Our Rig: An Update

Okay, so the original plan was to drive a 1-ton diesel van and tow something behind it, ideally a fifth-wheel with an Automated Safety Hitch. We bought the fifth-wheel and then realized, hey, this thing is pretty heavy, which wouldn’t be a problem except that the van, which is equipped with a 6.0 Powerstroke Engine (the same as in Ford’s F-350 trucks), does not have the cooling capabilities to run it up hills and not overheat. Furthermore, we realized (too late) that Ford chips these vans so that you cannot get the same power from them as the truck with the same engine.

Maybe it would’ve worked. I don’t know. I didn’t want to find out going up a mountain in the middle of nowhere with four tired and hungry kids. Consequently, we had to make the tough decision to sell the van and buy a Chevy Duramax Diesel 3500 crew cab. It’s a tight fit with all six of us in there, but I gotta say, it really can pull and the Allison 6-speed transmission is amazing! (And we’ve been driving nothing but hills and mountains around here.)

The other decision we made was to keep the Automated Safety Hitch for pulling the fiver. Why? Well, we still liked the concept of having an extra set of 2-ton-truck-equivalent brakes, in addition to the trailer brakes. We liked not having the pin weight on the truck axle, but moved to a 30,000 lb. trailer rated axle (meaning that axle can hold the pin weight of a 30,000 trailer); we like having the bed of the truck free to put a camper shell on or even have a custom built sleeper cab with extra seats installed. The additional suspension control was appealing, too.

Now, inquiring minds want to know, how is the Hitch working? (Okay, only RV-minded people really want to know this.) I promised readers of the RV discussion boards that I would report back how it’s driving, so here are my observations after putting about 1500 miles on it so far:

First of all, we are longer than we would be if using the standard bed-hitch. I initially thought this would be a problem, but that has not presented itself at all. We’ve wound through poorly laid-out gas stations, tight RV spaces, crowded Wal-Marts, and small neighborhood streets without a problem. Yes, you’re longer, but your ability to turn a tight corner is improved because the hitch pulls the trailer out away from the curb for you. (It’s a steerable axle at speeds under 25 mph.) So many times when making a right turn, I say, “honey, you’re too close,” and then look over my shoulder to see he has several feet from the curb!

We’ve backed-up a handful of times without issue, too, but I imagine we’ll have more to write about that in future, since, like most RVers, we instinctively avoid backing up wherever we go.

Now, how does it drive? Well, we’ve been on some bumpy roads and all the bouncing is absorbed by the hitch. I look back and can see the fiver articulating up and down over the hitch, and I wonder, how would that have been bouncing around in the bed of the truck? Meanwhile, we’re riding pretty smooth. We’ve been in severe winds, passed up by all kinds of big rigs (times where I hear you should get blown all over the road) and no issues. We drive pretty straight and sure. At this point, I feel pretty confident taking the RV anywhere.

One more observation: while everyone else in a fiver sets up their tripod and stabilizers to keep the rig steady when parked, the Safety Hitch does a great job taking over that task with ease. It’s probably the best stabilizer you can get when parked.

So, those are my initial thoughts on the Safety Hitch for those who are curious. I’ll surely have more to write about later.

Tagged as: chevy trucks, Safety Hitch, tow vehicles