fulltimedaniel
US Canada and Mexico
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RCMAN46 wrote:A travel trailer is inherently unstable.
If a travel trailer was inherently stable then sway control equipment should not be necessary.
A 5th wheel is inherently stable as there is no sway control needed or available as far I know.
I am curious why you say that a travel trailer is "inherently" unstable. This is just not the case. And there is absolutely no proof or data that supports that contention.
There is NO NECESSITY for sway control...read my previous post. Sway is a function of driving, how it is towed and loaded. There is nothing "inherent" about that.
If what you say was true they certainly would not have lasted this long and continue to be more popular (by sales numbers) than 5th wheels.
There just is NO evidence for such a claim.
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IBcarguy
Northern CA
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I just bought a new 37' 5er. My previous rig was a 32' bumper pull, both were pulled with my 2013 GMC 2500HD Duramax. The truck has plenty of towing power for either. The new 5th wheel is awesome, we love the lay out over the TT. My only problem is that the new rig doesn't tow nearly as well as the trailer did. This week was our first time out and the "chucking" of the FW was terrible. When you hit a bump or dip in the road it sets up a forward and backward jerking motion that is very uncomfortable and unnerving. From what I've read, it's very common for FW rigs and it's a trial and error process to improve the condition. Also most remedies are expensive and may not even help. I'm not very happy and almost wish I had my bumper pull trailer back.
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Lantley
Ellicott City, Maryland
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fulltimedaniel wrote:RCMAN46 wrote:A travel trailer is inherently unstable.
If a travel trailer was inherently stable then sway control equipment should not be necessary.
A 5th wheel is inherently stable as there is no sway control needed or available as far I know.
I am curious why you say that a travel trailer is "inherently" unstable. This is just not the case. And there is absolutely no proof or data that supports that contention.
There is NO NECESSITY for sway control...read my previous post. Sway is a function of driving, how it is towed and loaded. There is nothing "inherent" about that.
If what you say was true they certainly would not have lasted this long and continue to be more popular (by sales numbers) than 5th wheels.
There just is NO evidence for such a claim.
I wouldn't say they are inherently unstable. However they require a bit more set up to dial them in vs. a 5'er.
TW weight needs to be determined and balanced somewhat. WD hitches need to be set up and adjusted with a TT.
However a 5'er generally works right out of the box. As long as the fiver fits in terms of bed rail clearance you are usually good to go.
There is generally less tinkering to be done.
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dodge guy
Bartlett IL
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Ide like to see how stable a 5`er would be with 10% TW!
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horton333
Autora (Ontario)
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rhagfo wrote:
While the Hensley is a great design and works well, it has its limits, once the angle between the TV and trailer gets past a certain point the virtual pivot point starts moving back quickly. Weigh a fiver that point never moves.
I posted a link on where to find information on how the Hensley works in an earlier post. You should check that out to learn how they work. The effective pivot point change is fixed by the geometry and it only changes if the tow vehicle or trailer dimensions change.
The heavier weight on the 5th wheel is not all down low as you state, the center of mass is significantly higher than the TT and more importantly the connection to the truck is significantly higher. That is just the weight, not including the much higher wind loads on the 5th wheel I was describing. If you pay enough money extra on a tougher truck, as you must to handle the 5th wheel extra weight, it compensates some but it's still working harder to maintain stability.
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horton333
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dodge guy wrote:Ide like to see how stable a 5`er would be with 10% TW!
Bingo eh. The manufacturers know that 5th wheels are less stable, hence the recommended doubling of the transfered weight to help compensate.
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DallasSteve
Texas
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horton333 wrote:DallasSteve wrote:I'm getting a lot of thoughtful, interesting replies. Thank you.
Horton, you said the Hensley hitch puts the pivot point further forward than a 5th wheel. How can that be? I looked at a photo of the hitch and it doesn't look significantly different than other WD hitches, to my untrained eye. I was trying to price it and it looks like the one for big trailers is around $3,000. Is that correct?
It moves the *effective* pivot point ahead. It does that with a sloppy coupling that moves side to side which changes the angle of the connection.
Horton
Thanks for the response. Your comment about the coupling moving side-to-side was enough for me to catch on to what they are doing and how it can move the effective pivot point further forward. That's an interesting concept. I think if I choose a bumper pull I would start out with a simpler hitch, but if I'm not satisfied with the way it pulls I might invest the extra money for a Horton.
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Goostoff
Wisconsin
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If a bumper hitch was more stable I would think the trucking industry would have adapted to it decades ago. I mean a 53 foot van trailer that is 13 feet tall has just got to be crazy unstable right?
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dodge guy
Bartlett IL
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Goostoff wrote:If a bumper hitch was more stable I would think the trucking industry would have adapted to it decades ago. I mean a 53 foot van trailer that is 13 feet tall has just got to be crazy unstable right?
One of the reasons they do it is because it allows for more cargo in a 65foot length, the max allowed on US highways. if they were bumper pulls the trailers would be about 10 feet shorter.
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horton333
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Goostoff wrote:If a bumper hitch was more stable I would think the trucking industry would have adapted to it decades ago. I mean a 53 foot van trailer that is 13 feet tall has just got to be crazy unstable right?
The trucks carry very heavy weight, like many 5th wheels, that requires the direct loading over the wheels. Same reason why trucks have more tires supporting that weight, as do many pickup trucks pulling 5th wheels, for weight carry ability not for more stability.
Also with pup trucks the second trailer is not directly mounted over the wheels (they have to have very long tongues to limit the weight transfer forward, which contributes to the regulatory length concerns)
* This post was
edited 04/03/17 06:59am by horton333 *
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