5th wheel vs gooseneck

[kblranch]

My wife and I have recently purchased a used 5th wheel to see how we like it and to take a break from vacationing in our LQ horse trailer with our horses. What I am trying to figure out is why the 5th wheel tows so much harsher. Towing the gooseneck LQ horse trailer you literally do not even know it is there. The 5th wheel on the other hand lurches front to back. I see the posts for Demco ect but wonder why you need to do that in the first place? The 5th wheel has springs and shocks.

 

[Simplysmn]

Maybe due to the sway of the hitch on the 5er on the gooseneck you only have the ball ?

 

[Grizzly]

You can minimize the jerking with a better 5th wheel hitch. I have a PullRite, which I believe is one of the better hitches out there. The Demco pin box, which is standard on the Hitchhiker, is another option to minimize movement.

 

[seafish]

So what IS the advantage of a 5er over a gooseneck??

 

[Pavemen]

the trailer's weight distribution is a lot different between the two types of trailers, so that will have an impact on trailer "feedback"

 

[kblranch]

I of course have a RBW 7028 hitch pin which neither Demco or Mor/ryde show a listing for. I have emailed both to see if they will fab one up for me! I am not sure the of advantage of one vs the other but it is way easier to pull just the ball out of the bed with the gooseneck to have an empty bed. I have the companion BW 5th wheel adapter. It is heavy and a pain to take out when you need to go pick up sheet rock, plywood etc at the lumber store.

 

[HBarlow]

My wife and I have recently0 purchased a used 5th wheel to see how we like it and to take a break from vacationing in our LQ horse trailer with our horses. What I am trying to figure out is why the 5th wheel tows so much harsher. Towing the gooseneck LQ horse trailer you literally do not even know it is there. The 5th wheel on the other hand lurches front to back. I see the posts for Demco ect but wonder why you need to do that in the first place? The 5th wheel has springs and shocks.

Some fifth wheel RV trailers are designed better than others and tow/ride less harsh than others. It varies with axle spacing to the kingpin, overall balance, and trailer weight and suspension components used.



I have experienced and agree with your comparison between some fifth wheel trailers and gooseneck horse trailers. I've pulled a few of those very expensive all aluminum ones out of plants in or around OKC. They did, indeed, tow like a dream. I think it is probably due to the rubber torsion axles they use instead of steel leaf springs that are the design first used on horse drawn wagons. It may also be related to balance point and percentage of trailer weight shifted to the rear axle of the tow vehicle. Fifth wheel RV trailers are balanced so that 75-80% of gross weight is on the trailer's axles and 20-25% is on the king pin. I don't know the figures or percentages but horse trailer axles appear to be set back farther and probably transfer more weight to the tow vehicle.



As you know, I am a strong believer in the performance advantage of Demco Glide-Ride kingpin assemblies. They will absolutely eliminate the "chucking" motion so common to fifth wheel trailer towing.



But beyond the specialized king pin assembly, it makes a difference what brand of fifth wheel hitch you are using. This comment will cause at least a half dozen TDR members to jump up and post to defend their brand of hitch but Reese, the most commonly sold and used hitch, the oldest in the industry and, in my opinion, best fiver hitch on the market, is also the tightest and allows the least amount of slack when the kingpin is coupled. Some of the other brands, relative newcomers to the market, are less expensive to buy and work fine and reliably but use different latch mechanisms and allow a lot more slack between kingpin and collar. I've known several fellow RVers who bought a cheaper brand initially to save money and later dumped their hitch and bought a Reese.



If the annoying movement you feel is a hard jerk on start and stop, it may be the hitch. If it is a continuous chucking felt at towing speeds, a Demco is the answer.

 

[SWC]

I have been wondering about the difference in livestock trailers and rvs as well as I have towed both. And in livestock trailers probably grossly overloaded. (Oh for the days when I was younger and invincible!!!)

Gooseneck livestock trailers as has been pointed out usually have the axles set further back on the trailer. This way you do not get the rocking forward and back or up and down on the hitch. If you have a load on a gn livestock trailer the back end of the truck squats unless the truck has the suspension to handle the load.

Rv's as Harvey also mentioned have a load that may be too balanced. What you get is a teeter toter thing going. The higher the center of balance with the larger rv's and the more weight behind the axles contributes to this.



Stan

 

[seafish]

So GN trailers have more tongue weight? Is that the only difference in terms of affecting handling? Can either type inherently carry more weight safely, or is load bearing simply a matter of the trailer design??

 

[HBarlow]

So GN trailers have more tongue weight? Is that the only difference in terms of affecting handling? Can either type inherently carry more weight safely, or is load bearing simply a matter of the trailer design??

IMO the primary "handling" difference, meaning specifically "ride quality", is the torsion arm suspension in lieu of steel leaf springs that high quality (high dollar) GN horse trailers use. They ride much smoother than leaf sprung trailers in my experience. I would guess that less expensive GN horse trailers that use conventional leaf spring suspension probably don't ride much better than a fifth wheel RV trailer but probably do not create the "chucking" feel because axle placement puts more tongue weight on the TV and they don't rotate back and forth around the axles as fifth wheel trailers seem to do.



I can only say that GN stock trailers "appear" to put more tongue weight on the tow vehicle. I don't think I've seen or read any specifications on one. I've only towed a few gooseneck horse trailers and they were new from the manufacturer, so dry and empty.



I don't think either type, GN or fifth wheel, is inherently more capable or safer. Fifth wheels are easier to back to and couple because the driver can usually see the kingpin of his trailer and the fifth wheel hitch from the driver's seat of a pickup. Backing to a GN requires the driver to back blind using only his outside rear view mirrors to center the TV under the GN.



Farmers and ranchers usually prefer GN trailers (and hitches) because they leave the TV bed clean and usable to carry hay bails or other loads. A GN trailer usually allows more freedom of movement of the TV when backing/maneuvering because the driver can jacknife the trailer more than 90*. A fifth wheel travel trailer will stike the rear cab corners if the driver backs and turns the trailer more than 90* from the TV.

 

[seafish]

HBarlow, Thanks for the detailed explanation!

 

[HBarlow]

You're most welcome. I was just rattling the keyboard with nothing better to do but occasionally, by accident, I write something that has a little value to someone.



Likewise I often learn things I didn't know here.

 

[kblranch]

I do not seem to have any slack when I take off or stop it is mainly on poor freeway stretchs where you get this bump bump bump to the truck. One way or another I will get a Demco retrofited. Next time I hook up the gooseneck I will check to see if it squats the truck as much as the 5th wheel.

 

[HBarlow]

I do not seem to have any slack when I take off or stop it is mainly on poor freeway stretchs where you get this bump bump bump to the truck. One way or another I will get a Demco retrofited. Next time I hook up the gooseneck I will check to see if it squats the truck as much as the 5th wheel.

Demco builds their Glide-Ride in different sizes. They probably build one for your trailer also.

 

[captainmike]

5th Airbourne Pin Box

I tow a 33 ft 5er with my '06 megacab. I too had a lot of fore/aft chucking on the concrete strips of some highways. After installing a 5th Airbourne pin box on the 5er the problem has resolved. The 5th airbourne has an air suspension that must be aired to the right level. I check it before every tow. If aired too the right height the chucking disappears. This may be an alternate solution.