Camper ray Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 Hello. Question we are in the process of buying a 40 foot 5th wheel. My question is in order to get it into my yard I will need to back in from the road. My driveway is about a 7.5 grade. Some people have said the 5er could hit the bed rails when doing this. Others have said it won't be a issue. I currently back a 35 foot 8th up and she does not hit at all but is very close if I catch it on the wrong angle. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobi and Dick McKee Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 Unless you go from 0 to 8% abruptly it shouldn't be a problem. The truck and trailer should be at the same angle once the rear wheels hit the grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skp51443 Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 The combination of a sharp change in grade and the bed/trailer clearance reduction that causes are going to be the issues. Depending on just how the new trailer is built you may end up having more space to work with on it than the shorter fiver. If the clearance is really close while making the transition you can raise the hitch one step or lower the pinbox one step and gain an inch or two more bed/trailer clearance. That is a lot of work so you'd do it once and leave it unless it put the fiver too much off-level and you had to go back to the original locations. Another option that keeps the trailer level is to get an air ride hitch and just fill the air bags before you back in, depending on your hitch that should see 2 to 4 inches additional clearance. This is the least aggravation and brings many other benefits it just is a bit expensive so it is worth considering. Third option is to fill in the steepest part of the transition, either a permanent fix by re-grading the area or a temp fix using some ramps. The ramps are going to be heavy and awkward not to mention how aggravating it will be to get them placed just right and the fiver lined up on them but that is the best you can do if re-grading isn't an option. First rule of computer consulting: Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day. Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camper ray Posted March 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 It is a abrupt grade. It goes from street level then the grade starts right from the road. So at first the 5th will be going up and the truck will still be level. So I guess this may potentially be a problem? I have seen steeper grades in and out of shopping plazas. But I think the problem may be that I am backing up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skp51443 Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 Actually for many fivers backing will be less of a problem than going forward! Going forward over an (up) transition the rear of the bed and the bottom of the gooseneck on the fiver are what is going to come into contact. When backing it will be contact between the center part of the bed rails and the front edge of the gooseneck. So unless you have a lot of overhang ahead of the hitch's pivot point the contact issue, at the same angle will be at the rear of the bed rails when transitioning up. This can be frustrating to visualize but a couple paper cutouts one for the truck and one for the fiver can let you move them through the various possibilities and see just what the issues will be. ----- With what you have described there is another issue to consider, as you back in the rear of the fiver may well hit the driveway as it rises, while the fiver's wheels are still on the level road. Raising the front of the fiver to gain clearance for the gooseneck and bed rails will make the ground clearance at the rear of the fiver more of an issue. Worst case you can end up with the fiver resting on the rear edge of the fiver (or drag wheels if you have them) and the hitch with very little or no weight supported by the fiver's axles. In that situation about the only option is the ramp one, to lessen the transition and start the rear of the fiver rising before it impacts the driveway surface. First rule of computer consulting: Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day. Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalkie Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 We have bit steeper parking spot (I think about 10% although I have never measured) and I do have to be cautious until the rear axle starts up. I usually end up with a rear hitch (on the fiver) full of pea gravel. I have to take the bike rack off before backing into the parking spot. I usually use 4-low as gives me better control when backing up the hill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camper ray Posted March 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 Thanks guy's. I'm supposed to pick it up Thursday. I will let you know if I end up camping in the street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyretired Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 The air ride hitch Stan mentioned would help by lowering the front until the 5er axle starts up the hill and then raise the front to provide more truck clearance. Randy 2001 Volvo VNL 42 Cummins ISX Autoshift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k4rs Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 In addition to the issue of angles, you may have transmission issues as well. My truck pulls very well going forward, but has very little torque in reverse. I did some serious damage trying to back up a steep grade several years ago. Good luck... Safe Travels... Roger, K4RS and Toni, K1TS Amateur Radio Operators - Motorcycle Riders (Harley Davidson Tri-Glide Ultra) Fulltime from 2003-2016 - Now longtime RVers On the road, living the dream... Ford F-250 Super Duty 7.3 liter diesel and Forest River XLR Toyhauler. Position report via amateur radio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KodiakJack Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 Not specifically related but... I watched the site work for a large water tank that was to be placed high on a hill side. The dump trucks were unable to back up the steep access road and they couldn't turn around on site if they drove up forward. So I got to watch a hundred or more truck loads being pulled up the hill backwards with a bulldozer. Just thinking out loud. Later, J 2012 Landmark, San Antonio 2013 Silverado CC, 3500HD, Duramax, DRW, 4x4 Backup, side and hitch cameras, Tireminder TPMS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobsue2 Posted March 29, 2016 Report Share Posted March 29, 2016 To get a rough idea on clearances...use a 4' level to determine your driveway slope (may want to take several measurements and average) followed by a few of your trailer dimensions and you should be able to set up some guidelines...I threw together a quick sketch depicting the main points of concern...in Fig 1 anything over 17% and the back of your trailer will hit....bedrail will collide with trailer if you exceed 25%.....hope it helps...GL Cedar Creek 38FB2 '12 Mega Cab 4x4 19.5 Cooper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camper ray Posted April 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 When to pick up the new fifthwheel yesterday however after demo still had a couple of things to work out. We were able to hook her up and we have about 6 inches of clearance between the bed rails and the overhang. The unit has an extended pin box and we have the slider hitch so hopefully we should have enough clearance to back it up the driveway. Still hopeful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camper ray Posted April 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 content://media/external/file/9549 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camper ray Posted April 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 Was trying to add a photo but can't figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skp51443 Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 You can upload a few small files to the forum but it is usually less aggravation to use a photobucket.com account. Try this: http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showtopic=122572#entry835606 or for the upload option switch and use the full edit mode on the post. First rule of computer consulting: Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day. Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirakawa Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 It seems like that if you have an extended pin box which extends the hitch point to in front of the trailer, you would get more clearance between the truck bed and the trailer when you back up a hill. Everybody wanna hear the truth, but everybody tell a lie. Everybody wanna go to Heaven, but nobody want to die. Albert King Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camper ray Posted April 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 https://goo.gl/photos/YJys57xpn7CcPf318 Thanks Stanley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skp51443 Posted April 2, 2016 Report Share Posted April 2, 2016 Oh! Wow! I tried the "open image in new tab trick for the Google images and didn't get a URL the forum would accept. I had to add some line breaks to the link to get it to fit on the forum... https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Gn_fn_Arp-BL-zw7E2KbRMse6-wUKUB7H54VBxxikRf9iXbZ_ eZtqAoZUeYoiN477uv-Dbf9Hk2Uyd3KuNZcn-h5S_GNcG499W-hv8HZqgWxByUFWnrWQVmC64u4n28JCuL2JCFtbplsQlcFD9H_ luLmniRzCFAANVMZ_3ezZMj_9lYIxBURrZgXNFa-m7aVx0U9glOGM2WOnzE_TMA_D_ 2SKMLr6iHTfWPMzpfIHotSeNgemLSkaNhCHnIPVHEccRFyC_UXj5iPnyxtype_ -SmAC4k4gXiDSUy3jRTrlF3XW0Iw1vvo2SiZa6C2FKBEakIva14A4Mz2YvXM0od65XK4tgWwAphRY7PisNtZ69Aub1f14QXjmm7XPr7f7_ yhWUJqHP3JmJavZyG84R9k32YGmO6WQYjzS6DRr8rBx-FuhcJGbnQ0t1vWKXC1TLERGR2ea4HwL5BpRDjo3zK6jRp6JGUwBkZJKBIQhCU A5LA8vvlpFoZTrlb2t_XIAhFYLcbRIW8X3QKERY7MDv5OtDg2rROJKPmu3o5hvmgyaOUiYA1sqYsJpM_GFM8Qg6LKUhwr=w1443-h812-no Trying to use it (without the line breaks added) in a picture link got me the forum warning "You are not allowed to use that image extension on this community." so this may not work. Edit, nope wouldn't work even though it shows in the preview. First rule of computer consulting: Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day. Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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