5'ver vs. ball gooseneck hitch question

[Coalsmoke]

I'm planning on building a 20 ft 12,000lb low-boy trailer for my 2500 (I'm keeping it realistic). I was planning on using a 5'th wheel set-up, but I have noticed that most cargo haulers seem to be ball-hitch goosenecks and not 5'th wheels. Why is this? Should I be looking at a gooseneck ball instead of the 5'ver?



many thanks,

Stephan

 

[Peter Campbell]

It does seem the cargo trailers are gooseneck. I think the 5 er does not articulate as well when the tractor is rolling relative to the trailer. The fiver hitch ties them together ( roll resistance)- would appear IMHO to be more stable on the highway ( good for campers, bad for off road). The goose is better for manouvering around in the yard/site/dirt road. The truck and the trailer can do various angles and dangles without a bind.

If you look at E-bay there are new heavy trailers for pretty cheap. ( 3-4K$???) I cant see being able to build one for cheaper than they do, unless you are in a good fabricating shop. By the time you buy the lights, wiring, hitch post, steel, axles and perches, and deck. Then do the fabricating and painting- Add it up. If you have one that needs a deck and some repairs- they can be had ( in sorrry condition ) for pretty cheap and you only need the brakes, tires, deck wood and labor- lots of labor.

I have a BRI-Mar goosneck dump- low profile with ramps and barn door tailgate-ran me 7,500$ with a 14K capacity, 6'8 1/2" wide by 14' long. Good for materials and a compact backhoe. No muss no fuss out the door, better frame than I could build. The wiring though will need help soon ( T-taps). Picked it up at the dealer next to the factory. ( Chambersburg PA- middle of nowhere) There are a lot of other manufacturers, lots of competion. You can use it to advantage. Flatbed, non tilt with manual ramps are the cheapest. Cost goes up with hydraulic tilt, extra length, specail features-etc.

Good luck

 

[SRadke]

Gooseneck also opens up a lot of bed space. Most people with utility trailers have utility trucks and the easily removeable or rollover ball is very handy. Goosnecks also work without removal or modification of your tailgate.



-Scott

 

[Coalsmoke]

Thanks guys, maybe I should give this gooseneck idea a second thought. I have priced out my trailer to cost me between $2500 - $3000 CAD for the basic no-tilt flatdeck (I am an industrial welder / heavy equipment operator) so I have access to a well equiped shop. I just really like the idea of having the security of a 5'ver, but I also want to keep the bed usable (I've currently got 5'ver rails in the bed and have no problems with them there, I thought I would just remove the 5'ver hitch when not in use. Why not make a gooseneck style 5'ver? Anyone ever seen it done?

 

[klenger]

Coalsmoke



First of all, if you have Reese 5th wheel hitch rails in your truck, you can buy a gooseneck hitch that will mount to the rails. Not real glamouous, but functional.



2nd: There are 5th wheel to gooseneck adpters on the market, but using one is risky because of the additional stress that a gooseneck hitch puts on the 5th wheel pin box because of the increased leverage. I have heard several reports of damage to 5er from them. If you look at the construction of a gooseneck trailer, you will notice a lot of steel, with gussets for reinforcement.

 

[OTRPU]

Depends on how you're gonna use the trailer, irregular terrain, goose wins hands down. How often you gonna hook/unhook the trailer? If frequent, a GN is sorta a "hole in one", compared to a fifth wheel. I shag trailers for hire, I prefer hookin to a 5th wheel hitch. Lots more latitude, close is good enough. But then, I'm on Interstates most my life. I feel alittle more spring action tuggin a GN compared to a fiver. Hauled a "stack of Gooses" once, before they'd resurfaced the Interstates. . . bout the worst ride I had in my life. Damn load dribbled and wagged all the way to destination. I sorta gotta take whatever it is, loaded however it is. Means things may be heavy on the pin or heavy on the rear, hardly ever get loads balanced well. Nuther thing is I don't do nuttin else with the pickup, so I don't care that it's full of hitches all the time. Those that want to use their pickup have other considerations. It's mostly deciding what you want for what you're gonna be doing most.



Cheers,

Steve J.

 

[PLaFrombois]

Steve



What type of hitches do you have? Is the ball in the bed, and the 5th wheel hitch on a rail? Or is the ball on the same rail and can be removed from the bed when not in use?



Paul

 

[Mopar_Mudder]

Another factor is weight rating. Their may be some correcting me on this but most 5vers seem to be rated from 15-16K. My goose ball on the other hand is rated for 30K.

 

[wbrown02]

Think About Air Ride

Don't know if money is big factor or not? If I were building similar rig now I would use Trailersaver Air Ride hitch comes in two models 22,000 capacity and 32,000 capacity that can be used with either a regular 5th wheel hitch or with, an adapter , ball type

hitch..... I would build trailer with 5th wheel plate and pin lock..... What do big rigs use? 5th wheel plate only... . Main reason for ball is higher capacity in smaller tow vehicles. You must crawl up into bed to finish ball hook up... . not so with 5th wheel.

Bill

 

[GAmes]

Originally posted by PLaFrombois

Steve



What type of hitches do you have? Is the ball in the bed, and the 5th wheel hitch on a rail? Or is the ball on the same rail and can be removed from the bed when not in use?



Paul

I don't know about Steve, but my ball is on a plate that pins to my rails and sits under my 5er hitch. If I have to pull a gooseneck tlr I unpin my 5er hitch and slide it forward exposing the ball. I secure the 5er hitch in the forward rail with two pins. That plate, ball, pin assy is available in Temple for about $120. It does require a couple more bolts to be installed thru the bed in the center of the rails.



Gary

 

[y-knot]

If you are going to build this trailer, I will assume you know how and where it will be used. We sell trailers, and every large open trailer we sell is a gooseneck. There are generaly three styles two choice from. You have the ADJUSTABLE HEIGHT KING-PIN, INVERTED 5TH WHEEL, AND THE ADJUSTABLE HEIGHT BALL COUPLER (AKA- Gooseneck).

Alot of travel trailers have King Pins (5th wheels), but it seems few of them are adjustable. This is important if you are going to build a deck-over with this type hitch, they have to be adjustable, to be fully functionable. The Gooseneck hitch is by far the most popular in this type of trailer, it does offer much more flexibility. The weight rating is higher, most quality gooseneck hitches offer a rating of 25-30K lbs. Also having the bed be relativly free to use is a huge consideration, most folks need to carry additional items that they don't what on or in there trailers (gas,fuel,tools,ect). The trailers track fine on road and are great in off-road situations, the BALL allows much more moevment side-to-side then a fifth wheel plate.

If nothing else, think about re-sale value. I know you might not think you will sell it, but things change and who knows what tommarrow will bring? A fifth wheel open deck-over is almost useless to 95% of the people who would need one. So that might be a consideration for you. Also if you do decide to build this trailer yourself, remember to keep all the recipts for the matterials you purchase, they are needed when you try and get your trailer registered. Also check with you insurance, alot will not cover home-made trailers. And send off and get the required information from your local and state transportation agentcies.



Good luck, and post a picture when done.

 

[bmoeller]

I have seen a 20' flat bed trailer that originally had an adjustable gooseneck hitch. They slipped out the gooseneck coupler for one that has the king pin to be used with the fifth hitch when they weren't pulling their fifth wheel camper.

 

[Coalsmoke]

OK, I have nothing to loose by making it a gooseneck, so that's the route I will go. The resale value is a very good point.