5er to GN adapter

[CDonaldson]

Thought I'd querry you guys about the 5er to GN adapters, I have seen some that bolt directly to the nosepiece itself replacing the bottom half of the nosepiece. I was wondering what companies made these so I could take a look at different types, and if anyone has used them - opinions please?



I have a small (21. 5') Wilderness 5er and was thinking about using an adapter to GN since everything else I have is GN and I have a Pop-Up GN hitch already. Installing a 5er hitch is kind of overkill for the amount of time I actually use/pull it. This little trailer is light and a breeze to pull, no pop-outs.



Another issue I have is that the 06 truck is taller to the bedrail than my old truck, what have you guys done, or how have you raised the trailer to clear the bed rail? I took a tape to the 5er and have about 58"s or thereabouts to the ground from the bottom of the bunk area, my truck bedrail is just about that much too, too close for comfort, right around a 2" difference. I was thinking I could just weld a piece of 6" box tube to the existing trailer frame, maybe make a sandwich of a couple pieces of plate, and weld new spring shackles on the bottom of the new box tube. I'm not to keen on the idea of flipping the axle, and the box tube would easily do what I need, I think. Anyone done it this way? The wheels on it right now are 5-bolt 15's and I could easily up it to 5-bolt 16's and go with a taller tire. Again, any opinions would be appreciated.



Thanks for replies in advance, I would like to get this on the road this spring/summer, have procrastinated doing it long enough.



CD

 

[td182a]

Try a Mumby Hitch

I have a Mumby hitch installed on our fifth wheel. http://www.mumbyhitches.com/



Works good.

 

[JShriver]

I just bought a 33 ft. Wildcat 5er. The RV shop installed a gooseneck adapter on the 5er. It was called an RV2 by Pop Up industries. When we hooked it up to my 06 QC Shortbed 4x4 it would not clear the sides of the bed in short turns. I also found out later that it voids the structural waranty of the 5er due to excess stress put on the frame. The shop kinda didn't mention that.



We ended up going with a Husky 5th wheel slider hitch which works great with no clearance issues.



I'm like you though. I would rather pull all my trailers with the gooseneck hitch. Oh well, I'll just have to pull it in and out as needed.



Good luck!

 

[CDonaldson]

JShriver.



I have been looking at the RV2 by Pop UP Industries. My trailer is only a 21' and a lightweight model. It is older, so no warranty issues. I can see where a 33'er would have more stress on the hitch, but since you are connecting to the existing framework I would wonder how there would be that much of a difference. I toured a 5er manufacturing plant a few years ago and you could order one with either hitch. I asked if there was any difference in how they built the structure for the two different hitches and was told that the structure was identical. So, that kind of told me not to worry about using the RV2. As far as the bed side clearances, that's why I am going to add the 6's to the frame to axle height, and the adjustability of the RV2 will make it all come out right in the clearances. Thanks for your feedback.



CD

 

[JShriver]

CD,



You're right. With that little 21 footer you should'nt have any structural issues. The RV2 has a 7 or 9 inch offset designed for short beds. The RV1 comes straight down to the king pin with no offset. For me I think the RV1 would have worked better to clear the bed rails in turns, but with my short bed I would have run into cab clearance issues with the front of the camper.



Good luck,



JShriver