Never do a 90 degree angle

[Wrknrvr]

 Just my thoughts on having your truck at a really tight angle.

 If you have a fifth wheel. Treat it like a travel trailer. Never getting into a tight place that requires such maneuvering.

 We have been on the road full time for over 12 years and have never had it to 90 degrees.

 

 If you follow this thinking, your RV will have much less stain on it. Much less strain on your wallet probably.  

 

  We haul a jeep on a steep angle as in my avatar. If it gets to a 90 angle .   Well then I guess it will be time to do some fiberglass work. Yes it kissed one time. Yes did fiberglass work also.  My fault, first trip with the jeep load. When we left Florida, I, as in me did not have the jeep all the way forward. Nor did I have it tight.   Bad, bad Vern. Was making a u turn and let the clutch out just a tad too quick. 

 So yes it can be done. You just need to pay attention to where you are going.

 

 Stay safe,.  Vern

[sclord2002]

Vern, I think you gave some sound advise on not getting the rig into a 90 degree situation. I did get into a 90 degree... one time. The trailer was on gravel and someone was watching the clearances closely.  I was doing it solely to check clearances......everything cleared nicely on level ground but uneven terrain can eat up clearances quickly.  Trailer tires being pushed totally sideways dig quite a furrow and the trailer suspension does not like the stresses imposed on it......it's a good way to break or deform something.  Even the trailer suspension forces caused by a full-lock turn going forward, cause complaining from my trailer suspension.  I try not to have the angle between the truck and trailer any greater than it has to be but I like knowing a flat 90 degree angle won't crunch the Smart or the front of the trailer.  I had to do an alley dock procedure to get my S.C. class F license and it was painful to see the tires rolling over sideways and the axles shifting opposite each other due to the drag on the asphalt.  Keep her as straight as you can.       Charlie

[beyerjf]

It isn't just an RV that catches hell when you essentially move it sideways. We have to maneuver all sorts of trailers into place that requires that move, and I can watch the various components strain to the limit. The tires are sliding sideways, the suspension is taking loads in a direction not designed for, the frame is getting twisted. 

To be avoided if at all possible. And if it must be done try to anticipate how severe the stresses will be. 

[Dollytrolley]

58 minutes ago, Wrknrvr said:

 Just my thoughts on having your truck at a really tight angle.

 If you have a fifth wheel. Treat it like a travel trailer. Never getting into a tight place that requires such maneuvering.

 We have been on the road full time for over 12 years and have never had it to 90 degrees.

 

 If you follow this thinking, your RV will have much less stain on it. Much less strain on your wallet probably.  

 

  We haul a jeep on a steep angle as in my avatar. If it gets to a 90 angle .   Well then I guess it will be time to do some fiberglass work. Yes it kissed one time. Yes did fiberglass work also.  My fault, first trip with the jeep load. When we left Florida, I, as in me did not have the jeep all the way forward. Nor did I have it tight.   Bad, bad Vern. Was making a u turn and let the clutch out just a tad too quick. 

 So yes it can be done. You just need to pay attention to where you are going.

 

 Stay safe,.  Vern

Vern,

You bring up some good points and one more is the "interply-stress" on the tires....

Even the best RV tires can not hold a candle to a heavy duty truck tire...

Tire engineers HATE 90 degree turns and even the "best" RV suspension is junk compared to commercial truck suspension.

I have a fifth and receiver hitch both and mostly tow receiver that has the telescope long enough to turn 90 grees if needed but I refuse to do so....

I have two properties that have culdesac'$ and recently the city "improved" the storm drain on one of the culdesac'$ and guess what.....I have had about 3 inches clearance on the front trailer ladder for the last 50 turn around BUT with the tilt into the new storm drain the Trolley dinged the ladder hard.... I knew better but it's a geezer-thing......Dumb is my excuse.....

Drive on......(Dumb is......Dumb)

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

I've seen people jackknife all sorts of trailers trying their damnedest not to have to go around the block or admit that their wife or buddy was right.... 

Boat ramps are the best... people back down a snake trail to get to the water.... 

[phoenix2013]

In 42 years of RVing I did 90 degrees twice, once in my youth and early RVing when I parked in a college parking lot (college evaluation with our son) and dumb asses parked around me and boxed me in. I wasn't close and had an "exit plan" which they took away. Right then and there I learned that university education is not a guarantee that you will be taught common sense, or that the "professors" know how to teach common sense.

Second time I did it with the HDT. I turned around in a Truck Stop parking lot and did not realize that with that 50 degree cut on a Volvo getting to 90 and beyond is very easy. The result, the fifth and the drom box "met".

But generally, if I don't like what I see (the size or shape of the parking lot, the width of streets, the neighborhood where the GPS is sending me, etc.) I keep going straight. I've gone as much as 30 miles on rural roads, until I saw a "sufficient" spot or a parking lot to turn around.

[Steve from SoCal]

I have to do 90's to get my RV into the spot where it lives.    I water down the shop and brush in some dish soap.   The first time I noticed the tires about 30 degrees off the rim!!!!      The soapy water helps but it still pains me to do it.

 

Steve

[Wrknrvr]

 Now that soap idea is great. Never thought of that before

 

 now you got me thinking.

 Put some bentonite down with water. Heck you mite be able to push the trailer sideways with a few big men.

 

 But the soap is really a good thought.

 

 Safe Travels,.  Vern

[ARGO]

One of the big reasons I bought a trailer w/o triple axles. Yeah, mine still squirm, but not nearly as much, they are 16" wheels not tall ones. The other biggie is tolls here in the NE.

[Wrknrvr]

 Some people could something slippery on the body at times also.

Just could not resist.

 

 Vern

 

[RickS]

2 hours ago, Steve from SoCal said:

I have to do 90's to get my RV into the spot where it lives.    I water down the shop and brush in some dish soap.   The first time I noticed the tires about 30 degrees off the rim!!!!      The soapy water helps but it still pains me to do it.

 

Steve

Great idea! Maybe a water/soap injection pump and line kit for RV's.   

[Steve from SoCal]

That is an idea, a FIFI system for the tires.

 

Steve

[RickS]

Just add a flexible micro switch to the pin box to trigger the 12v RV water pump at a predetermined tire dragging angle. The water goes through a soap container with nozzles attached to frame of RV directed to ground in front trailer tires and behind rear trailer tires to take care of forward and reverse tire dragging situations.    Back to work now! 

[RandyA]

3 hours ago, phoenix2013 said:

Right then and there I learned that university education is not a guarantee that you will be taught common sense, or that the "professors" know how to teach common sense.

 

Henry, It isn't "common" any more.

I tried to teach it once in an Electronics lab.

Student: "Hey, there is smoke coming off of that resistor.  I think I will touch it to see if it is hot." (he touches it with his index finger)

"Dam*, I just burned my finger!  Hey Prof, why didn't you warn me not to touch it?"

(Next he wants to sue me for not stopping him.)

[Heavymetal]

I have had mine at 90+ degrees a few times in short RV sites and I always watch my tires and never leave any stress on them are my suspension. I don't have a problem doing it and if I break something I guess I have found a weak spot. I have twin Dexter 12k axles under our RV with the tandem duals and they don't seem to have the problem with wanting to roll on the rims like when we had a triple axle and I think that spreading the load across 8 tires helps a lot when making tight turns. When at 90 degrees I have about 12" between my RV and smart so clearence is not something I worry about.

[GlennWest]

When getting in site we at now, I had it at 90 degrees. Lots of vechiles in the way. Even got a clutch abuse warning. DW says tires coming off rim. Sure looks like they will. All went well though. Not something I want to do again. 

[rickeieio]

21 hours ago, RickS said:

Great idea! Maybe a water/soap injection pump and line kit for RV's.   

Tap into the gray tank, already soapy.   

[Nuke-E]

3 hours ago, rickeieio said:

Tap into the gray tank, already soapy.   

Wouldn't the black tank be a little more viscous for a thicker film? Haha.  If nothing else, it might drive off the onlookers when you're parking.

[phoenix2013]

On 7/21/2017 at 3:31 PM, RandyA said:

Henry, It isn't "common" any more.

I tried to teach it once in an Electronics lab.

Student: "Hey, there is smoke coming off of that resistor.  I think I will touch it to see if it is hot." (he touches it with his index finger)

"Dam*, I just burned my finger!  Hey Prof, why didn't you warn me not to touch it?"

(Next he wants to sue me for not stopping him.)

Had to be a "snowflake" did you send him to the "safe room" with play-dough, milk and cookies. At least you were trying to teach him something useful, like electronics

I just read how our institutions of higher learning "enlighten" the current crop of snowflakes.

University of Pennsylvania - English: Wasting time on the Internet          Annual cost to learn this garbage $66,800

Brown University - English: On being bored                                            They are running a bargain at $65,380 per year

This one takes a cake:

Occidental College, Critical Theory & Social Justice: Stupidity. “Stupidity is neither ignorance nor organicity, but rather, a corollary of knowing and an element of normalcy, the double of intelligence rather than its opposite. It is an artifact of our nature as finite beings and one of the most powerful determinants of human destiny. Stupidity is always the name of the Other, and it is the sign of the feminine. This course in Critical Psychology follows the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, Gilles Deleuze, and most recently, Avital Ronell, in a philosophical examination of those operations and technologies that we conduct in order to render ourselves uncomprehending. Stupidity, which has been evicted from the philosophical premises and dumbed down by psychometric psychology, has returned in the postmodern discourse against Nation, Self, and Truth and makes itself felt in political life ranging from the presidency to Beavis and Butthead.” Total cost for a year at Occidental: $63,194.

I would venture that only a Dept Heads and fully tenured professors, are qualified to lead a student body in exploring and explaining the depth and importance of the above subject and human condition.

On edit

I was fascinated and wanted to make sure I didn't spread fake news so I looked up the credentials of the distinguished professor running the course on Stupidity. Apparently he spent few years as a distinguished clinician in Los Angeles, where no doubts he had an ample opportunity to meet many subjects and develop this curriculum.   http://www.oxy.edu/faculty/glenn-elmer-griffin

[Pat & Pete]

5 hours ago, phoenix2013 said:

Had to be a "snowflake" did you send him to the "safe room" with play-dough, milk and cookies. At least you were trying to teach him something useful, like electronics

I just read how our institutions of higher learning "enlighten" the current crop of snowflakes.

University of Pennsylvania - English: Wasting time on the Internet          Annual cost to learn this garbage $66,800

Brown University - English: On being bored                                            They are running a bargain at $65,380 per year

This one takes a cake:

Occidental College, Critical Theory & Social Justice: Stupidity. “Stupidity is neither ignorance nor organicity, but rather, a corollary of knowing and an element of normalcy, the double of intelligence rather than its opposite. It is an artifact of our nature as finite beings and one of the most powerful determinants of human destiny. Stupidity is always the name of the Other, and it is the sign of the feminine. This course in Critical Psychology follows the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, Gilles Deleuze, and most recently, Avital Ronell, in a philosophical examination of those operations and technologies that we conduct in order to render ourselves uncomprehending. Stupidity, which has been evicted from the philosophical premises and dumbed down by psychometric psychology, has returned in the postmodern discourse against Nation, Self, and Truth and makes itself felt in political life ranging from the presidency to Beavis and Butthead.” Total cost for a year at Occidental: $63,194.

I would venture that only a Dept Heads and fully tenured professors, are qualified to lead a student body in exploring and explaining the depth and importance of the above subject and human condition.

On edit

I was fascinated and wanted to make sure I didn't spread fake news so I looked up the credentials of the distinguished professor running the course on Stupidity. Apparently he spent few years as a distinguished clinician in Los Angeles, where no doubts he had an ample opportunity to meet many subjects and develop this curriculum.   http://www.oxy.edu/faculty/glenn-elmer-griffin

It must be an experiment to prove the dumbing of America . 

Simply amazing , if that 'offer' is real .

[noteven]

That Occidental course sounds kinda stupid....

[HERO Maker]

Well, I've only had to go past 90 degrees twice, and that was way before I had the bed built and put a smart on it!  Even without the smart, I don't think I would try it again.

When I had to do it, I learned a little more of the comment about, "You know what you are doing when you put your truck in reverse and your trailer moves forward!"  I had no clue what that meant until I needed to use it to get get around a tree (thanks for the training Jack!), and then just about a month later had to use it to get around the corner of a work shed's roof.  By the way, that tree is no longer at Diamond Campground!

But I think those 90+ degree days are gone! (I hope so).

[sclord2002]

Dang, Henry.....I thought you were making this crap up.  Glad I didn't attend accidental.....oops..... occidental.

[phoenix2013]

Unlike CNN I try to "verify" my sources. Did you see the other courses the distinguished Doctor  Elmer Griffin is teaching at Occidental? His bio at Occidental http://www.oxy.edu/faculty/glenn-elmer-griffin

[phoenix2013]

The more I look into it, the more horrified I become, I can't believe that this garbage http://scholar.oxy.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=ctsj is used as an undergraduate "study material". Four years of that and whatever you accomplished as a parent goes out the window and what comes back is not your child but a flake ready for your couch and a career at the local Starbucks.