Helpful Tips on How to Drive With a Fifth Wheel

If you’ve recently purchased your first fifth wheel, you may be a bit nervous about driving around with such a large rig. While learning to haul a fifth wheel will take a little practice, it’s pretty easy to get the hang of! Read through our handy tips below, and you’ll be towing your fifth wheel with ease in no time!

Practice

If you’re new to towing a fifth wheel, we strongly encourage you to practice driving your rig before making any vacation plans. Fifth wheels are very large RVs and take some time to learn to handle. If you can locate a large empty parking lot near your home, this would be a perfect spot to learn the basics of stopping, starting, and turning your fifth wheel. Once you feel you’re road ready, feel free to give your city’s larger streets a try. Just remember to stop and start slowly, and keep a careful eye out for cars and pedestrians. 

Reversing 

Reversing is one of the hardest things you’ll have to do while hauling a fifth wheel and it’s important to get the basics down before you hit the road. When reversing, it often helps to have another person outside of the rig directing you, and you’ll want to keep your windows down and radio off to be sure you hear them clearly. As you reverse, do your best to avoid oversteering your fifth wheel by keeping your hands at the bottom of the wheel. This should keep you from overcorrecting as you turn, and help you remember that moving in one direction, such as to the left, will move your rear to the right, but your rig to the left till you can straighten them both back out. 

Still on the hunt for your perfect fifth wheel model? Feel free to browse our impressive inventory here at Minneapolis Trailer! Our location in Rogers, Minnesota also offers helpful RV accessories, repairs, and financing services, and we proudly serve the nearby Twin Cities of Minnesota.