I Need Gooseneck & 5th Wheel Hitches - Any suggestions?

[HeavyHauler]

Hey guys - I'm in the market for a fifth wheel hitch but I still need to retain the use of my gooseneck as well. Currently, all I have is a hole cut in the bed so I can drop a ball in when I need to but I would like to have some type of a 5th wheel/gooseneck combo hitch if they're made.



I could just buy a regular fifth wheel hitch and still use my current setup for the gooseneck but even though Tennessee doesn't require safety chains on these trailers, I would still like to have them for the added safety.



I'm not towing much right now but will be in the near future. I'm trying to get the truck prepared.



Anyone know of any combo hitches that I could look at? Any other suggestions?



Thanks for the help!

 

[DHayden]

B&W turnover ball gooseneck with the companion 5th wheel attachment... ... end of story, you cant go wrong and its everything you need.

 

[HeavyHauler]

That looks like a great system Dean - thanks for the recommendation. Next question is - where can I get the best deal on the gooseneck setup? I'll probably wait until I need the 5th wheel attachment before I add it. Nice looking truck by the way.

 

[DHayden]

Thank you for the compliment I'm glad that may have helped you out. I bought mine from a local trailer shop when I lived in Washington but the best price is probably going to be on Ebay. Ebay always has a few of the gooseneck hitches for sell and most of the time they have the champion 5th wheel attachment.



Not certain, but last I recall the goose hitch is about $285 buy it now price + shipping and the 5th is $585 which is about $80-100 cheaper than most other places. Good luck to you, it's a nice set up.

 

[CUMMINZ]

Ball conversion to fifth wheel

Please look at these pictures.



Pinbox mods for ball

 

[RustyJC]

If you need both gooseneck and 5th wheel capabilities, I'd do it once and do it right. The B&W turnoverball gooseneck with companion 5th wheel hitch is an excellent product.



Rusty

 

[DHayden]

I would stay FAR away from any sort of 5th wheel to GN adapter unless you place no value on your trailers or safety of your occupants. There is PLENTY of litureature and paramedic stories to back up the fact that adapters are just a bad idea. 5th wheels are not designed to handle the stress that a goose hitch puts on it, failure will come sooner or later.

 

[yogibear]

HeavyHauler, take a look at this set up. www trailer saver air suspension hitches ts3 php

I have this and it is real nice. I have the goose neck, but haave not used it yet, it gives you air suspension on both 5th wheel, and goose neck.



Larry

 

[WRStrong]

I use a Reese 5th wheel hitch. it mounts to rails in the bed as is commonly seen. Reese also sells a gooseneck ball plate that also attaches to the bed rails the same way. I really like it. Of course you have to lug the heavy hardware in and out everytime you switch between trailers.



Very clean set up and you don't have to modify your fiver pin box. There are cheaper gooseneck ball plates for bed rails, but the Reese system allows you to change out the ball. The Cheaper ones have the ball welded in place.



I get the impression that Reese is not too popular with the TDR crowd but I have looked at many hitches and Reese's products are very good quality.

 

[merryman]

I once had a system similiar to the one shown in Cumminz photos, and I really liked it, it seemd like a real answer--------untill on a particularly bouncy section of highway, it caused substantial damage to my fiver. It tore the welds holding the pin box to the frame right apart!!!.

I know for some of you I have repeated this too many times, but it might save someone from the kind of damage I experienced.



Vaughn

 

[HeavyHauler]

Yeah, I wouldn't ever try one of those adapters. If I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna do it right. If everything goes right this summer, we're gonna have our late model back and racing again and I wouldn't trust that thing when hauling around a $60,000 race car with a 40' trailer full of tools, wheels/tires, shocks, and spare engines and trannies.



Anyway, I'm kind of stuck on what to buy now. I, personally, think Reese makes a fine 5th wheel hitch. I love the B&W Turnover ball setup, but I have a problem with the 5th wheel hitch only being secured to the truck by way of that little square hole. I'm also afraid that I could get pretty close to 18K when the race trailer is fully loaded.



I'd feel much more comfortable if my 5th wheel was attached to the truck in a more traditional way, that is, with rails. I'm gonna do some more looking before I make a decision. You can get a traditional fifth wheel hitch from reese and then buy a gooseneck plate to attach to the rails when you need it. I'm still young and full of energy (yeah right) so changing them out every now and then really doesn't bother me.



Thanks for the replies, fellas.

 

[HeavyHauler]

Back specifically on goosenecks, has anyone heard anything about the Pop-Up setup from Curt Manufacturing? It looks just as nice as the B&W and you don't have to get in and out of the bed to remove the ball. Only problem is using a 5th wheel in conjuction with it though.



Check it out: http://www.curtmfg.com/quickgoose.html



One other question - are there any stand-alone 5th wheel hitches that could be used with a setup like the one I mentioned above or the B&W? I figured that the mounting hardware and rails would get in the way of each other but wasn't sure. I have no idea how these things bolt up under there. I really like the look and idea of those Easy Rider Air Ride 5th wheel hitches and if money was no object, I'd like to have one. I wonder if they could be used with a turnover ball setup.

 

[klenger]

HeavyHauler: I did not read all the previous posts, so I don't know if someone has mentioned the PullRite Super 5th. I was considering the B&W, but did not need a gooseneck hitch, and had the same concerns you do about a single point attachment for the 5th wheel hitch. After another member suggested the PullRite, I looked into it and went that way. It is a very high quality product and allows a clean bed when the rails are removed. It takes about 5 minutes to remove the hitch and rails and no tools are required. See http://www.klenger.net/dodge/pullrite/index.html for my comments and pics. They also sell a gooseneck adapter plate similar to the Reese.



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[DHayden]

Heavy, is your car trailer a 5th? normally they are goose's which B&W is rated at 30k I think. They used to have 2 5th wheel hitches, 18k and 25k. I wouldnt mind the air ride myself if money was no object.

 

[DHayden]

Oh yeah, check this one out... little cheaper than the others for air ride http://www.mrtruck.net/cushionglide.htm

 

[HeavyHauler]

Yeah the car trailer is an enclosed 40' 5th wheel fully finished on the inside. Before I got my current truck , there were times when we didn't have a big enough pickup around, and we actually pulled it with a 379 Pete. When we got it, it came with an International RV-hauler type thing but it was unrealiable with a junk DT466 and we no longer have it.



Had our driver not been very irresponsible with money, he had a nice 44' 5th wheel car trailer that had an aluminum frame that kept the weight way down there - this current trailer has a steel frame so it's a hoss. The other wasn't finished inside but it was good enough for us at the time. He could actually pull the 44' aluminum trailer with his POS Chevy 6. 2! Not so with this new trailer though.

 

[DHorton]

I bought the Reese Signature Series 5th Wheel/Gooseneck combo. Have pulled with the gooseneck, no need at the moment for the 5th Wheel, but is available when it is. Like the rating on both. 30K on the Goose and 24K on the 5er. Just my . 02

 

[MartyK]

Can you use the Pullrite hitch or the B&W hitch with the wheel well liners? From the pictures it looks like the rod to disingage the ball will interfere with the wheel well liners.

 

[RustyJC]

Can you use the Pullrite hitch or the B&W hitch with the wheel well liners?

No problem with the B&W on my 3500 which has wheel well liners.



Rusty

 

[klenger]

The PullRite hitch does not have any under-bed mechanisms, so no problem with wheel well liners.