recumbent615
Founding MA Chapter Leader-retired
And three rights make a Left too!
Trailer length..hard to get use too
- Thread starter wingfoot
- Start date
Swing out is impossible to see in mirror , In tight turn (campground) go slow and have a spotter. I clipped a tree in a swingout when I thought I was way past it.Slight damage,but neverless I would like to come up with some type of side view camera,Any ideas ? Maybe about halfway positioned on sides?
My first rig ( 2 years ago) was 35' and the new one is 40' and except for turns there is no difference between the two when towing. I sat in on a driving course recently for motor homes and whilst the "rules" discussed were not directly relevant to fifth wheel towing it did get me thinking about developing some rules of my own regarding turn clearances. One is that when turning, you start your turn at a particular point of forward movement (especially for right hand turns) and for me that means starting the turn when the back axle of the truck hits the peak of the corner.
It will probably vary for different rigs but if you know where this point is it become very easy to determine when you are going to clear a corner. One thing to be aware of though is that some corners are cambered (or sloped) which means the roof of your rig may be closer to the hazards of the corner than your trailer wheels so if there is a pole right on the corner or a tree in a campground for example, you need to be aware of the the high and low hazards. This also applies when parking on the street. The camber of the road often results in the roof overhanging the curb so if there are trees or poles right on the curb you could hit them if you are trying to get the wheels as close to the curb as possible.When backing into a site the longer rig will also turn later than a shorter rig so you will need to get used to how far past the edge of the site you need to pull before you start your backing.
It may also sound counter-intuitive but when backing into a site you want to start as close to the side of the road that the site is on as possible, not the other side, as your truck is going to need as much room as possible on the other side to swing wide in the backing turn.These are the lessons of just two seasons camping, 11k miles towing and countless campgrounds and hope they help.
Cheers
Craig
It will probably vary for different rigs but if you know where this point is it become very easy to determine when you are going to clear a corner. One thing to be aware of though is that some corners are cambered (or sloped) which means the roof of your rig may be closer to the hazards of the corner than your trailer wheels so if there is a pole right on the corner or a tree in a campground for example, you need to be aware of the the high and low hazards. This also applies when parking on the street. The camber of the road often results in the roof overhanging the curb so if there are trees or poles right on the curb you could hit them if you are trying to get the wheels as close to the curb as possible.When backing into a site the longer rig will also turn later than a shorter rig so you will need to get used to how far past the edge of the site you need to pull before you start your backing.
It may also sound counter-intuitive but when backing into a site you want to start as close to the side of the road that the site is on as possible, not the other side, as your truck is going to need as much room as possible on the other side to swing wide in the backing turn.These are the lessons of just two seasons camping, 11k miles towing and countless campgrounds and hope they help.
Cheers
Craig
Last edited:
santafesoul
Member
Kind of disagree, 3 turns may save time, it seems to me that it is easier to watch the mirrors in a left turn than a right turn. Not meant to be argumentative just MHO. When I drive my truck, the 5er is back there even if pretend. Want to make that a habit when driving.
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