5th wheel hitch-goose neck ball?

[wildturkey_hunter]

Can someone explain to me the advantage of a 5th wheel hitch over a goose neck ball. I have friends that use each. The guys that use the goose neck ball have a adapter hooked onto their 5th wheel campers. So there is nothing taking up bed space. There must be some advantage with the 5th wheel hitch in the bed other wise I would think everyone would use the goose neck ball to save space.

[Jimbolina's DuraMax]

Hi, I have a Drawtite in bed 16K slider hitch. I have never had any problems with this setup, but it leaves the rails on the floor of the bed. That being said, if I was to do it again I would go with the B&W hidden turn over ball hitch. You would be able to go both goose neck and fifth wheel companion hitch and have a clear bed. Now to answer your question. The goose neck will be more ridgid with no side to side movement as a fifth wheel head would have foward/back/side to side allowing the trailer to absorb more movement and transfer less movement to the tow vehicle. I have heard plus and miniuses both ways, but I have had my best ride in the truck with the fifth wheel hitch. And even better when adding a air suspension to the trailer's 5th wheel pin box. I hope this will give some insight.
Jim

[Diesel Nut]

I built a goose neck adapter for my 5th wheel. I like pulling on the B&W turnover because its one hitch no matter what I am towing, and pull the lever, flip the ball, and clear bed floor. Now, the 5th wheel is easier to hook up, as you slide into it as opposed to the goose neck where you set down over it.

[byronbaumann]

Originally Posted by Jimbolina's DuraMax

Hi, I have a Drawtite in bed 16K slider hitch. I have never had any problems with this setup, but it leaves the rails on the floor of the bed. That being said, if I was to do it again I would go with the B&W hidden turn over ball hitch. You would be able to go both goose neck and fifth wheel companion hitch and have a clear bed. Now to answer your question. The goose neck will be more ridgid with no side to side movement as a fifth wheel head would have foward/back/side to side allowing the trailer to absorb more movement and transfer less movement to the tow vehicle. I have heard plus and miniuses both ways, but I have had my best ride in the truck with the fifth wheel hitch. And even better when adding a air suspension to the trailer's 5th wheel pin box. I hope this will give some insight.
Jim

Jim is sort of right here, but also a little off. The gooseneck hitch will allow the trailer pin to move forward, back, and side to side due to it being a pivot point. The hitch itself is rigid, yes, but allows full movement of the trailer king pin. That being said, their are fifth wheel hitches that move in all directions also, thus leaving less stress on the king pin of the trailer. I pull a 6-horse GN and a 36' 5ver. I'll try to be as short as possible here.....I had the Reese 16k 5th wheel hitch first and pulled my RV with that, but then got a GN trailer and had to get a GN hitch. I put the gooseneck adapter on the RV and thought it would solve the dilemma, but I was wrong, IMO. The RV jerked a lot more going down the road when hooked up to the ball, as opposed to the Reese. It just did not feel near as solid or stable as when hooked up to the fifth wheel hitch. I guess it depends on what you will be pulling the most. Horse trailers do fine on GN hitches...they are lower profile. But a 5th wheel is higher profile and rocks a little more going down the road due to the higher center of gravity...this being said, you will be happier with an RV hooked to a 5th wheel hitch instead of a GN hitch. If you are puling a horse trailer or flatbed, the Gn will perform very well. Hope this helps, sorry for the long explanation. All of this info backed with about 150,000 miles experience pulling both trailers coast to coast.

[trashygasman]

I agree with byronbaumann. I have a B&W turnover and have pulled fifth wheels with an adapter. There is a lot of front to back jerking with the adapter opposed to the fifth wheel.