Ultimate Guide To RV Towing! 5th Wheel and Travel Trailer towing tips.

Which is easier to pull?

I have the exact weight distribution hitch as shown in the video. I switched to a Gen-Y Boss hitch for the truck connection and it made a huge difference. I don't feel every bump from the trailer anymore. Works great. The bottom hand on the steering wheel when backing up is genius. Good video!

For backing a trailer I prefer to think “trailer left/wheel right, trailer right/wheel left” (hands in the usual 10-2 position of course). Don’t know why but it works better for me than using the hand at 6 o’clock position.

Can you give a few tips on towing in the mountians, how and when use exhaust brake, if gearing down is important. reason for asking i have never towed in mountain country. I have a ram 3500 and a 337rls reflection fifth wheel. Love your channel, you give alot of helpful info.

Your trailer will off track, not dog track when going around corners.

I have had alot of towing experience with bumper hitch trailers at work and camping then we got a motorhome with a tow behind, now we have gone to a fifth wheel trailer and i had a issue when i first got it as my truck was really high and overkill for the trailer (ram 3500 srw and 25ft fifth wheel) anyway i had the hitch adjusted aĺl i could get out of it and the trailer was still way nose high. It ended up i had to engineer my own 4" lift blocks for a truck and make them work on the trailer. Pulls almost perfectly flat now

question - where are your trailer tires when you start backing up? Is there a rule of thumb? Should they be just passed the site you want to back into? 5', 10'?

I've also noticed that a lot of semi drivers prefer to not make a "blind" backup, they prefer to back into a site where they can look out their drivers window and see the trailer.

Wonderful tips. Thanks. We have a 2016 Toyota Sequioa towing capacity is 7000LBS, tongue weight 700lbs. TT 2506S Roockwood Minilite: 5528lbs tongue weight 814lbs. We have sway issues in spite of the sway bars that you mentioned. What else can we do to prevent the sway. Thanks.

What ram do you have 2500 or 3500 ?

Mines doing the same thing now all the time when I stop and go and years happen seven years ago what was the final solution to fix the problem

Weight distribution puts more stress on drop frames which could cause extreme damage if you have a cheap trailer

Big truck big rv recommend goose neck hitch from e trailer. Would be the way I’d go

Biggest anxiety is backing into a very tight camping spot and all eyes in the campground are on you. Face it, most of these state parks were made over 50 years ago and weren’t designed to accommodate 25’ or longer travel trailers and even larger 5th wheels. One thing I did before heading out was practicing backing into spots. Had a long haul trucker give me a lot of tips

You said you should address the problem but a weight distribution hitch can put extra strain on the tongue and people with large travel trailers are vulnerable to bending and where do you think all this weight is going? Wouldn't you think it would take away from the payload to your travel trailer as well? if you want to go by what you preach you need to get a stronger truck or leaf springs instead of putting more stress on the travel trailers frame

Good stuff. I want to emphasis what you said: Air bags alone, WILL make things worse. They will take more weight off the front tires, not distribute the weight forward. I say this because I have friends who still believe this and it is an accident waiting to happen. Some a have a Jeep, tow a heavy trailer and added airbags to raise the rear end of the Jeep. Anyone who doesn't agree with this should do their own research on airbags for weight distribution. It is a huge safety issue.

Great informative video ! If ii may, FYI i have a 2019 ram 3500 limited with the automatic rear self leveling system and i tried the weight and friction repartition hauling system and it did not work because of the self levelling my the vehicle. I tried different adjustments and addressed the issue to the company (Husky) but finally had to return it. Good product and great idea but not for self levelling suspension.

Biggest trailer towing stress relief for me was installing 2 cameras on the rear of the trailer. One pointing back and the other pointing down. A big monitor to watch for traffic makes a huge difference and also for positioning at campsites and the storage location.

The companion is a great hitch for beginner 5er users like myself. Very easy to verify you are properly hitched before pulling away. And I can see it and the pin thru my rear window when backing meaning I can hook up solo if needed

Excellent video!

As a RV’r and a Tire and automotive business owner I feel I need to say that Air bag system’s are not designed for trailer weight distribution, they are designed to distribute the weight load evenly across the truck so it keeps the front steering axle weight firmly placed on the ground to ensure proper control and safety. Because when the the rear wheels are pushed down, it pulls up the front and can cause a loose steering and braking issue. Also the speed rating on the tire doesn’t just mean to a certain speed but it is safe to that specific speed at its maximum load rating at its maximum air pressure.

My 2 cents about brake controllers is about adjusting them for speed. In parking lots if it grabs and jerks you; lessen the power from a high number to low. When traveling at highway speed - 55 or more, increase the numbers to better assist braking for those unexpected hard braking instances for animals, stupid drivers or rough pavement.
Practice how various postions effect your driving as described by manually applying trailer brakes to be aware how it functions. Adjusted to slow or idle speeds in parking lots will do nothing at 60 miles per hour!

Take your rig and crew to a parking lot and practice all of your trailering skills.

I'm going to brainstorm you for this question Jared, does the 5th wheel weight change with a gooseneck hookup? We bought a 5th wheel converted to a gooseneck. Assuming it was factory because the previous owner was first time owner with the new RV and his truck he pulled with was a flatbed horse pulling truck. Any tips with a smooth ride with it? Our truck is accommodative for this type of hook up! Or the 5th wheel either one.

Far too often car dealerships will go by the advertised capabilities of the vehicles they're selling instead of how each individual vehicle is equipped. Those advertised numbers usually say in small print "when properly equipped". Always check those numbers and research things like payload packages before buying. A "trailer towing" package doesn't necessarily equip the vehicle with the correct ratings and capabilities for hauling or towing more than a full tank of fuel. Many trailer towing packages give you wiring and trans coolers and maybe heavy duty shocks, but that isn't going to haul the actual load.

Great video, and yes I agree with those dealerships. They will sell you a truck or an RV and don't know as much about RVs or Towing, as you would think. I cross the Rockies every year with my 5th wheel setup (Seattle to Michigan) and can't express how pleased I am with my setup. Just completed leg from Richfield UT to Denver CO, which is the true test of your system. What a treat for the eyes, such a gorgeous drive, highly recommend it. In summary get a diesel truck, 5th wheel (under 36ft=sweet spot), make sure the GCWR < 75%, get better rated tires (mine came with E, changed them to G), tpms/rear camera integrates nicely with my GMC Denali ultimate towing package. By the way I'm selling, if someone wants it please reach out. My info is on my channel. I'm a pro trader. Stock Market stuff

Good info. Do you find it easier to back up a fifth wheel vs. Travel trailer?

Thank you as always for info 😊

Great video, thanks! We purchased the weigh safe hitch and absolutely love it. It has the scale built into it. We have a 30-foot trailer 8000 lbs and get no sway when passing a semi. I'm just sharing in case anyone is looking for a great distribution hitch

Always great information

Like you said, our first trailer purchase the sales person said we would be fine but the trailer was only 5 % below the SUV's max. Tow weight. Scary trip to California 😮😮

General RV’s “half ton towables” are definitely NOT 😂

great video

Thank you again Jerry, a lot of really good info especially on WDH and air bags. You didn't mention anything on air pressure of you tow vehicle. I've heard a lot of those towing add more air to their rear tires. I would've like to hear you talk about that.

The weigh safe weight distribution hitches with their built in scale and app are amazing to getting a great wd hitch setup!

Biggest problem or stress is backing in tight lanes. Getting fifth wheel in the angle without swinging the truck out too far

So you have a 3500 single wheel dodge ?

you know how many people know about that trailer brake trick to stop the trailer whip? well more now, that is really good that you pointed that out, as that has saved me before... Though weighing ahead of time and doing it right is the right thing.. but hey Stuff happens.

Anyway, great video as always, keep it up.

We have the Equalizer 4 and love it. We are using a 2018 Grand Caravan to pull our Coachman 17FQ (2,800 lbs). We had it installed when we purchased the trailer in 2014, and have used it on two different Grand Caravans. I have never felt unsafe. The Van and Trailer run level.

The minor issue, is that occasionally the lower part of the hits hits the ground when crossing curbs and elevation changes when backing into campsites. Got to try and figure that out when our new tow vehicle finally arrives.

Equal-I-zer is 2nd only to ProPride (@ $3,400) for towing TTs!!

I thought if you wanted the trailer to go right you turn the wheel left and vice versa?

When backing in, my wife is the spotter and we use Driver/passenger instead of left/right. No confusion that way.

Salesman generally only care about the most expensive trailer you can finance. Keep in mind payload numbers vs Towing capacity as well; the biggest trailer you can tow may exceed your loaded capacity by several hundred pounds.

Thanks for that tip on backing up and steering! I drove a tractor trailer and never had that explained so simply 😂😂😂👍👍👍

Love the channel

Thanks Jared! - Another great video! - Equlizer has a plastic accessory that removes those annoying metal-on-metal grinding sounds - I really like them - Highly recommend.

With a 5th wheel you can combine the trailer brake test with an "is my hitch really locked" test. When you raise your landing gear stop when it has just cleared the ground. Now test the trailer brakes. Now if your hitch wasn't really locked your trailer will fall just a fraction of an inch onto the landing gear instead of crushing your truck bed.

Nice job as always