Bird
Rest in Peace
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Would you mind elaborating on the difference )</font>
Bill, I'm not sure I can explain it really well, but let's just start with some sample pictures.
The gooseneck hitch basically is just a hitch ball mounted in the bed of the truck; takes up very little space in the truck bed, and if fact, some of them can be turned upside down with the ball down in the "hole" when not in use and you have the full bed available. I won't go into the additional rails or supports that may be needed under the bed and either bolted or welded to the truck's frame.
The fifth-wheel hitch is a much larger framework mounted in the bed; takes up a lot of space. Some, but not all, can be removed by pulling 4 pins and sliding it out when it's not needed, but it's heavy; not something you want to do very often, and of course, you then have to store it somewhere if you remove it. The "pin" on the trailer is locked into the hitch, but the weight of the front of the trailer is on one big plate of steel (on the trailer) that can slide on another plate of steel (on the hitch) just like the big 18 wheelers use. Those plates have to be greased (pretty messy) or there are plastic or teflon disks that can be used. I think even with the disks most people grease them.
Either type of hitch puts the weight on the truck in about the same place and either one allows you to "jackknife" or turn the truck 90 degrees or more from the trailer. I've never really understood why most travel trailers use a fifth-wheel while most utility, equipment, or stock trailers use the gooseneck; however, there are a few travel trailers with gooseneck hitches, and there are adapters to convert a fifth-wheel trailer to a gooseneck.
Since the gooseneck is a ball hitch, the trailer can swivel in all directions, but the fifth-wheel normally only tilts forward and backward; not side to side. (Yes, I know one company, at least, makes a fifth-wheel that will swivel side to side, but not in a heavy enough rating for the really big trailers the last I knew.) So if you get on unlevel ground and the truck and trailer are not reasonably close to being level, side to side, you put quite a strain on the fifth-wheel hitch and can have a real problem hooking up or unhooking in that situation.
Hope that explains it well enough. As far as the driving down the road, weight distribution, handling, braking, etc., they're about the same, but of course the truck hitch and the trailer hitch have to match; can't pull a gooseneck trailer with a fifth-wheel in the truck or vice versa.
Bill, I'm not sure I can explain it really well, but let's just start with some sample pictures.
The gooseneck hitch basically is just a hitch ball mounted in the bed of the truck; takes up very little space in the truck bed, and if fact, some of them can be turned upside down with the ball down in the "hole" when not in use and you have the full bed available. I won't go into the additional rails or supports that may be needed under the bed and either bolted or welded to the truck's frame.
The fifth-wheel hitch is a much larger framework mounted in the bed; takes up a lot of space. Some, but not all, can be removed by pulling 4 pins and sliding it out when it's not needed, but it's heavy; not something you want to do very often, and of course, you then have to store it somewhere if you remove it. The "pin" on the trailer is locked into the hitch, but the weight of the front of the trailer is on one big plate of steel (on the trailer) that can slide on another plate of steel (on the hitch) just like the big 18 wheelers use. Those plates have to be greased (pretty messy) or there are plastic or teflon disks that can be used. I think even with the disks most people grease them.
Either type of hitch puts the weight on the truck in about the same place and either one allows you to "jackknife" or turn the truck 90 degrees or more from the trailer. I've never really understood why most travel trailers use a fifth-wheel while most utility, equipment, or stock trailers use the gooseneck; however, there are a few travel trailers with gooseneck hitches, and there are adapters to convert a fifth-wheel trailer to a gooseneck.
Since the gooseneck is a ball hitch, the trailer can swivel in all directions, but the fifth-wheel normally only tilts forward and backward; not side to side. (Yes, I know one company, at least, makes a fifth-wheel that will swivel side to side, but not in a heavy enough rating for the really big trailers the last I knew.) So if you get on unlevel ground and the truck and trailer are not reasonably close to being level, side to side, you put quite a strain on the fifth-wheel hitch and can have a real problem hooking up or unhooking in that situation.
Hope that explains it well enough. As far as the driving down the road, weight distribution, handling, braking, etc., they're about the same, but of course the truck hitch and the trailer hitch have to match; can't pull a gooseneck trailer with a fifth-wheel in the truck or vice versa.
