Emergency Towing Of Pickup And 5th Wheel RV

by Larry
(Illinois)

In case of a breakdown of your truck when towing your 5th wheel camper, I'm curious as to whether its safe to tow the truck with the 5th wheel camper still attached, or do they always tow the truck and camper separately?

In other words do they need to make two trips or send two tow trucks???

Thank you.

ANSWER Greetings Larry thanks for submitting your question on our free Ask An RV Question Page.

The simple answer to your question is that your tow vehicle and 5th Wheel Trailer can be safely towed together, in case of a breakdown. That being said; this does not mean that you can call any tow truck company to do this job. Unfortunately not all towing companies are properly equipped or trained to perform this task.

If this towing job is done improperly it can cause damage to both your tow vehicle and 5th Wheel Trailer. It is important that the towing company you use has experience in dealing with RVs.

Here is where the problem comes in. When you experience a sudden breakdown with your RV, how are you going to find the right towing company to do the job? When you are broken down along the side of the road, you really do not have the time to find the right towing company. So what do you do? Here is my suggestion; if you have an RV you should also have an Emergency Roadside Assistance Service Plan.

The Emergency Roadside Assistance Plan you get should be for an RV. If you breakdown and you have an RV Emergency Roadside Assistance Plan all you do is call a 800 number and give them your location, etc. and they will contact the properly equipped and trained tow truck company to assist you. If you have to be towed or have a tire changed, etc, it is done at no cost to you.

Yes, you have to pay annual fees to be a part of an RV Emergency Roadside Assistance Plan, but this plan will more than pay for itself the first time you use it. Sure you can roll the dice and not purchase an RV Roadside Assistance Plan; in fact, you could go RVing your whole life and never have a breakdown.

You need to ask yourself this question if you are waffling on purchasing an RV Emergency Roadside Assistance Plan. Do you have fire insurance on your house? In most cases your answer to this question will be yes. Why do you have fire insurance on your house? You are not planning to have your house catch on fire, but it is sure nice to know that the repairs to the house will be covered in case it does catch fire. I hope you get the point that an RV Emergency Roadside Assistance Plan is nice to have just in case you have that breakdown. In fact I consider it a must for any RVer.

I very seldom make any personal recommendations for any product, but I am going to give you my personal recommendation here. I strongly recommend RV Emergency Road Service from the Good Sam Club.


This is the plan that I have used for all of my RVs over the years. Here is why:

*Unlimited Distance Towing Services 24/7

*Flat Tire Service

*Minor Roadside Mechanical Repairs

*Protection for all Household Vehicles which would include your towed vehicle or your towing vehicle

*Free Battery Jump-Starts, Emergency Fuel Delivery, Lost Key / Lock-out Service

*$1,200 Trip Interruption Assistance

*They have had Over 1,500,000 successful roadside rescues—Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service


I hope that I have been able to answer all of your questions.

Happy RVing

RVing Al

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