5th wheel help

[timelessconstructionllc]

I've got a horseback hitch in my truck, most of the trailers I pull are goosenecks. I'm considering buying a 5th wheel camper, I've never owned a 5th wheel . Can anyone tell me what the best way to accommodate both setups is?

 

[RustyJC]

The BEST way??? B&W Turnoverball Gooseneck hitch with Companion 5th Wheel hitch. This gives you a proper gooseneck hitch, a proper 5th wheel hitch and a clean bed floor when neither are in use.



Rusty

 

[Slow Six]

Reese hitches can also be set up for both 5th & goose neck. The Elite series has under bed mounting. They are not cheap but are a quality hitch. You can also get an adapter to go from the 5th to a goose neck but they are not reccomended because of increased stress to the pin box. I convert all my trailers to a king post (5th. wheel) because I like the 5th wheel set up for ease of hitching and no safety chains required.

 

[steved]

Reese also makes a gooseneck ball for their 5vr hitch rails... four pins and you can swap to either one.



That was the route I was going to take when I was looking at goosenecks since I already had the 5vr hitch and rails in the truck. All I would need to have bought was the gooseneck plate that attached to the rails.

 

[timelessconstructionllc]

I already have a B&W turnover Ball, so i hate to waste the money that i already spent on it, i do kind of like the idea of the companion 5er though, and then possibly eventually convert all of my trailers over to a kingpin setup. Any more info on how you go about doing this?

 

[RustyJC]

If you already have the B&W Turnoverball gooseneck hitch, you're halfway there. Buy the Companion 5th wheel hitch, install it in the gooseneck hitch receiver, and you've got it solved.



Rusty

 

[Slow Six]

I already have a B&W turnover Ball, so i hate to waste the money that i already spent on it, i do kind of like the idea of the companion 5er though, and then possibly eventually convert all of my trailers over to a kingpin setup. Any more info on how you go about doing this?

On my trailers I just bought a post with the king pin on it. A good trailer supply company should have them or be able to get them. You can also buy a king pin and plate and weld it to an appropriate post or what ever attachment you have.

 

[MegaJeff]

I have a shortbed on my Megacab and so I needed an offset hitch to allow clearance to keep the front end of my 5er away from my cab. I have the BW hitch setup and then bought an RV 2 gooseneck to 5th wheel adapter. I bolted it to my 5th wheel's pinbox and I just towed with it last weekend for the first time. Very slick and easy to use. Now I don't have to keep hauling a heavy slider hitch in and out of my truck bed. The RV2 has a 9'offset for a shortbed truck. they make outhers without the offset if you have a longbed.

 

[RustyJC]

Good luck with that gooseneck adapter. Hope you don't rip the pinbox off your 5th wheel.....



Rusty

 

[MegaJeff]

Geez Rusty... . I hope I don't either! Seems pretty strong to me.

 

[RustyJC]

It doesn't matter how strong the gooseneck adapter is. The problem is that it acts just like a cheater pipe applied to the pinbox of the 5th wheel, amplifying the torque loads from starting and stopping. Look at a gooseneck trailer frame - all that gusseting in the crown of the gooseneck trailer frame is there to resist the torques generated by the geometry of the gooseneck tube. A 5th wheel frame, because it doesn't have the large offset between the frame and hitch attachment point, and because the load plates of the pinbox and 5th wheel hitch resist torquing, doesn't have this gusseting. Therefore, it isn't uncommon at all to see reports of frame damage or pinbox separation on 5th wheels using these gooseneck adapters.



Rusty

 

[MegaJeff]

Rusty thanks for the info. We'll see what happens and I hope it holds together. Maybe I should have the pinbox attachment point on the frame reinforced?

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

It doesn't matter how strong the gooseneck adapter is. The problem is that it acts just like a cheater pipe applied to the pinbox of the 5th wheel, amplifying the torque loads from starting and stopping. Look at a gooseneck trailer frame - all that gusseting in the crown of the gooseneck trailer frame is there to resist the torques generated by the geometry of the gooseneck tube. A 5th wheel frame, because it doesn't have the large offset between the frame and hitch attachment point, and because the load plates of the pinbox and 5th wheel hitch resist torquing, doesn't have this gusseting. Therefore, it isn't uncommon at all to see reports of frame damage or pinbox separation on 5th wheels using these gooseneck adapters.



Rusty

AND don't forget that almost every 5th wheel RV manufacturer will void the warranty if you use a GN adapter even though the dealers sell them.



To the OP: There are many benefits to having a kingpin on any trailer. A couple that come to mind is cranking the landing gear up off of the ball with weight on the trailer sucks. It's much easier to only need to crank it down until they touch the ground and maybe one or two more to get the weight off the truck, release the jaws, and drive away. Another one is hooking it back up.



Back when I was hauling Featherlite trailers, most of the drivers would take the GN hitch out of the trailer, toss it in the bed, and slip in their own kingpin and plate, latch on and be gone while I was still fighting with the GN.

 

[timelessconstructionllc]

I'm really digging this kingpin thing. I guess i'll be saving up for a companion hitch. I can definitly see where the kingpin would have advantages over gooseneck when it comes to stress on the trailer as well as hooking/unhooking the trailer.

 

[jelag]

I agree with Rusty... . Over the years all my trucks have had the B&W set up for gooseneck trailers and the companion hitch for the 5th wheels... I have a long bed but have actually made an adapter to move the companion hitch back 12" so that we can carry some larger items in the front and won't strike the trailer as it turns...

We tow a 15,000 RV with our dually and have no problems with the trailer moved back...

We do have air bags on the rear to allow us to level the truck as we change the weight of either the gooseneck or 5th wheel.....

Just my thoughts... .

 

[Grizzly]

I agree with Rusty... . Over the years all my trucks have had the B&W set up for gooseneck trailers and the companion hitch for the 5th wheels... I have a long bed but have actually made an adapter to move the companion hitch back 12" so that we can carry some larger items in the front and won't strike the trailer as it turns...



We tow a 15,000 RV with our dually and have no problems with the trailer moved back...



We do have air bags on the rear to allow us to level the truck as we change the weight of either the gooseneck or 5th wheel.....



Just my thoughts... .

Welcome back Jim. You've been gone a long time.



george

 

[DZinger]

I am currently removing my RV1 GN adapter with 5-1/2" offest from my 5th wheel camper if anyone is interested in a deal on one...

 

[HBarlow]

Some RVers like the idea of converting their fifth wheel travel trailers to goosenecks by adding a fifthwheel to gooseneck adapter. Many of them learn later when the trailer frame fails that it was a costly mistake and their factory warranty is null and void.

I'm doing the opposite. I have an old Reese fifthwheel hitch I have used for years and a fifthwheel trailer. I also have a 14,000 lb. gooseneck hydraulic dump trailer I use for hauling gravel, garden fertilizer, etc. Handcranking the heavy gooseneck trailer up high enough to couple or uncouple it each time I use it is a pain and backing under the hitch is another pain because my Transfer Flow auxillary fuel tank prevents me from seeing the gooseneck or recessed pocket in the flatbed from the driver's seat.

I have ordered a GN5 gooseneck to fifthwheel adapter like the one mentioned above from Pop Up Industries which is actually owned by Young's Industries, maker of HitchHiker fifthwheel frames. It will slide into the four inch round tubing on the front of the gooseneck trailer and replace the long extension gooseneck coupler with a shorter kinpin. It will be much easier to back under and the lift distance required to couple with a fifthwheel will be much shorter. Use of a fifthwheel hitch will eliminate repeatedly removing the heavy fifthwheel hitch every time I want to tow the gooseneck trailer then reinstalling later as well.

 

[RBellah]

jelag do you have a photo of the adapter plate that sets the mount back 12"??

 

[MegaJeff]

Jelag..... mine is a PopUp Industries RV2. It only gives 9 inches of offset but is still enough for the trailer to clear my cab for most any turn. I love it and I also bought an Eye Ball remote camera that helps me hook up on the first try. Very cool little gaget as it is cordless and I set it right in front of the ball in the bed and I see everything through the monitor that plugs into the accessory outlet on the dash.