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Old 05-24-2018, 12:23 PM   #1
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Fifth Wheel Breakdown

Hi,

I lately have been pondering what would happen if my pickup broke down while I was towing my fiver.

My dealer says the truck should be taken to a repair facility by flatbed, not put on a hook.

So the truck goes away, and there my trailer sits by the side of the road -- can't just leave it there. And I suspect most towing services will not have a fifth wheel capable vehicle.

My thinking goes along the line of contacting the nearest RV dealer, and somehow arranging for them to pull the trailer to safety somewhere -- either their property, the truck repair location, or some other place.

But I am interested in whether anyone else has had to deal with this situation, and if so, how they handled it. And also, anyone else's thinking on the matter.

Thanks.

Rich Phillips
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Old 05-24-2018, 12:28 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by richp View Post
Hi,

I lately have been pondering what would happen if my pickup broke down while I was towing my fiver.

My dealer says the truck should be taken to a repair facility by flatbed, not put on a hook.

So the truck goes away, and there my trailer sits by the side of the road -- can't just leave it there. And I suspect most towing services will not have a fifth wheel capable vehicle.

My thinking goes along the line of contacting the nearest RV dealer, and somehow arranging for them to pull the trailer to safety somewhere -- either their property, the truck repair location, or some other place.

But I am interested in whether anyone else has had to deal with this situation, and if so, how they handled it. And also, anyone else's thinking on the matter.

Thanks.

Rich Phillips
I had that exact scenario happen to my back in 2008. I called my Good Sam Roadside Insurance and they found a place to repair my truck and found a place where they could drop the fifth wheel. Good Sam and Coach-net are the only emergency roadside services I would trust when towing a trailer. Those two are designed for RVers.

And yes, you can find horror stories about both of the ERS.

BTW, what truck do you have that can't be towed??
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Old 05-24-2018, 12:29 PM   #3
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Any towing company that has a heavy recovery truck will be able to tow the trailer. I would recommend making sure your insurance/roadside/towing coverage includes the trailer and then you just need to make sure whatever towing company that is called is aware that you have a 5th wheel trailer that also needs to be towed.
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Old 05-24-2018, 12:43 PM   #4
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Most "towing companies" DO have capability of towing a fifth wheel camper.


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Old 05-24-2018, 12:57 PM   #5
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Poopie thing to say.... It prolly won't be the truck that breaks down... but the RV.
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Old 05-24-2018, 01:47 PM   #6
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I had that exact thing happen a couple years ago. I called a local RV dealer (starts with a C) and they sent a guy to tow the RV to their lot.

The tow company towed the truck to the truck dealer. That dealer didn't have the part I needed but another dealer about an hour away did, and they sent a parts guy to the dealer I was at with the part. Back on the road in a couple of hours.

Left the truck dealer and went to the RV dealer to pick up the RV and never did!

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Picked up a new one instead!

I'd say that RV dealer made the right decision helping us out that day.
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Old 05-24-2018, 02:18 PM   #7
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Quote:
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Good Sam and Coach-net are the only emergency roadside services I would trust when towing a trailer. Those two are designed for RVers.

And yes, you can find horror stories about both of the ERS.
Same.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Iwannacamp View Post
Poopie thing to say.... It prolly won't be the truck that breaks down... but the RV.
Fifth wheel broke down for me- broke a leaf spring after an incident with a curb. Good Sam found a mobile tech on a Sunday who came out and replaced it.
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Old 05-24-2018, 04:42 PM   #8
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I used to drive tow truck and tow the truck with the trailer still connected. We simply disconnected the driveshaft, and towed the combination.
We had several RV parks with pull-throughs, where we could pull the combination through, drop the Trailer at the park and then take the truck to the repair shop.
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Old 05-24-2018, 05:21 PM   #9
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Hi spydunks,


Interesting... When you lifted the front wheels of the truck up off the ground, didn't you have concerns about the front of the fifth wheel hitting the bed?


Also, out of curiosity, how fast were you able to go lashed up this way, and what distance?



Thanks.


Rich Phillips
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Old 05-24-2018, 05:32 PM   #10
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I never had an issue with trailer to truck clearances. We did not lift the front of the truck more that about 12-14” off the ground.
Standard towing speed, with lots of caution in-town, because of extended stopping distances (tow truck braking only).
Our trucks were mostly GMC top kicks with the 3116 CAT engine and an exhaust brake.
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Old 05-24-2018, 05:32 PM   #11
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No limit on distance.
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Old 05-24-2018, 05:41 PM   #12
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Hi spydunks,



That is excellent information. Thank you.


Would most tow truck drivers be willing to crawl around on the ground to disconnect a drive shaft on a pickup, the way you've described?


Rich
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Old 05-24-2018, 05:46 PM   #13
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A lot of forum members know what we tow with but for those that do not it is a class 8 Kenworth tractor with a Smart on the deck towing our 5th wheel. we broke down a couple of years ago and the tow operator towed the whole thing together and yes removed the drive shaft but did have to hook up a airline to did-engage the brakes on the truck. What impressed me was his backing skills, backed the camper in a parking spot then parked the truck. So don't sweat it they know what they are doing
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Old 05-24-2018, 05:59 PM   #14
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That is excellent information. Thank you.


Would most tow truck drivers be willing to crawl around on the ground to disconnect a drive shaft on a pickup, the way you've described?

Absolutely. It is required in nearly every large vehicle tow. You just get used to it. We carried several tools that were helpful in getting the driveline out, and a creeper was always on the truck.
A key is keeping the u-joint caps on to keep the bearings in. If the driveshaft was short, sometimes we tied/suspended it up, to keep the transmission from leaking out the tail shaft.
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Old 05-24-2018, 06:23 PM   #15
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Hi

Thank you all for this input.

My starting point about separate tows came from the admonition I got from my GM service manager about a separate flatbed tow.
R
ich
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