trailer safety factor

[GeneD14]

Don't want to hijack this thread, but have had this question for some time. What are the advantages of a gooseneck over a fifth wheel hitch. It seems to me that for a person who pulls a fifth wheel camper (not yet) it would be more convienent to have a utility trailer with a fifth wheel hitch. I don't think capacity is big issue. I kmow a gooseneck has in freedom of movement, but a little rough terrain with a fifth wheel hitch wouldn't be too detrimental.

Gooseneck is cheaper and the hitch takes up much less space in the bed of the pick-up.

 

[Bird]

What are the advantages of a gooseneck over a fifth wheel hitch.

Now, I'm no expert and have not personally owned a gooseneck, although I did have a fifth-wheel with which I traveled over a great deal of this country. A fifth-wheel hitch takes up a lot of space in the bed of the truck. The gooseneck ball doesn't take much space. A fifth-wheel hitch is made to allow movement from front to rear as you go over humps or through dips, but doesn't allow much flexibility side to side. A lot of fifth-wheel RVers have found that if the truck and trailer are not pretty level side to side, they can have a serious problem with hooking up and unhooking. A gooseneck allows more flexibility side to side. Disclaimer: Yes, there is at least one company that makes a fifth-wheel that can tilt right and left - unfortunately, not of a high enough weight capacity for my brother to use on his rig.

Rough terrain was never a problem for me with my 32' fifth-wheel, as far as driving, although I did once spend a night in a campsite in which there was no way I would have attempted to unhook the trailer and then try to hook it back up. If you have a fifth-wheel camper, then a fifth-wheel utility trailer is probably a good idea. But they also make an "adapter" to change a fifth-wheel hitch to a gooseneck. I haven't seen many, but have seen some travel trailers with that adaptation.

 

[ahoude]

How about capacity wise. Does the gooseneck ball have a substantial rating? I've seen fifthwheel hitches with 22500 lb capacity. I definately understand the less expensive factor. As for space in the bed, a lot of the fifth wheel hitches are removeable so you only have two small rails on the floor of the bed. Can the gooseneck ball be removed easily? Are they 2 5/16 like with a travel trailer?

 

[Bird]

How about capacity wise. Does the gooseneck ball have a substantial rating? I've seen fifthwheel hitches with 22500 lb capacity. I definately understand the less expensive factor. As for space in the bed, a lot of the fifth wheel hitches are removeable so you only have two small rails on the floor of the bed. Can the gooseneck ball be removed easily? Are they 2 5/16 like with a travel trailer?

I'm not absolutely sure of the maximum, but I do know that you can get both gooseneck and fifth-wheel hitches to go in your pickup that are rated for 30k pounds. If I remember right, my brother's fifth-wheel hitch is rated for 26k pounds. As for the fifth-wheel hitch being removeable; absolutely, mine was. But have you ever lifted one? One man can do it, but they sure are heavy. And while I've forgotten the brand name, at least one brand gooseneck ball can be inverted and you have a flat pickup bed. They make them in both 2 5/16 and 3" balls at least. Just one of many places you can see some samples on the Internet is http://www.etrailer.com/fifth-wheel.aspx and if you look in the lower left corner of the page, you'll even see one of the fifth-wheel to gooseneck adapters.

 

[ahoude]

Thanks for the info. As for lifting the fifth wheel hitch out of your bed, I think that post belongs on another thread "Another use for the FEL" . If both hitches would use the same mounting rails, it would be easy enough to have one of each. Problem solved.

 

[Soundguy]

How about capacity wise. Does the gooseneck ball have a substantial rating? I've seen fifthwheel hitches with 22500 lb capacity. I definately understand the less expensive factor. As for space in the bed, a lot of the fifth wheel hitches are removeable so you only have two small rails on the floor of the bed. Can the gooseneck ball be removed easily? Are they 2 5/16 like with a travel trailer?

My gooseneck ball is spring loaded and pops up in the back of the truck.. etc.. has a trip handle under the drivers side rear wheel well.

Soundguy