Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire When you try to tow a large 5th wheel with a 1/2 ton truck

Passed this guy on the highway Saturday. From the looks of things, the hitch (still attached to the trailer) was bolted to the bed of the truck and not the frame. Either that, or it jerked it clean from the frame.

the goose neck hitch was bolted to the bed?

whoooo...that's like installing a winch on a Chevy Avalanche!

Was he trying to run 85 mph like all of the other dumb butts that haul those rigs?

Should have played it safe and went with a gooseneck.

Had a kit installed at work once and it was bolted solely to the bed's sheet metal. A no go for a six horse trailer.

The single biggest contributor to these accidents is speed. Not the kind you ingest, the kind your foot contributes to the accelerator.

Go back just two decades ago and grown ass men drove truck loaded to the axles.
But they did NOT try and do it at 75 MPH.

I had a ‘professional’ shop install a receiver hitch one time when I was getting some body work done. When I picked it up there was plastic covering the hole where the tow bar goes. They pulled it off and revealed the fastener kit, complete with the proper size and grade of bolts and plates to attach the hitch to the truck. They just used hardware store bolts and nuts with no washers. I had to reinstall the hitch myself with the proper hardware. I imagine if I had towed much with their ‘install’ job it might have gone poorly.

Those are the heavy equalizer style hitches I believe.


They good to go.

I bet the people in the truck cshit their pants when that happened. I’d want a dually if I had a big camper.

not to mention grandpa riding in the camper

Yeah, it blows me away when I see "Melvin" pulling a 30 foot RV with a half ton. ....and I've seen them all! Ford, Dodge, Chevy, GM, etc, etc!

My dad, bless his heart, finally bought himself a brand spanking new Dodge "Adventurer" 1/2 ton.
Went to an outfit in Houston and had them mount a half cabover camper on it!
Driving that thing would make a seasoned sailor seasick! It wallowed all over the road.....but he loved the damned thing!

Probably testing his new LT trailer tires. Hopefully no serious injuries.

Exactly see idiots like that on the interstates all the time here in Floriduh. Where the hell are they going in such a hurry? I just get the hell away from the morons.

People do such stupid things towing, I see it a lot , city people with income tax return checks that want to get into outdoor’s stuff, they buy a RV and pull it with a Toyota , small one at that, speed isn’t always the reason.

Have installed all my own fifth wheel hitches, two in Gmc and one in a ford, always make sure to make sure it is anchored to the frame and that all is torqued and sitting just forward of the axle.

I bet that was a heck of a ride trying to control that big RV.
Wonder if the Insurance company will pay the damages.


I know a guy who had Home Depot load two pallets - 99 bundles of shingles that weigh 80lbs. each = 8,000lbs. . Plus other tools on the trailer - with a half ton F-150,, it does have a factory towing package.
Going east on I-10 Gulfport, MS. the lanes were cupped really bad - at about 50mph it started trying to jackknife. The more the brakes were applied the worse it got, took about 150 yards to get it under control.
Some moron in a Ford Explorer drove up throwing his hands up like ? what the hell are you doing. I waved him away and the look on my face likely clued him in that this was serious, he floored it and went on.

The outside lips of the rims had scratches on them from scuffing the road, how the tires stayed on the rims? I have no idea.
I cruised the shoulder to the next exit and didn't get over 25mph to the jobsite .
Told the roofers the story - they got a kick out of it.

I pulled a 35ft Donzi From St Peterersberge to Corpus with my 1/2 ton Dodge around 60-65 mph. I was getting about 6 mpg and my brake pads were about gone when I got back to CC. The boat was 10,000 lbs empty plus around 300 gallons of gas in it. Won't do that again, I was a nervous wreck going through Houston during rush hour on a Friday.

I see small trucks towing boats that are way too big for the truck. It is amazing that it does not happen more often. I have a 2,800 lb boat and like the fact that I have a 3/4 ton diesel. I know I dont need it , but it does make a difference.

Learned early - not much chance of too much truck, but plenty of options for too much trailer or camper.

We started with a big/heavy Red Dale camper when the kids were little - but mounted it on a 67 Dodge D300 SRA crew cab complete with overload springs. 318 w/ 4 speed. OK.

Have owned many, many trucks - but have never owned a 1/2 ton pickup.

That scene is a scary mess.

I've never used it but my Dodge 2500 has a gooseneck hitch. Has anyone used one of these Andersen adapters to pull a 5th wheel with a gooseneck hitch? How well do they work?