why have 5th wheel and gooseneck couplings?

[MossRoad]

Big difference.

Gooseneck, old style plate:

View attachment 548413



New style:

View attachment 548409

View attachment 548421


5th wheel:

View attachment 548415 View attachment 548416

Picture goodness! :thumbsup:

 

[3Lfarms]

I think it comes down to the simple fact that 5th wheel is easier. They don’t have to be perfectly aligned, and can be a little off in height and still work. As the truck is backed up, the pin is forced into position and the jaws latch automatically. Then no safety chains to have to hook up. Which a gooseneck, you have to get that ball right under the hitch for it to drop down on it.
With extended cab pickups, it’s hard to see to get it right the first time. But you can see a 5er hitch pretty well and do it in one shot.

 

[ning]

I wouldn't be surprised if the early goosenecks were farmer DIY jobs... that said, my rather uneducated opinion is that because the gooseneck allows more articulation, it handles rougher territory better, and there's a lot less space taken in the bed of the truck - just this (usually) vertical post. A fifth wheel hitch takes up a lot of space.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the over-the-truck-bed portion of a lot of gooseneck trailers is higher than the equivalent on a 5th wheel, which also allows for more use of the truck bed. A corollary to this is that the fifth wheel hitch's lack of side-to-side tilt (mostly) allows the trailer to be closer to the bed than the gooseneck, which gives better clearance for a larger RV or semitrailer.

Overall it looks like the gooseneck was designed more for rural use, and the fifth wheel originated for the semitrailer and was chosen for RVs because of volume considerations.

 

[Xfaxman]

I think it comes down to the simple fact that 5th wheel is easier. They don’t have to be perfectly aligned, and can be a little off in height and still work. As the truck is backed up, the pin is forced into position and the jaws latch automatically. Then no safety chains to have to hook up. Which a gooseneck, you have to get that ball right under the hitch for it to drop down on it.
With extended cab pickups, it’s hard to see to get it right the first time. But you can see a 5er hitch pretty well and do it in one shot.

I fastened a short piece of aluminium rod to an old speaker magnet. Set it in front of the gooseneck ball, back up using the rearview mirror, keeping the rod centered on the trailer hitch. When the rod moves, stop and lower the hitch onto the ball.

 

[Bigfoot62]

I DON'T use both. My only 5th wheel trailer is the RV, and I put a G/N adapter on it. I have a 5th wheel on the Peterbilt, but can't stand the thought of a 5ver hitch in the bed of my pickups.
Yes, the G/N is a little bit harder to hook up and requires safety chains, (and I think that's stupid) but it's worth it not to have to deal with the 5ver hitch in the bed.

 

[bdog]

I haven't seen one in over 20 years but an old friend had a gooseneck horse trailer that was inverted. The ball was on the trailer and there was a V shaped channel in the bed with a socket for the ball at the point. You could back up not perfectly aligned as long as the height was close and it would slide into place. A simple pin and clip like what holds a receiver hitch in secured the ball. It was very easy to use and the plate part in the truck didn't take up much real estate.

 

[vsteel]

my rather uneducated opinion is that because the gooseneck allows more articulation, it handles rougher territory better.

This is what I have always been told. The gooseneck is better for the farmer/rancher/construction because they could be out in the field and need to articulate. I do also think it is the ease of conversion. Need to pull the horse trailer and then need to get a load of hay in the back of the pickup, either ignore the ball or take it out and then you can load the back of the pickup without needing to remove a big 5th wheel hitch by yourself. Need to go fencing, pretty easy to throw a bunch of posts in the back of the pickup and not need to do anything.

 

[ch47dpilot]

just in case somebody is interested, many companies now make a 5th wheel that fits in your gooseneck "hide-a-ball", B & W Companion RVK35 5th Wheel Hitch for Pickup Trucks | SuspensionConnection.com

 

[sandman2234]

I have 2 flatbed utility trailers (over 20 feet) that are one of each, and I actually prefer the fifth wheel hitch when it comes to hooking up by a long shot. Now I haven't been ingenious like Xfaxman and made a guide that would make the gooseneck easier to hook up, so maybe I will try that. They both pull equally well (although I have way less miles with the gooseneck). Although the gooseneck allegedly allows more travel when traversing uneven ground where the truck leans one way and the trailer leans to the other side, a 5th wheel doesn't have any issues with that either, because the suspension (and tires) of each vehicle should absorb the difference in road dips. Tractor trailers (semi-trucks) do not have any side to side loading provisions. Their 5th wheels only move in a forward to backward movement (on pivot pins). Some are on sliders that are adjustable by the driver to allow the hitch to move forward or backwards on the frame rails, which is to allow the weight of the load to be moved to help keep the weight properly positioned (legal requirements on max weight allowed on each axle). Moving the 5th wheel plate forward moves weight from the drive axles to the front steer axle, or vice versa. On some trailers (mostly container haulers) the 5th wheel pin is located deeper from the front bulkhead of the trailer and requires the 5th wheel hitch to be moved rearwards on the frame rails to keep mudflap to landing gear distance in a workable distance.
The B & W Companion hitch just listed looks interesting, but my 5th wheel comes out with 4 pins, so easy enough. One thing I wonder about on the B & W hitch, is will those 4 neoprene pads which will sit on the sheet metal in a bed, when loaded to a max amount, put dents in the bed of the truck?
David from jax

 

[3Lfarms]

One thing I wonder about on the B & W hitch, is will those 4 neoprene pads which will sit on the sheet metal in a bed, when loaded to a max amount, put dents in the bed of the truck?
David from jax

The two feet are actually about 2’ long and sit in the bottom of the groove in the pickup bed and span across the supports under the bed. The pads are designed so they are adjustable to the rib spacing of each truck.
In a new truck, you may get a little bit of bending of the bed, but in my rhino lined pickup, you can’t tell the 5er hitch was ever installed and I pull a 20k lb trailer.