Why do they handle well?

Fifth wheel handle better, sway less and are far safer at speeds than most conventional caravans. Fifth wheel, like semi trailers, attach above or slightly in front of their towing vehicle rear axle and not a metre or more behind, like most caravans. The lateral movement and tow ball weight of a caravan is amplified to the tow vehicle due to the distance their coupling is from the rear axle (i.e. a ball near the rear bumper). The caravans ball coupling’s distance from the tow vehicle’s rear axle tends to act as a level arm that allows the caravan to transfer movement more easily to the rear of the tow vehicle. This in turn can increase the incidence of sway. It also tends to force the tow vehicle’s rear suspension down more thus lifting some of the weight off the front wheels. This can make the steering light and imprecise. Semi trailers have similar couplings to fifth wheels. How many times have you seen semi trailers swaying?