Even if you’ve got the most capable pickup truck on the market, there will be times when its trailer hitch just isn’t lava mo le uta you want to pull. Sure, you can keep piling junk into the trailer or the bed and hope for the best, but we both know you’re only kidding yourself. Rather than hurt yourself, kill your truck, or worse, kill someone else, you need a different hitch.

That’s where uili lona lima hitches come into play. These don’t hang out under your rear bumper but instead are installed in the bed, which gives much more safety and stability when towing heavy loads. They also open up a better turning radius for easier fe'avea'i o le taavale toso.

JOST TAPE Uli lona lima 37C pusa lipea vaega ta'avale

The Drive’s editors have been there and done that with trailer towing, and can tell you first hand that it’s a bad idea to rely on a traditional hitch for the heaviest loads. So let’s get rolling and find out what fifth wheels are all about.

We’re not talking about your awkward habit of tagging along on your friends’ double dates here, though you might want to talk to someone about it—just not us. We’re talking about a type of trailer hitch that allows for the connection of a cargo attachment. If you’ve ever looked at the back of a semi-truck, you’ll know what we’re on about. It’s the U-shaped hitch where the large trailers are anchored. In pickup trucks, a fifth wheel is installed in the bed.

If you’ve spent as much time laughing at car videos on the internet, as we have, you’re bound to have seen some poor sap pulling a taavale toso ua ova le uta. E ui ina malie, ae o na vitio o loʻo faʻamoemoeina e faʻaali mai ia i matou pe aisea e taua ai le uili lona lima. Faatasi ai ma ni uta mamafa, o le pito i tua e oomi i lalo, e mafai ona mafua ai ona sui le mamafa o uili pito i luma ma faʻaitiitia ai le mautu o le taʻavale aʻo toso. E fa'apipi'i fa'amau uili lona lima i le va o le au i tua ma le ta'avale o le loli, e fa'aleleia atili ai le mautu ma le fa'aosoina o le ta'avale toso.

O le isi fa'amanuiaga tele o ta'avale ta'avale uili lona lima o le tulaga lea o le ta'amilosaga i le va loli ma taavale toso e tatalaina ai le tomai e liliu ma toso le uta mai le tele o fa'asologa o tulimanu. A aunoa ma se tulaga lamatia o le jackknifing, o le taavale toso e mafai ona liliu i se pito sili atu le maualuga o se tulimanu, e mafai ai ona faigofie le feʻaveaʻi.

No. You’ll need at least a half-ton truck like a Ram 1500 or Ford F-150, but it’s an even better idea to tow with a fifth wheel using a heavy-duty truck. The Ford F-250 and Chevy Silverado 2500 are both fine examples. This is because you need to have a truck with a fua faatatau mamafa o taavale that exceeds the weight of the truck and trailer tongue weight, which is quite a bit easier with today’s heavy-duty trucks.

O le isi mea e tatau ona manatua o le umi o le moega. O se tasi o faʻamanuiaga o le uili lona lima o le tatalaina lea o le tele o suiga mo le loli ma le taavale toso. O le tele o ta'avale ta'avale lapo'a lima-uila o lo'o i ai le pito i luma o le fa'amau, e mafai ona pa'u i totonu o le ta'avale pe a pu'upu'u tele le moega.

E taua le matauina o le loli a gafatia uta e fai sona sao i le tele e mafai ona tosoina i le uili-lima ma e tatau foi ona mafaufau i le mamafa o pine o le taavale toso a'o le'i pipii i luga e toso se uta.

Ia a'oa'oina!

The term half-ton is used to describe a truck’s payload capacity or the amount of stuff it can carry in its bed. Since a ton is 2,000 pounds, a half-ton would theoretically be able to haul 1,000 pounds, but modern pickups generally have much higher payload capacity ratings. The half-ton term is still used because of its familiarity with consumers.

O loli pikiapu mamafa e iai fa'avaa ma vaega e mafai ai ona latou tosoina ma la'u uta e sili atu le mamafa nai lo a latou ta'avale afa tone. O nei loli e mafai ona ta'ua o le tolu-kuata tone po'o le tasi le tone pikiapu. 

A tow hitch is a component that is connected to a vehicle’s chassis that allows towing a trailer. Fifth wheel hitches are located inside the truck bed, while traditional tow hitches are usually located below the rear bumper.

A vehicle’s gross vehicle weight rating, or GVWR, is the total amount of weight that it can safely carry. That not only includes the weight of a trailer or load, but also encompasses fuel, passengers, and the weight of the vehicle itself.

You’ve got questions, Le Ta'avale e iai tali!

A: E ui ina fa'apena fo'i latou fa'atinoga, e masani lava ona taugofie le kusi ma fa'aitiitia fa'alavelave e fa'apipi'i ma fa'aoga nai lo fa'amau uili lona lima o. E mafua lenei mea i le mea moni e faapea o gooseneck nonoa o ni polo polo faigofie e faʻapipiʻi i totonu o se loli, ae o le faʻapipiʻiina o uili lima e manaʻomia ai vaega tetele e faʻaoso mai le moega. Goosenecks e faʻaaogaina tele mo le faʻatau pisinisi ma faʻatoʻaga, ae o uili lona lima e faʻaaogaina mo le tosoina o mea e pei o taavale toso RV.

A: Given the severe consequences of a poorly installed hitch, it’s probably best to leave the installation to a professional. Those jobs can cost anywhere from $750 to $2,000 or more, depending on the type of hitch and truck it’s being installed on.

A: Ioe ma leai. Ioe, e mafai ona e aveese le faʻalavelave, ae i le tele o tulaga, o le a tumau pea le alavai ma nisi vaega o le faʻapipiʻi. Fuafuaga fa'apipi'i fou remedy this problem with systems that don’t obstruct the bed when removed, so do your research to find the right solution.