gooseneck hitch conversion vs fifth wheel

[ram2]

Has anyone put a gooseneck hitch in place of the fifth wheel hitch and what do you think about it. What are it's advantages and disadvantages. Does the fifth wheel haul as good?

 

[CUMMINZ]

Conversion

Please look at these webpages and read closely.



Box conversions :-{}



Mods to box :-laf

 

[RustyJC]

5th wheel RVs are generally not designed for the higher torques imposed on the pinbox area by the gooseneck adapters - these adapters act as a "cheater pipe" and can (and have) tear the pinbox area out of the frame of a 5th wheel. Compare the amount of steel used in the crown area of a gooseneck trailer with that of a 5th wheel - the extra strength is there for a reason.



Let me suggest 2 things:



1. Contact your RV manufacturer and ask if they approve the use of a gooseneck adapter on their product.



2. Run a search on "gooseneck adapter" here and on RV forums such as iRV2.com and RV.net and see what you come up with.



Caveat emptor!



Rusty

 

[RustyJC]

Oh, and if you want the capability to tow both gooseneck and 5th wheel trailers and a clean bed when you are not towing, take a look at the B&W turnoverball gooseneck hitch with its companion 5th wheel RV hitch.



Rusty

 

[jwduke]

I'm withy Rusty, I think you are going to put a lot of stress on the pin box of your 5er, using a gooseneck hitch setup.



Maybe the people to ask is your local dealer (Yeah, right! Like he would know), or maybe some one who tows RV's for a living. I would check with the mgfr. of the RV.

 

[CUMMINZ]

Pin box conversion

Since I purchased and installed a pinbox to ball conversion, I have pulled my 32' Sprinter thousands of miles. Every single RV with a conversion that I have seen in a campground or stopped for one reason or another, I took the time to inquire of any problems they had or have heard about. I have yet to get any negative feedback. I would imagine that there are 100 times more tire failures than there are pinbox problems. Most older RVs are much heavier than the ones manufactured today. To ask a manufacturer if they had a problem with a conversion if you really think about the answer and question is pure stupid. If any manufacturer said they were OK, they would be pure stupid since that places liability on them. Personally, I would not use a conversion on any RV over 32' long or an RV that is pushing the pinbox capacity already. I removed mine because my wife did not like the ride.



CUMMINZ NC

2004. 5 CTD, Pullrite, 2006 - 36' Cedar Creek, Tornado, TST, AMSOIL, 4x4, 4. 10LS, 315x70Rx17 BFG, 8" Factory cast aluminum, 2" front lift/w RC shocks, Line-X, Hellwig sway bar, Timbrens, Banks monster exhaust & High-RAM Intake,

My Truck at www.GoRowan.com/2004ram

 

[GAmes]

I had two that were converted. The first, a 25 ft Kit Ranger had no problems. The second, a 29 ft Fleetwood Terry (10,000 lbs loaded) failed during a panic stop. The plate that the tube was mounted to tore like paper and the vertical tube ended up at about a 45 degree angle. A local welder cut the old plate off and welded on a 1/4 inch thick plate, then welded the tube to that. I never had any more problems, but then again, no one else ran a light in front of me while I was doing about 35 mph.

 

[CPittman]

ram2 - mine is converted and I like it because it is very easy to hook the 5er up when I'm on uneven terrain. We haul our unit onto our property which is something like forested pasture (no road, somewhat rough terrain). With the gooseneck I know I have a positive hookup every time - I don't have to have the truck and trailer on or near the same plane.



I would (and have) get a certified welder to beef up the pinbox plate AND weld a 45 degree, or shallower, kicker tube from the gooseneck tube to a reinforcing plate on the pinbox.



This should not be a mod that allows you to switch between 5th wheel plate and gooseneck hitch. Mine has the hell welded out of it. Most of the 5th wheel pin plate are quite light steel, IMHO. We started mine by welding a 1/4" reinforcing plate to the bottom of the pin plate before doing anything else.



I also like it because I pull heavy equipment trailers (dump trailer, tractor, etc. ) and they're all gooseneck trailers - so I don't have to switch between hitching equipment (its cheaper too... )



I'll try to get some pics online.

 

[RustyJC]

To ask a manufacturer if they had a problem with a conversion if you really think about the answer and question is pure stupid. If any manufacturer said they were OK, they would be pure stupid since that places liability on them.

So, let's see, you consider it stupid to ask the company that's responsible for the design and structural integrity of the 5th wheel if the frame and pinbox is sufficiently strong to handle the higher forces imposed by the gooseneck adapter? As a mechanical engineer, I guess I have a different definition of stupid than you do.



Rusty

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

Rusty, Did you contact your truck manufacturer before you put the aftermarket parts on your truck? If so, did they approve? Probably no and no. There isn't an OEM manufacturer out there that would approve something added to their product. Does that mean you can't? Does that mean it's wrong or unsafe? I tow and live in a 32' Travel Supreme 5th wheel that weighs about 16000lbs. I switched from a 20k 5th wheel hitch to a turn over ball about 2 years ago and have never looked back. I bought an adapter from Cliffs Welding in Mesa,AZ and after 2 years and around 30,000 miles it's been flawless.

 

[RustyJC]

It's your RV, your money and your family's safety. I'm merely trying to make the original poster and anyone else considering this conversion aware of the structural considerations involved. If you will take the time to run some forum searches as I suggested earlier, you'll find any number of forum participants who have experienced structural damage from the use of these gooseneck adapters. If you haven't so far, you're fortunate.



As I said, caveat emptor.



Rusty

 

[RustyJC]

By the way, the following is from the website of the manufacturer of the Cody coupler, one of these gooseneck adapters (emphasis mine):

A word of caution is in order about the use of the Cody Coupler! Because of its design, additional pressure may be placed on the "King Pin" of the trailer it is mounted on. This is a result of the leveraging action involved. Because of this, we feel it is wise to mention several steps that should be taken by the owner of such a rig. These are "common sense" suggestions that could and should apply to any type of trailer hook-up.



REGULARLY INSPECT THE INSTALLATION OF THE COUPLER

Make certain the "King Pin" is securely attached to the Pin Box. Occasionally, additional reinforcement might be advisable.



AVOID THE "POP-A-WHEELY SYNDROME"

Smooth, even starts and stops are always better than the jerky motion.



TRAILER BRAKES SHOULD ALWAYS BE IN GOOD WORKING ORDER!

And properly hooked up.

Rusty

 

[CUMMINZ]

Good questions

If I have an RV with a factory kinpin box I would expect to do the following on a regular basis:



REGULARLY INSPECT THE INSTALLATION OF THE COUPLER

AVOID THE "POP-A-WHEELY SYNDROME"

TRAILER BRAKES SHOULD ALWAYS BE IN GOOD WORKING ORDER!



Same suggestions that Rusty posted from kinpin conversion company. Common sense questions or actions



Anyone that asks a question like "will a conversion hurt my kinpin box or RV frame?"



Don't expect a common sense answer from a manufacturer of RVs to place their business at risk and give you an answer like "certainly you can add that conversion, it will not hurt our frame"



That would be a statement that would kill them in court. It would make them just as libel as the conversion company.



Hey Rusty, When I took my engineers exam I don't remember having to define "stupid". Old man don't take it personal.



CUMMINZ

 

[Turbo Thom]

What Rusty is saying, you ding-a-ling, is you are on your on. If you don't trust the Mfg to tell you the truth, why worry anyway. Change it, pull it, and if it breaks, fix it and sell it to somebody else. What they don't know won't hurt. Right?



. . Preston. .

 

[CUMMINZ]

Hey RAM2

Hey RAM2,



If I was called such a name as ding-a-ling by Turbo-Thom I think I would be offended. Since it is against the rules of this board to call names.

No I don't expect any manufacturer to purger themselves.



CUMMINZ

 

[JoeyJ]

Believe it or not... . there are several manufacturers that do approve the use of adapters with their chassis. Contact yours... you may be surprised. If they say no, it may also mean that their construction meets min requirements. If they say yes, then they know/believe that their chassis meets or excedes that of gooseneck trailers.

Also, not all the possible damage is at the kingpin area. Flexing can be in all directions not just fore and aft. This can cause flexing throughout the entire front portion of the chassis. This can cause separation and/or buckling of the side walls and chassis failure where you can't see, depending on the design. As many manufacturers use the same kingpin/box design on all their chassis, I would tend to agree that a shorter/lighter trailer will be least likely to fail... . well until the one time that something something pushes that limit as the above message states.

Strengthening the kingpin box only transfers the stresses to other areas in the chassis... ... weak link in the chain or is the whole chain weak?

My 2 cents worth

 

[MChildress]

A good friend of mine asked me about these hitches when he was purchasing a 38 ft Presidential Holidayrambler. He was tired of taking his fifth wheel hitch in and out of his truck with his current trailer. I told him I had heard good things about the gooseneck hitch but to ask the dealer what they thought. They swappped out the hitch day 1 and he loves it. He has the B&W turn over ball. This trailer grosses 16,400 and he has been pulling it over a year now with no problems.

 

[merryman]

I used the 'Cody' adapter on my fiver and loved it ----- for several thousand miles--- till it tore the king pin plate 2/3 of the way out of the frame. It tore the welds right apart.
Wonder why Cody never responded to my complaints and request for re imbursement????

Vaughn