5th wheel or gooseneck

[jyoutz]

Can you choose what kind of hitch you get on trailer? I had a B&W gooseneck ball hitch installed fr the horse camper when I bought my truck (2006). When we later added a 5th wheel camper, I added the B&W conversion which bolts down to a square tube that replaces the gooseneck ball. It has worked well, no clunking.

Between the two type of hitches, I prefer the gooseneck since it takes up very little bed space and is easy to remove. The fifth wheel hitch blocks a lot of the bed and is very heavy to remove.

I have always wondered why no safety chains on as 5th wheel camper. Semi trucks have them and the mechanism doesn't seem to be impossible to fail.

Ken

There are safety chains on a gooseneck hitch.

 

[Ken45101]

There are safety chains on a gooseneck hitch.

Yes, but not on an RV 5th wheel. Even if you could attach the chains to the truck, there is no attachment point or chains on a 5th wheel RV.

 

[Fxfymn413]

I pull a 32' GN flat bed and a 32' fifth wheel RV trailer with the fifth wheel air ride pin box and I really prefer the fifth wheel hitch for its ease of hitching/unhitching. I do have a camera that I use to help me line up the GN, but its still easier to hook up to the fifth wheel since all you need to do is get close and the pin will slide in.

At least in my case I will hook/unhook the RV many more times than the GN since we tend to stay in one place for a couple of days and then move on so ease of hitching up is important to me.

I don't think you can ever completely eliminate "chucking" with either hitch particularly where a concrete bridge surface meets the asphalt. The addition of the air ride fifth wheel pin box on the trailer really helped, but you still get some bounce in the truck.

I also use a B&W hitch for both trailers. The fifth wheel hitch breaks down into two parts so it is relatively easy to remove from the bed and the receptacle for both is hidden under the bed.

If your truck is a short bed you will almost have to go to a sliding fifth wheel so you don't crush the truck cab with the trailer when backing.

 

[Tomtint]

I pull a 32' GN flat bed and a 32' fifth wheel RV trailer with the fifth wheel air ride pin box and I really prefer the fifth wheel hitch for its ease of hitching/unhitching. I do have a camera that I use to help me line up the GN, but its still easier to hook up to the fifth wheel since all you need to do is get close and the pin will slide in.

At least in my case I will hook/unhook the RV many more times than the GN since we tend to stay in one place for a couple of days and then move on so ease of hitching up is important to me.

I don't think you can ever completely eliminate "chucking" with either hitch particularly where a concrete bridge surface meets the asphalt. The addition of the air ride fifth wheel pin box on the trailer really helped, but you still get some bounce in the truck.

I also use a B&W hitch for both trailers. The fifth wheel hitch breaks down into two parts so it is relatively easy to remove from the bed and the receptacle for both is hidden under the bed.

If your truck is a short bed you will almost have to go to a sliding fifth wheel so you don't crush the truck cab with the trailer when backing.

Thank you vey much. I appreciate the advice and coming from someone with both set ups helps. My truck is a dually long bed, so no slider hitch required. Im now looking at the Andersen set up as well.

 

[RustyA]

His 2021 450 has the dual in-bed hitch prep from the factory that accepts 2 5/16 ball or drop in 5th wheel hitch. Very likely has rear camera on back of cab from factory as well. If not iBall camera kit would solve seeing the ball. He's asking which hitch to drop in his bed to tow rv. If it was me and rv like most has 5th wheel I would buy a compatible drop in 5th wheel hitch. Conversion kit to gooseneck for camper plus gooseneck ball/safety chain kit for factory setup would be a wash costwise with a 25K 5th wheel drop in hitch.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Yes, but not on an RV 5th wheel. Even if you could attach the chains to the truck, there is no attachment point or chains on a 5th wheel RV.

There is no requirement for safety chains on a 5th wheel/kingpin style hitch.

That is why you don't see them.

There is a requirement for safety chains on a gooseneck hitch. It is a ball type hitch, same as your "bumper pull" or receiver type ball hitch, it's just that (the gooseneck) hitch position puts it up in the truck bed. Still needs chains.

 

[Fxfymn413]

My truck is a dually long bed, so no slider hitch required. Im now looking at the Andersen set up as well.

The same here. Other than having to walk in from the hinterlands at every store parking lot the only other problem with my truck is it is a crew cab which makes seeing the GN ball pretty tough. That's why I use the camera set up. On the other hand the fifth wheel hitch is tall enough so seeing it is a lot easier.

The Anderson set up looks like a hybrid approach. To me it seems like it has the same draw back as the GN hitch since you need to be pretty exact in lining up the trailer when hooking up.

 

[jyoutz]

The same here. Other than having to walk in from the hinterlands at every store parking lot the only other problem with my truck is it is a crew cab which makes seeing the GN ball pretty tough. That's why I use the camera set up. On the other hand the fifth wheel hitch is tall enough so seeing it is a lot easier.

The Anderson set up looks like a hybrid approach. To me it seems like it has the same draw back as the GN hitch since you need to be pretty exact in lining up the trailer when hooking up.

There is no perfect solution. The gooseneck hitch is out of the way when you want to use the truck bed, but takes more time to hook up. The 5th wheel hitch is easier to hook up, but results in the truck bed being unusable until the hitch is removed. And the hitch is heavy.

 

[Fxfymn413]

There is no perfect solution.

Sure there is..buy a $40,000.00 tractor to remove the hitch.

 

[jyoutz]

Sure there is..buy a $40,000.00 tractor to remove the hitch.

And most of us have done just that.