Newbie in Houston

[Amelie.bilodeau]

Hi y'all!
We just purchased our first RV, Used 2018 Grand Design 28bh and our first towing vehicle 2011 Ford F-350 Super Duty SRW 172" WB and are wondering if there is any resources in the Houston area for newbies like us! Our RV will be in storage in the Katy area until we are ready to head out sometime in July. We would love to learn the ins and outs of the grand design and towing principles. We have done lots of online reading but if anyone is in our area that would be willing to share some tips, we would certainly welcome it!!! We have not purchased our hitch yet, and are looking at the B&W companion, but if anyone has any recs, please share as well.

Cheers!

Amelie

[Steven@147]

Welcome Amelie and thanks for stopping by the forum and Howdy from the Austin area. Looks like you have matched your tow vehicle to the RV nicely. We use the Companion 5th wheel hitch that fits the Ram truck bed puck holes and like it. It is a heavy hitch weighing @214 lbs but does come apart in two pieces. It can be a bear to take it in and out of the truck bed. We don't use our truck bed for anything else but for hauling the RV so we don't take the hitch out of the bed.
You will have to set the height of the hitch when you install it so that the RV when hitched rides level or just slightly nose high. Each truck and RV set differently so its pretty unique to your combo. I can tell you that our companion hitch is set on the highest height adjustment to get our RV level when towing but our RV has a much heavier pin weight than your 28BH.
There are all kinds of 5th wheel hitches on the market and everybody loves what they have for different reasons, nobody is right or wrong in what they use. Its personal preference.

If I were you I would search for several U-Tube videos for hitching 5th wheels so you get all the basic knowledge before you hitch your own. Then once you trying hitching your own, go through it step by step several times to get some practice. Towing a 5th wheel is more stable than towing a bumper hitch type RV but the turning radius, RV tire tracking in a turn and backing up a 5th wheel is completely different than a bumper pull type RV. Take your rig out to a huge parking lot and practice turning and backing to get the hang of it. Take your RV out on some short trips to get some practice and gain confidence in towing, setting up, hitching / unhitching. In the beginning use check lists for the process so you don't forget anything or do things out of sequence that could cause damage to your truck and RV. Example the thing you never want to do is unhitch the 5th wheel with the landing gear still up or pull away with the 5th wheel hitch not fully locked. Sounds simple and silly but it does happen to people.

These are just some tidbits of info and once you get some practice you'll wonder what the fuss was all about. Main thing is have fun and enjoy your new RV.

Attached is the check list we still use.

[Amelie.bilodeau]

Hi Steven & Tami,
This is super helpful, thank you so much! We are definitely going to be using this checklist!
Cheers,

Amelie

[Johnww]

Hello Amelie, we live in the Humble area and while being relatively new to 5th wheel trailers we have about 50 nights and 4,000 towing miles of experience with our 303 rls. Please PM me if you have any specifi questions and I will try to help. Best of luck with your upcoming trip.

[Amelie.bilodeau]

Hi John & Cindy,

Thanks, I will definitely take you up on that offer.

Cheers,
Amelie

[Dick Noble]

Have you installed water wings yet?

[Amelie.bilodeau]

Hi Dick!
I have no idea what water wings are and have not run across the term before! Do elaborate..
Thanks!
Amelie

[Dick Noble]

Sorry, poor joke. Water wings are something that kids put on their arms to float with. I thought that, with all the flooding in your area, you might want to put huge ones on your rig.

[Steven@147]

Hi Steven & Tami,
This is super helpful, thank you so much! We are definitely going to be using this checklist!
Cheers,

Amelie

No problem. A couple more tidbits, make sure when you initially install whatever 5th wheel hitch you have plenty of bed clearance on your truck. You don't want the bottom of the RV over hang to touch the bed rails of the truck in a dip. Conventional wisdom is at least 6 inches between the bottom of the RV overhang to the top of the truck bed rails. I have 8 inches of clearance, have the hitch adjusted at its highest level and centered over the rear truck axle. But a lot of this will depend on the truck you have and whether you have a short bed or a long bed truck. I pad lock all four corners of the Companion hitch base to the bed and use a padlock on the lock arm, I don't want anyone messing with my hitch. I do inspect my hitch whenever we stop for fuel and such. Just a glance at it to make sure its still locked up and all safety pins are in place. Some really sick people out there that will pull your safety pins.
I keep a little can of grease on hand to grease the pin where is rotates in the hitch jaws. There is a grease zerk on the companion hitch that needs to be greased once in a while also.

There is a great KOA campground at Conroe to try out your new RV, in fact that is where this years GD rally will be held in October and we will be there. We love to run down to Galveston also, Jamaca Beach and Dellanera are two good ones and there are other good ones to help get your feet wet with the new RV and not too far away from you.
yup if you have any questions, there are really good people on here that can help.

[AustexGP]

Welcome to the Forum from Austin. I think Steve has given the best advise, we have a B&W Companion Slider Hitch. For us it makes it easier to back into our storage spot.

Lots of great places in Texas to glamp. We enjoy Oakwood in Fredericksburg (not downtown so spaces are bigger and cheaper), Pioneer RV in Port A., Jellystone Park and Buckhorn in Kerrville (Jellystone is expensive but great for pre-teens).

As far as hooking and unhooking and driving the 5th wheel. I always try to go to a football stadium during the day and practice right turns, left turns, backing, hooking/unhooking and just driving (just don't do too much hooking/unhooking - run the batteries down).

If you have the Lippert leveler, I strongly suggest the Lippert wireless remote, it allows you to unhook and hook while standing close to the truck-trailer.

I think Steve has got most of the other information covered. The more you drive the more comfortable you'll get.

Have a great time, hope to see you down the road.