INSTRUCTOR: Steve Koehn
Difference between travel trailer (trailer) and fifth wheel (fiver). Trailer has three pivot points, which is what invites trailer sway To overcome this, sway control devices are offered. These stiffen the connection between the trailer and tow vehicle. But sway control systems might need to be disabled in adverse conditions such as ice.
A fiver has only two pivot points, and as a consequence the "sway" is eliminated. The improved, safer, towing combination has resulted in increased popularity of fivers.
Hensley Arrow and PullRite are "uncommon" hitches. The eliminate the third pivot point by connecting underneath and just behind the tow vehicles rear axle. The result is a travel trailer which handles very much the way a fiver does. This package is a bit more expensive than standard hitch system, but offers significant towing advantages. It's also a safer solution for travel trailers.
In some circumstances the PullRite hitch might be a better towing solution than a comparable fifth wheel. Lower center of gravity, and lower silhouette.
This solution also improves the turning capability, since the pivot point is a bit further back than a conventional hitch.
This style hitch is made for many vans, Explorer, Suburban, etc -- so unlike a a fiver, you're not limited to just a pickup truck. Hensley Arrow has a similar product, but is considerably more expensive. However, it can be used with normal passenger cars, which is an advantage some RVers are looking for.
Fifth wheel hitches. Many choices. The one that "comes with" a purchase of a new fiver might not be what you really want. They are rated as to towing capacity by weight. It does not, of course, increase the towing capacity of the truck. Buyers often focus almost exclusively on the fifth wheel and tow vehicle, and don't give much thought to what fifth wheel hitch will work best for them.
Last few years the "side to side tilt" hitches were introduced. The side tilt makes it much easier to hitch and unhitch the trailer. Without the tilt feature, cornering can introduce considerable stress on a fixed hitch system.
Most fifth wheel hitches are made to be removeable from base rails, using pins. PullRite base rail is square, a half inch higher than Reese. Advantage is less slippage than Reese, but the disadvantage is a higher silhoutte.
Want at least 6" from top of truck bed to bottom of fiver, to allow for adequate clearance while driving. Some newer trucks have higher platform, but lower sides. A new category of "low silhoette" hitches respond to this.
Fifth wheel mounting brackets are intended to make sure the weight of the fiver is on the frame, and not the bed of the truck. PullRite brackets are slightly more expensive, but are made to bolt to existing holes in the frame. So installation costs can be less.
Short box hitches. RVers often want bigger, heavier trailers but shorter wheelbase trucks, which they like better when not towing. The response is the "slider hitch". The hitch is on rails. You can pull the pins, slide the hitch back, turn a sharp corner whle parking, and then put it back for highway driving. It's only used for low speed, sharp corners. Once you've accomplished the maneuver, you put the hitch back into the standard driving location. This is a solution, but it's not necessarily the easiest or handiest thing.
PullRite designed a "super glide" which accomplishes all this without having to stop, pull pins, etc. It also doesn't require any rails in the bed of the pickup, thus making the truck more useable when it's not being used for towing.