MalcolmJoan
New member
What is the difference & which is easier to tow & back up with: Pop-up, Travel Trailer, or a 5th Wheel?
Travel Trailer
- Thread starter MalcolmJoan
- Start date
762X39
Explorer
In my experience with a travel trailer (a pop-up trailer would be no different), backing up is always a pain without a ground guide. The larger the trailer the more room for error. If you drive a rig for a living it likely isn't as much of an issue (it better not be or you chose the wrong career...). That said, I have still managed to take my trailer down many logging and fire roads and brought it home every time. Time behind the wheel while dragging a trailer will give you the experience you need unless you can't get your head wrapped around the "turn left to go right" aspect of backing up or into a spot.
docdave
Aspiring overlander
The key with trailers is practice. Not only that, but shorter length is not better when backing up, they jack knife way too quickly, and are twitchy to control. I have limited experience with 5th wheels, once you get on to them, they can be turned tighter, but respond more slowly to directional changes, they often are wider, and harder to see around. Good mirrors, and practice with a longer bumper pull will result in pretty good accuracy when backing.... Pop up trailers usually aren't short enough in height to see over, so as mentioned above, about the same to back up. I learned trailer towing with a 16' horse trailer, which is a good length to control backing up. Obviously, a truck camper is far easier to maneuver than any trailer. Ya gotta learn to use the mirrors, and not look over your shoulder.
Yellowkayak
Adventurer
We have a popup, and being able to see the top of your camper in conjunction with the tree limbs you need to clear on the trail helps alot. A travel trailer or fifth wheel is convient, because there is no setup accept stabilizers, but you can't see the top of you trailer wether it is going to hit tree limbs or not without someone walking in front and glancing back when you apporach a tree to see if it will clear or not. Popups will save you on gas also, with less wind resistance, but I'm biased.
JJ
JJ
Hill Bill E.
Oath Keeper
X2
The distance from hitch to axle will make a difference on bumper pull trailers, some tow/back better than others (usually the longer ones)
I've had 2 equipment trailers (18' and 22') bumper pulls, the 22' tows and backs a lot nicer, due to the set back of the axles.
Shorter trailers react faster, and therefore they jack knife and 'get out of control' faster when backing.
I prefer a 5th wheel, but I have more experience with them.
cwsqbm
Explorer
For a typical setup, a fifth wheel tows the best because the pivot point is closed to the rear axle. It eliminates the cause of most trailer sway (a joint far away from the axles). However, fifth wheels (and the equivalent gooseneck) are generally only found on heavy trailers.
A pop-up will generally tow easier than a travel trailer because its lighter and has less side area for wind to affect. With the pop-ups towed by a full-size pickup or van, we could always see over them and to traffic behind us. Backing up short trailers requires more attention than long trailers because they react faster, but really isn't an issue with practice.
My parents had a pop-up for 15 years before getting their first travel trailer. I love sleeping in pop-ups, but one three week trip were we moved almost every day showed the downside of the pop-up - setup and tear down time. Also, putting away a canvas-based pop-up in the rain always meant figuring out when we going to be able to dry it out. One nice thing about a pop-up is that you can store them in a garage, length permitting - a nice thing given many HOA's attitudes toward RVs.
For me, I'm currently looking into very small and light weight travel trailers that could be easily pulled by a mid-size SUV. Being able to stop and take a nap/cook a meal without setting up is a major plus on long road trips.
A pop-up will generally tow easier than a travel trailer because its lighter and has less side area for wind to affect. With the pop-ups towed by a full-size pickup or van, we could always see over them and to traffic behind us. Backing up short trailers requires more attention than long trailers because they react faster, but really isn't an issue with practice.
My parents had a pop-up for 15 years before getting their first travel trailer. I love sleeping in pop-ups, but one three week trip were we moved almost every day showed the downside of the pop-up - setup and tear down time. Also, putting away a canvas-based pop-up in the rain always meant figuring out when we going to be able to dry it out. One nice thing about a pop-up is that you can store them in a garage, length permitting - a nice thing given many HOA's attitudes toward RVs.
For me, I'm currently looking into very small and light weight travel trailers that could be easily pulled by a mid-size SUV. Being able to stop and take a nap/cook a meal without setting up is a major plus on long road trips.
docdave
Aspiring overlander
I've pulled a Trailmanor, hardside popup trailer, on long trips. It is well balanced and only about 5 ft high folded down and 24 ft long. It pulls like a dream and backs pretty easily. You can't really see over it, except to get an idea about tree branches, but the axle placement makes it suprisingly easy to manouver. Good design, good mirrors and, I say again, practice, are very important.
How are you going to use the camper? Truck campers work well if you use them sort of like a tent, only staying in them to cook, eat, sleep, place to stay out of the rain. If you are going to be staying inside of the camper for longer then you probably will want a larger solution. Pull behinds tend to be smaller and lighter than gooseneck or fifth-wheel campers. All towed options will give you a worse ride than a truck camper will, this is because the coupling point and extra axles cause additional vibrations to be generated and felt. A pop-up trailer will generally be the easiest to back-up with as you will be able to use all of your mirrors, but they will also have the longest set-up times. I've used both a truck camper and a travel trailer, there are points I like about both. For truck campers I like the low set-up times and the ease of backing into camping spots, for travel trailers I like the additional room, additional persons they can handle, and larger baths. For just two people I prefer the truck camper, for more I'll take a hard sided travel trailer or a dedicated motorhome. As for pull type or fifth-wheel it depends on how much interior room I need
Rbertalotto
Explorer
As others said......Shorter the trailer = harder to control backing up.
The longer the trailer, things happen much more slowly.....and with a big trailer you tend to spend more time "looking" at a potential maneuver rather than just "going fir it" like you might with a short trailer.
Fifth Wheel trailers are the easiest to control. They respond very intuitively to your steering wheel input.
I haul all three types and I installed a receiver on the front of my truck when I have the need to precisely maneuver a standard type hitch trailer.
When I started hauling trailers, the best advise I ever got was.........#1.."hand on the bottom of steering wheel, push to the side you want the trailer to go" ...#2...Don't ask your wife to be the look out!"
The longer the trailer, things happen much more slowly.....and with a big trailer you tend to spend more time "looking" at a potential maneuver rather than just "going fir it" like you might with a short trailer.
Fifth Wheel trailers are the easiest to control. They respond very intuitively to your steering wheel input.
I haul all three types and I installed a receiver on the front of my truck when I have the need to precisely maneuver a standard type hitch trailer.
When I started hauling trailers, the best advise I ever got was.........#1.."hand on the bottom of steering wheel, push to the side you want the trailer to go" ...#2...Don't ask your wife to be the look out!"
Here's what happens when said wife reads her free copy of Good Sam's, as heard through two way radio.
"Camper right!"
Camper right??? Is that my right? I don't know if she's looking forward or backward. Her right? I can't friggin' see her! How the hell do I know what she means? Here goes nothing.
"I said CAMPER right!" Note lots of feedback on that transmission.
******??? Husband abandons vehicle to see where the hell the trailer is really supposed to go. Wisely, he thanks his wife for her help and sneaks a beer out of the cooler on his way back to give it another shot. Several attempts later, the trailer is only slightly askew, the blood pressure is only minimally elevated, and another beer can be safely opened.
The longer it is, the easier it is to maneuver -- not a line I've been able to use before. However, that assumes you have room to maneuver. My wife's 30 foot trailer isn't at all twitchy compared to our previous pop ups, but having room to back it in is a whole 'nother story. Perfect practice makes perfect, but with something truly long, pull throughs rock. I have lust in my heart for a truck camper that I could just drive. The right tow vehicle makes all the difference regardless. Don't try to tow anywhere near max and things will be much more comfortable.