I have not used the Hensley.
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Thanks, Kenneth.

That doesn't upset me at all. There are many different products for many different people.

I will be manufacturing a 5th wheel hitch by the end of this year. Give me a call some time. I need a good dealer in Virginia.

As for never towing with a pivot point projection hitch, you'd be surprised at the stability. It's hard to understand without experiencing it.
 
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PattieAM

New Member
Re: Towing tips

Sean, welcome to the forum and thank you for your contributions (now and future). While I'm not in the market for a travel trailer or 5th wheel (quite satisfied with my pop up camper), I enjoy reading everyones questions and especially enjoy knowledgeable answers. I love getting an education on the forums!

Again, welcome and thank you for your input.
 
C Nash

C Nash

Senior Member
Re: Towing tips

Glad to have you aboard Sean. Just remember if you don't behave we will send DL and his Dogde by your place to lay the fumes on. It's been reported that the state of Flordia has banned him from NASA :eek: ;) and he can't crank the Dogde until he crosses the state line. Will be looking forward to the introduction of your new hitch and good luck with the new company. I think the 5th wheel handles better also but like Ken I have never used the Hensley but have talked to those that swear by them. Never had a problem towing a TT myself but usually had the correct tow vehicle other than the time we purchased a 31 ft Airstream and only had a S10 Blazer. Did tow the Airstream 12 miles to camp but bought another truck before bringing home. See we all have made some TERRIBLE decisions when wanting to go camping bad. :laugh:
 
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Sean Woodruff

New Member
Re: Towing tips

Thank you for the warm welcomes, PattieAM and C Nash. :)


Pattie, considering your enjoyment of education, I added a quote in the quote section for you.
 
H2H1

H2H1

Senior Member
Re: Towing tips

welcome again Sean, see you have made some good friends here already. I had a TT and used some type of hitch, but wasn't pulling it for so it worked out for me . Now I have MH so I can't be of any help to you. I will read all I can about your product and get my education on it and value it as I go. Good luck to you on your new company and stay with us.
 
TexasClodhopper

TexasClodhopper

Senior Member
Re: Towing tips

Ok, since this is confession time, yes, I was a rookie. No, no, it's alright. I'm over it now, but thanks for the consolation. I'm good.

Oh, in about nineteen and eighty two, we went in partners with some good friends on an 18 ft. TT. At the time our son was a couple years old, and we had one of the new V6 station wagons that GM was puttin' out. Our friends had a 1/2 ton truck.

Lou was the kind of guy that we have on this forum now. All out. If the TT needed an equalizer hitch, he got one. My wagon had no hitch, so I went and got one, but just a hitch. "We're only going an hour and a half up the road!", I says.

Ya know everything might have been OK, except that Sallyberetta was doing the packin' and pointin'. "We might need this. We might need that." You know what I'm talking about.

Once we left, I barely made it back to my driveway after a two block excursion! I almost decided to go into the TT and drive from there, because it was really pushing that station wagon around.

Well, Lou had to come over and bail us out so we could have our week's vacation. After he walked around my setup (shaking his head all the while), he hooked up that truck with the correct hitch, and we followed him up to the campground. (We were still draggin' tail, because Sallyberetta had more time to pack the station wagon, too! :clown: )
 
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nomadmom

New Member
Re: Towing tips

If I'm every feeling the blues, I just pop in here and check out one of your creative and crazy posts, Tex, and I'm over it. You should really consider putting some of these anctedotes down in a book and getting it published. :bleh:

This is going to sound like a totally stupid question, but I have to ask it because I really have no idea. We are still considering a 5er vs. a TT and looking into the good hitch to prevent sway if we go into a TT. A TT may actually allow us to buy less "truck" than a 5er which would work out considerably for our budget goals. Plus, as DL mentioned we are only planning to use it mainly as weekenders to get away with only one extended trip per year. So, drum roll please.......

Everyone is saying hitching a TT is much harder, but no one is saying exactly how or in what way. I need to know what exactly is involved and why it is considered so much harder. I have never hitched one or seen one hitched and I know when I take these brochures to the dealer or RV show they are going to tell me anything to make the sale and get me out of there with their product. We may be up for it, or we may find ourselves in the middle of a situation that is just a pain in the butt. So I thought I would ask, just what exactly is involved in hitching a TT? I know about the 5er because I have seen a video on GoRving.com once.

Ok, thank you for patronizing me,

Heather
 
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Sean Woodruff

New Member
Re: Towing tips

Heather, in my opinion, I believe people say it is harder just because they can't see the hitch out the back window. With a 5ver you can look right out the back window and see the king pin go into the hitch.

Still, that said, you can master hooking the TT up and it really isn't that hard to do. Check out this video I did on YouTube and you'll see a neat little accessory I carry for hitching up.
 
C Nash

C Nash

Senior Member
Re: Towing tips

Heather, I have owned both and I will say the 5th wheel is easier but that does not mean the TT is hard. Neither is a problem IMO.
 
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hertig

Senior Member
Re: Towing tips

The problem with the TT is that you can't see either the hitch or the trailer tounge. Further more, you have to get the ball under the trailer tounge without any contact. There are techniques and gadgets to help out, and like everything else, experiance makes it easier. With a fifth wheel, you can see the pin and the hitch, and just back it up until it clunks. Most people can do it the first try with minimal coaching. Elevation is the only thing at all tricky about it.

The fifth wheel 'pulls better' because the geometry is more stable. TTs tend to be more of a problem because the geometry is less stable. This can be mostly overcome by the appropriate hitch, correctly set up.
 
C Nash

C Nash

Senior Member
Re: Towing tips

The type or make of the rv whether it be a fiver or TT also makes a difference. The Airstream tts that I have owned towed as well as the fiver I owned. Also a down side to a 5th wheel is I have seen a lot of damaged tr beds where the driver pulled from under them w/o the landing gear down , failed to lower the tailgate or forgot to loct the 5th wheel hitch and pulled off. All this is operator error but it happens as you could also forget to lock the hitch on a tt. I still would recomend the 5th wheel but thats JMO. The final decision will have to be what you think you will be confortable with.
 
Grandview Trailer Sa

Grandview Trailer Sa

Senior Member
Re: Towing tips

I like that camera idea, but I want one that is hardwired and permanently mounted. Don't want to fool with batteries, recharging, etc. Also, while you are trying to hold that monitor and back up, you might hit something you don't want to.

Saw a TV camera in a license plate bracket the other day. When you put truck in reverse, the image came up in dash mounted screen. Great for TT's.
 
DL Rupper

DL Rupper

Senior Member
Re: Towing tips

I really like the 5er hitch better because I have a reg cab pickup and I just look in the rear view mirror and align the hitch and king pin as I'm backing. Can't do that with an extended cab pickup. When I look over my shoulder I usually miss proper alignment by about 3 inches. Must be my arthritis or something to due with dominant eye. Maybe when I'm looking over my shoulder I get a better whiff of the GOOD smelling Dodge diesel fumes and the steering gets erratic.
 
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Sean Woodruff

New Member
Re: Towing tips

When it comes right down to it, using the mirrors is a lost art. Or, maybe an art that was never picked up. With the rear view mirror and both towing mirrors, lining everything up for hitching can be done pretty easily with a little practice. It's a good idea to look in your mirrors and get some reference points when you are hooked up and sitting in the driver's seat. Take note of the amount of trailer you have in each side mirror and reference a point on your tow vehicle with a point on your trailer. These reference points make it a lot easier to hitch up.
 
Grandview Trailer Sa

Grandview Trailer Sa

Senior Member
Re: Towing tips



Really not trying to beat up on Sean, but I just went to e-bay and found what I want for $49.99+14.99 shipping. Hardwired system with camera mounted in license plate bracket and monitor on dash. They had some that monitor clipped over rear view mirror that cost more, but all were under $200.00.

Made one mistake above, the $49.99 model is wireless between camera and monitor.
 
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Sean Woodruff

New Member
Re: Towing tips

I don't take it that way at all, Ken. No problem. As we all know, there are different price points for every product category out there. I just happen to come from the school of thought that says, "You get what you pay for." I've had that proven to me too many times in my life to not be from that school. That isn't saying that other people don't come from another school of thought about price and value. As a businessman my whole philosophy is to offer the best performing products that I know of. Sometimes someone comes out with something better for less money. I'm all ears (ok, no comments about my picture). :laugh:
 
Grandview Trailer Sa

Grandview Trailer Sa

Senior Member
Re: Towing tips

I also agree that you get what you pay for. I sell trailers of different qualities and yes you pay for the better quality. I also don't want to overpay either!
 
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Sean Woodruff

New Member
Re: Towing tips

Grandview Trailer Sa - 1/19/2008 11:46 AM

I also agree that you get what you pay for. I sell trailers of different qualities and yes you pay for the better quality. I also don't want to overpay either!
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I knew you understood that. I was a SunnyBrook dealer in the early 2000s. They weren't called Titans when I sold them.
 
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