Switch from 5th wheel to gooseneck

[kcnizdodge]

I currently am towing a Jayco 29' fifth wheel trailer and am tired of having to pull the 5th wheel hitch out of the bed any time I want to haul something (I'm not getting any younger here!). I have seen several "conversions" to switch the pin box over to gooseneck. Has anyone here done this? Does it work well? Is it safe? I am ready to do the conversion, but my wife, God love her, wants me to research the safety of this before I do it.



Any help y'all could give would be greatly appreciated!

 

[RustyJC]

I'd suggest you read THIS THREAD and then tell us what you think. If you'd like other similar threads with the same results, I can point you to them as well.



Rusty

 

[klenger]

Your wife is a very wise person.

 

[rashwor]

I am running my first B&W gooseneck set up and I love it. It works well. One reason I bought it was the fact that there is a 5th wheel companion to go with it. This way, I can tow anything I need to.

 

[kcnizdodge]

Thanks, RustyJC, looks like I won't be doing that conversion. There just has to be a better way. This Reese hitch weighs a ton and in 5 or 10 years I am NOT gonna want to be pulling it in and out of the truck bed. Two trucks is out of the question (one of my co-workers made that suggestion!!).



Back to the old drawing board. . .

 

[RustyJC]

I have one friend that pulls his Reese out of his truck every time he unhitches. He doesn't pull the release lever, but instead pulls the 4 pins between the Reese hitch frame and bed rails. When he raises the 5th wheel with the front jacks, the hitch stays with (and hangs off) the pin box of the 5th wheel. Rehitching requires that the truck be right under the hitch in order for the lugs to fit into the slots in the rails, but at least he doesn't have to lift it in or out by hand.



I never tried this when I had a Reese in my previous truck, but I guess it proves that, where there's a will, there's a way!



Rusty

 

[CJEliassen]

I have pulled an 18,000 pound 5th wheel with my goose neck and had 0 problems.

 

[RustyJC]

You've been fortunate. Others have not had your luck.



Rusty

 

[kcnizdodge]

RustyJC, is there any way to reinforce the front of the trailer to eliminate this problem. My pin box is the short one. I would like to do this conversion but do it safely. I really don't want to look in the mirror and see the trailer going west while we are going north. I would think there would be some way to accomplish this task, short of building a custom trailer with a gooseneck connector rather than the 5th wheel.

 

[robertyoke]

I have also no problems with my 5'er with gooseneck conversion, it weighs about 12k when loaded, 2000 pin wt.

my father also has gn conversion on his 5'er and no problems, also little heaver pin wt and 13500 trailer wt.

 

[djbobo]

When I had the 'in bed' style 5th wheel hitch I used to do what Rusty posted. Every time I got home from a trip- It was very easy to take it off that way and was a great way of storing the hitch while freeing up some room in your bed. I wouldn't try to put it back in that way but would have to get a friend to help me take it off the trailer and re install it in the bed of the truck. Kind of a hassle.



I now have the gooseneck adaptor & a B&W with the 5th companion. No problems with either. The gooseneck adaptor transmits extra leverage to the welds on the box that attatches the king pin. My box is of the straight down type. The swooped forward king pins allready have more leverage on these welds before adding to it with the adapter installed. This might be where some of the problems are showing up.



If you ever decide to get a different set up (like I did). Look at getting the B&W W/ the companion hitch - you will love how easily it comes out in two pieces. Something you'll appriciate if you find yourself alone when you need your bed free.



dj

 

[SLinse]

those that haven't had problems YET, it will happen!!!!



I have a 35ft 5th wheel that I bought with the gooseneck conversion already on it. I have probably 20,000 miles towing it. I never had a problem untill this summer. I made it about 100 miles on my 400 mile trip, and looked in my mirror and noticed I had lots of play in the hitch. I had heard of this problem but new it would never happen to me... WRONG!! I had an easy 3 inches of moment!! I had to rip off all the tin on the bottom and watched while I had someone move the truck back and forth. I had several cracked welds, but nothing REAL major. I hired a welder, and put several cross braces and gussits in. It's better but still not comfortable to pull! My next step is to pull the front tin off, and re-enforce or replace the front frame bar! I already have the B&W hitch in the truck, but needless to say the 5th wheel companion is on order!!!!!!



If anyone wants a good paper weight I have a gooseneck conversion available!

 

[DIESELMAN]

What Shane did is what I would do, especially with anything over 25 feet or 8,000 lbs. Many of these RV's have 8" main rails, or 10" mains but 8" box and goose rails. I would 18" gusset the forward corners horizontally inside, and put 10-15" gussets under the goose rails on front of the verticals going to the main rails, and then gusset the adapter back to the newly strengthened fromt bos. I would the tie underneath both with C8 Channel minimum, C10 preferably.



Overkill? I don't think so, this is how most goosenecks are made. Going from 0 to 60 in 30 seconds with a 10,000 lb load will increase the bending moment on the frame 4 fold with a 10" high gooseneck adapter, thats like pulling a 40,000 lb trailer with the frame designed for 10,000.



I think 1 out of a 100 finds a problem, 80 out of a 100 have a problem but don't see it, 18 don't tow enough to develop a problem and will say its fine, the last guy has a stout trailer and nothing to worry about or he had the problem and welded it up.



If it is built for it, no problem.

 

[Rick Stewart]

I too looked into a fiver to GN conversion and rejected it for these same reasons. Some manufacturers do caution about pin box issues and require minimum pin box construction criteria before allowing use. Still not enough for me though.



On a related subject, has anyone used the PopUp extended GN coupler (SB1)? Looks like a good solution to short box towing for a GN.



Any comments on safety or stress issues as with the GN adapter?



http://www.popuphitch.com/sb1coupler.htm



Rick Stewart

 

[SLinse]

well put dieselman!

 

[kcnizdodge]

I have also no problems with my 5'er with gooseneck conversion, it weighs about 12k when loaded, 2000 pin wt.



my father also has gn conversion on his 5'er and no problems, also little heaver pin wt and 13500 trailer wt.

Robertyoke, what manufacturer did you use for your conversion? I have looked at several and I am having a hard time figuring out which one would be best. Can you make a suggestion?



Thanks. . .

 

[RustyJC]

Robertyoke, what manufacturer did you use for your conversion? I have looked at several and I am having a hard time figuring out which one would be best. Can you make a suggestion?

Rusty

 

[kcnizdodge]

Rusty

Well, I guess I just put the hitch in and leave it there. I am not gonna do something to jeopardize myself and family, or others out on the road. I would like to do something like this, but not if it is unsafe.



Thanks guys for the information. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. . .

 

[RustyJC]

Would you accept what we've been saying if it came from a gooseneck adapter manufacturer? The following is from the Cody Coupler website:

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.

Emphasis mine



Rusty

 

[kcnizdodge]

Would you accept what we've been saying if it came from a gooseneck adapter manufacturer? The following is from the Cody Coupler website:





Emphasis mine



Rusty

RustyJC, don't get me wrong, I do accept what you are telling me. I saw that same type of "caution" on several of the manufacturer's sites. I was just hoping for that "magic bullet" that would make life a little easier.



I have no intention of going to the gooseneck adapter now. If there is a small chance something will or can go wrong, it will. Best I don't take the chance to start with.



Maybe someday some RV manufacturer will make the gooseneck hitch an option, till then, I will stick with what I have. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!