JeffPritchard
San Diego California
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So far in the ten years I've been RV'ing I've tended towards short rigs for practicality reasons.
I don't use a rig for going from one "pull through" RV park to the next or nascar rally's or the like...for me it is national park/state park/national forest as a destination. Along the way it is mostly boondocking in rest areas and other places that truckers spend the night, so I'm not so worried about that aspect.
I do like being able to pull the rig into a large store parking lot without too much difficulty and without pissing off the "normal" people there. Also, having towed an F-150 (4 down with a tow bar -- yes, the toad was as big as the TV) behind the class A for awhile, I am concerned about the anxiety and nuisance involved in getting into and out of gas stations. Though admittedly much more maneuverable, a 5th wheel rig is similar in length to the class-A plus towed truck contraption that I did not enjoy driving.
My first rig was a small TC. Second was a 26 foot Class A. Third and current is a BIG TC (Lance 1191). I like the fact that with each of these rigs I could fit just about anywhere that a full sized truck would fit. Places like the "back 40" of a grocery store parking lot were no problem. These rigs all fit in a space roughly described as a group of 4 normal parking spaces (two deep, two wide). They are easily driven through such a parking lot to get to such a place. These rigs also all find/found their way into just about any gas station lot, not just the ones designed for RV's. They also all fit in the dinky spaces common to state and national park campgrounds.
Now I'm planning for a bit of a change of life as I contemplate semi-retirement. Switching over from trips that are typically less than a week to trips that might well span a month or more. May also be full-timing in the rig while I build a house. I'm thinking I will want a bigger rig...but I'm scared I will frequently find myself ticked off by the loss of the above-described park-ability and maneuverability of a fiver.
I would like to get the thoughts and experiences of those on this forum. Especially others who have moved up in size from a TC or class C sized rig up to a small, medium, or large 5th wheel. Especially others who's destinations are similar rather than the RV-park folks. Would like to hear about how the practicality issues are with each size class of 5th wheel.
Does the length of it matter as much as I've imagined? Is even a short 5th-wheel/truck combo so long that it takes on all of the same characteristics of park-ability and maneuverability as a 50 foot triple axle land-yacht? The bigger 5th-wheel rigs would pretty much be relegated to pull through spots at RV parks and anyplace that an 18 wheeler would go, right? Is that nearly as true for the shorter 5th wheels?
Thanks much for your insights and opinions.
jp
Jeff Pritchard in San Diego
2008 Lance 1191 on 2008 F-350 DRW 4X4
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RPFAN
Poughkeepsie NY
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Joined: 04/02/2003
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We have a 40ft 5er. Would not go smaller no matter what.
The only thing we look for is that the CG has sites that fit us. If not, we look elsewhere. Most of our stops are planned. I try not to make a habbit of stopping at Wallmarts ect. for safty reasons. If I were in a MH and there were to be a problem, I could get to the driver seat and drive away. Not so much in a 5th or TT. Personal pref.
I like the room our 5er gives us. It tows great. It all comes down to personal pref. Good luck with your choice.
Rich
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fishingbob61
cookevill tn
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We have a 36ft 5er and toe it with a 3500 chevy crew cab 4/4 57ft overall length and have no broblems with fuel stations, have to watch canopies, we are 13.3 tall, we back into camp sites most of the time with no problems. We lived in it full time foe a year,worked great.
Bob and Sue
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NC Hauler
Asheville NC
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Ditto on the above..We have a CC/LB/Dually towing sig. 5er which is 39'9"...just the wife and I and the two dogs..really nice size if you get "rained in for a week or so"...Lots of room for the grankids should one or two want to tag along...If a campground can't accomodate our size, we just go else where, no big deal, Lots and Lots of campgrounds that offer all the amenities and lots of room with back in's, pull throughs, etc....wouldn't go any shorter, especially if I were going to be camping more....
Jim & Kathy
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The Weekenders
Harvey, North Dakota
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I agree with the other posts. Our Montana is 38' long and we would never go smaller after starting with a 28'. We look for parks that can fit in and so far so good. JMO
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skylos
Issaquah, WA
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I hope you realize that the maneuverability of a vehicle is based on its steering articulation and its steering center to rear axle length.
A fifth wheel has the axles almost in the middle, making even a 40 foot fifth wheel have a kingpin-to-rear-axle length of only about 25 feet.
The steering articulation of a trailer is based on the articulation available in which the vehicle can be maneuvered - on a properly configured tow vehicle, you can get slightly more than 180 degrees of articulation.
This means you can full-u-turn a 40 foot fifth wheel in a 30 foot wide street, provided you have another 15-20 feet of non-obstructed clearance available beyond the curb to swing the tail. (like over a sidewalk or something). (for those that want to be technical - YES, you do have to get the tug rotated 90 degrees *before* attempting this maneuver - and use those extra degrees beyond 90 for true success)
To compare, a 50 foot triple axle motor home has a steering articulation at lock - of only 45-50 degrees at best. On top of its wheelbase of a good 25 feet, you're not going to find yourself doing less than a 20 point turn on that theoretical 30 foot wide street.
So no, fifth wheel rigs are not relegated to pull through spots - with a little mental spacial mapping, low gears, and tug-operations strategy, you'll find you can lever that monster trailer around remarkably sharp corners and into place where a full sized coach would be helpless.
I wonder if I should teach a class on how to maneuver large trailers...
Skylos
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JeffPritchard
San Diego California
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Hmmmn, so far I'm nervous. Everybody that has posted is willing to compromise on what "parks" they go to. I hate that idea. I don't want my rig to force my decision about where I camp. (within reason).
As mentioned in my (longish) post, my preference is for "not a KOA" sort of place, but rather in less "posh" places. Most of them were "designed" and built back when 30 feet was a big RV.
Should I stop thinking 5th-wheel?
thanks,
jp
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JeffPritchard
San Diego California
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Skylos,
Thanks much. "Getting through there" isn't the whole equation though. What about parking it in various places. One good example is a Wally world or super-market parking lot. With a 30 foot 5-er, can you jacknife the whole rig into a few spots in the "back 40" and not create a problem for the other patrons?
Or is one stuck with limiting (severely) where they can go and where they can put the rig for some time? Life is all about compromise, but I'm just trying to figure out what the compromises are with this kind of a rig vs. the ones I'm used to. I could compromise on comfort, and go anywhere I want, or compromise on where I go...and be more comfortable.
Just trying to figure out the parameters for that based on other folks experience. So Skylos had some useful info with regard to getting into and out of and through places...but what about parking it? Is there some specific length of 5th wheel that all of a sudden finds itself not fitting in lots of places that a shorter one will?
thanks,
jp
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jjwms
Nampa, ID
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We fulltimed for ten years in a fifth wheel. The first six were in a 32' and we only found a few sites we could not get into. Granted we did not always get into a Forest Service cg because of small sites but there were only a few where we had to skip. Most of the time the FS parks understate the length of the sites and in almost all that said no slides there were no problems using our slide.
As for boondocking, we NEVER had a problem finding a place we could stay and we did a lot of true boondocking. We never in the 10 years stayed overnight in a Walmart lot but did stop a couple of times in a truck stop.
IMHO you worrying about a problem that isn't a problem.
Fulltime RVer May 1997-June 2007
2003 HitchHiker Champagne 33LKTG
2007 Ford F350 Lariat CC w/Tow Boss
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wild bill
Mira Loma, Ca. USA
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Doesn't sound like you will fit where you want to go unless you go to the open deserts a lot......My 39' toyhauler will not get into the small places in most national parks....but it works fine in the desert or Glass Creek area near Mamouth....Personally I wouldn't trade the room and my grage for a shorter rig.
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