Gooseneck VS 5th wheel

[Cowboy832]

Im looking to buy a travel trailer from a buddy of mine. It used to be a 5th wheel trailer, but he had it changed to a gooseneck hitch. It made sense for him to change it over since he pulls a lot of different gooseneck trailers and it was easier for him to hitch it up without have to install a 5th wheel in his truck. I was just wondering what the pros and cons were of each type of hitch, and what effects it would have on the trailer if i just left it as a gooseneck. I don't pull many trailers anymore, so that wouldn't be an issue. I would rather leave it the way it is, but if it is going to adversely effect the stability or trailering characteristics, then i might think about changing it back, or looking at another trailer.

 

[RustyJC]

If all he has done is bolt a gooseneck adapter onto a 5th wheel trailer, I'd either inspect it very closely before purchasing it or, alternatively, walk away.



There have been many discussions on this and other forums (including the RV forums) about these gooseneck adapters - a search on "gooseneck adapter" will give you lots of reading. The condensed version is that they act like a cheater pipe to greatly increase the torque loads (moments) applied through the pinbox to the 5th wheel frame during acceleration and deceleration. Cases where the 5th wheel frame has been damaged or the pinbox has started to pull out of the 5th wheel frame have been reported. 5th wheel trailers are not designed for gooseneck loading - a comparison of the amount of the steel used in and behind the hitch area of each type of trailer will illustrate the differences.



Rusty

 

[klenger]

Cowboy832: You are truely a wise person to ask about this before purchasing. Consider Rusty's comments carefully.

 

[CLAYTON]

I will be switching my gooseneck over to the B&W 5th companion this season. I would rather not risk having some sort of king pin failure to the added stress of the gooseneck. I have put about 15k on the 5th wheel with the gooseneck thus far with no adverse effect ( at least not visually ). I'll sure miss the ease of hooking up the trailer with that gooseneck though. But better safe then sorry. Plus I read nothing but great things about the B&W 5th companion. I shouldn't have a problem with the new hitch and my short bed right?

 

[LesStallings]

The design and loading of the structure of a GN trailer is different from a 5ver. I would not use an adapter. If you want GN, buy a trailer designed from scratch as a GN. If you want a 5ver, do the same.



Either is fine and structurally sound. Trying to make one from the other is not advised.

 

[Eric_77]

My take on the pros cons of each



5th wheel

pros

easy hookup

large stable platform to transfer weight to truck

reduces side to side movement due to wind (tilting head negates this)

king pin lock

cons

takes up more bed space (uneven surface at best)

uneven terrain can cause severe stress to bed (left to right movement without tilting head)



goose

pro

flat truck bed

uneven surfaces are easily transversed

safety chains

cons

must raise trailer 2-3 inches after weight is removed from truck (electric landing gear is almost a must)

goose to ball must be more closely aligned to hook-up





FYI I have a reverse king pin It has the fifth wheel mounted on the trailer and the king pin is in the truck, gives pros of fifth wheel plus has the flat truck bed of gooseneck.

 

[RustyJC]

If one needs the "clean bed" advantages of a gooseneck plus a 2-axis (fore/aft and side/side) tilting head 5th wheel hitch, take a look at the B&W turnoverball gooseneck hitch with its companion 5th wheel hitch accessory.



Rusty

 

[PatrickCampbell]

5th wheels are safer from what I can tell. A gooseneck has a lot of movement on the ball...

 

[bmoeller]

No worse than a bumper pull trailer. The ossilation works much better on uneven terrain. Without a tilting head on the 5er hitch, it would put a lot more stress on the hitch and truck, from the twisting.

 

[JBlock]

I would thinK the moment arm on a goose neck BEING higher UP than a pull along WOULD LOAD DIFFERENT WHEN TURNING. . due to a the added leverage being higher up. but I need to layout, and I getting to old for calculating that stuff any more, maybe one of the younger enigeer types out of school and check it out.