Hitching\Unhitching on a slope

[Rbjohnson10]

We are looking at a 303RLS 5th wheel and are concerned what hitching\unhitching issues may come up as we will backing down into our storage area that is sloped. The area that the 5th wheel will be stored is flat, truck will be on a slope with nose up (5% or so according to F250 reading on truck) for hitching and unhitching while being stored.

Does anybody have any advice, thoughts, links or videos that I can reference? I’ve found a few threads that refer to similar questions but are more related to the 5th wheel being backed up a hill.


Added notes - short bed, will purchase a slider hitch, storage pad is paved.


TIA

[LMagelitz]

If you have a short bed and no slider, I’d watch for conflict with the back glass of the truck. Also, I’d use the emergency brake when u put it in park. If you have loose gravel, it might be tricky.

[trailrydr]

Several thoughts come to mind....

Is your storage covered and how high? Adequate clearance side to side distance may also come into play.

Maneuverability may be hampered slightly when dealing with an angle for TV. Hopefully you have adequate room to straighten out before backing to cut down on TV/RV alignment adjustments. Doesn't ever seem help that one is doing that after a long drive...

With my Reese 16k I have to be able unload the TV/RV weight from the pin in order to release the hitch jaws. Not going to be easy if to do so if TV at an angle.

Tip: At our storage location we have vertical beams seperating our bays from others. We have placed 4" x 2" bright deflectors at TV mirror height on each beam surrounding our bay to help with alignment when backing.

[huntr70]

I don't see that you will have any problems at all.

Make sure you chock the wheels, have adequate clearance with the truck bed and have a 4 way pivoting head on the 5th wheel hitch and you should be fine.

Really no different than hitching or unhitching on all level ground.

[Jomani]

I think the biggest concern will be how straight you can get before hooking/unhooking. The 5th wheel hitch will have plenty of front to back tilt to accommodate a 5 percent grade. If you attempt to unhook at an angle, you may find that the hitch is in a bind.

My RV parking is just the opposite - I back up a hill so the trailer is level but the truck is angled downhill. I have the B&W Companion that offers a fair amount of side to side tilt. So far I have not had any problems.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Uphill, downhill, level, I find it all pretty much the same except for chocking the wheels. I have a 6'4" bed, no slider.

[dryfly]

Uphill, downhill, level, I find it all pretty much the same except for chocking the wheels. I have a 6'4" bed, no slider.

Same here. Short bed, a slider hitch that has never been used, and about 12 years of pulling a 5th wheel with no issues. Like @huntr70 says, a 4 way pivoting head is a must.

Just to make certain, it would be nice if you had a friend with a 5th wheel that would make a trial run for you.

[Rbjohnson10]

Thanks to all for the feedback.