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Gooseneck VS. 5th wheel.....

94fordguy

94fordguy

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What are the differences/advantages of one over the other?

I know the physical differences, but why are some trailers set up with one and not the other? Are there higher load ratings on one or the other, better ride quality? I know a lot of camp trailers use a 5th wheel while a lot of horse trailers and utility trailers use a gooseneck.... just wondering why I guess....

I only ask cause the truck I bought has a goose-neck hitch setup in it and just sheer curiosity, haha.

Any thoughts of why there are 2 completely different yet very similar systems?

Thanks:beer;
 
We've had both and they both work fine. If you gonna be on more uneven ground however, the goose neck will let the trailer twist idependently from the truck. Where as with the 5th wheel its more fixed and wont twist as far. I think thats why you see equipment trailers with goose necks and campers with the 5th wheel. Thats about the only difference I can think of.
 
Seth in my case i'm going to convert my camper to the goose neck that way I can put a hide-a-ball goose neck system that way when i'm not pulling I can flip the ball around and have my flat box.

So if anyone has a used hide-a-ball that will fit an 04 dodge 1500 let me know.
 
Last edited:
Ya, the one that I have has a removable ball that you can flip upside down and put back in there, but it was taken completely out and the person I bought it from couldn't remember where she put it, haha. But other than that, the bed is basically flat which is nice.

The articulation is a very good point... :beer;
 
If it's a B & W, you can buy a replacement ball. B & W also makes a fifth wheel hitch that fits into the same hole. Slick setup. My dad has one so he can pull either the flatbed trailer or the camp trailer.

One cool thing about B & W, is that are made in a small midwestern town. The ownwer is rather wealthy and a good majority of the town is employed by him. During the recession, he refused to lay anyone off, so he kept everyone on the payroll and put them to work repairing the town. He had them cleaning streets, painting buildings and such. That kind of loyalty to the employees deserves some credit, so I will gladly buy a B & W again (if and when the time comes). Plus the quality is first rate.
 
Snodawg said:
If it's a B & W, you can buy a replacement ball. B & W also makes a fifth wheel hitch that fits into the same hole. Slick setup. My dad has one so he can pull either the flatbed trailer or the camp trailer.

One cool thing about B & W, is that are made in a small midwestern town. The owner is rather wealthy and a good majority of the town is employed by him. During the recession, he refused to lay anyone off, so he kept everyone on the payroll and put them to work repairing the town. He had them cleaning streets, painting buildings and such. That kind of loyalty to the employees deserves some credit, so I will gladly buy a B & W again (if and when the time comes). Plus the quality is first rate.
Click to expand...

Now that is very cool! And yes, it is a B&W hitch... I was looking on their website and it looks like they have a ton of accessories for these hitches... seem very well built and planned out..... I just wish I had a trailer to put it to use now, haha...
 
I agree with everything said.
I run a goose-neck ball, and had an adapter on my camp trailer to make it work with it. While it works fine, it has to lift the trailer completely off the ball whereas if it was a kingpin setup it only needs to take the weight off. What this does is over work the motor and gears lifting it higher than it needs. I had one motor go out because of this and the new one starting too.

Also, the King pin setup will give you a better ride and they have many better options for hitches that will allow you to have sliding hitches, shock absorption hitches and the like.
That being said, I never had any issues with the goose-neck, it's simple, effective, and I can flip it over and have my bed back in a couple seconds.
 
I went gooseneck so that I can disconnect trailer in low altitude (warmer) camp, take sleds out of trailer, load onto flatbed and up the mountain road I go.
 
papa bear said:
I went gooseneck so that I can disconnect trailer in low altitude (warmer) camp, take sleds out of trailer, load onto flatbed and up the mountain road I go.
Click to expand...
I think it would be funny to go sledding in the USA....I can't believe some of the contraptions you guys have to go sledding LOL
 
The gooseneck conversions for the 5th wheel campers will void some campers warranties on the frame. On mine i had problem with the hitch steel cracking bending from the added stress of the gooseneck conversion. I took it off sold it and put in the bw companion fith wheel hitch. It rides way better.
 
ive had both for a while and use them lots ! i have 11 different trailers i haul . the goose neck pulls the best ! it has tighter tollarnces than a king pin . that being said though i like my fifth wheel trailers better . you just back up and hook the king pin up . no messing around with getting the trailer over the ball . for off roading you would have to get into some very uneven terrain to really make use of the extra articulation of the goose neck .Also Ill agree with the others about NOT buying a fifth wheel to gooseneck conversion for campers , it puts to much stress on the frame . all of my experince is on heavy trailers though , 16000 to 34000 pounds
 
As a mechanical engineer I always warn people to stay away from the gooseneck Perverters. The fifth wheel frames are not designed for the added stresses. Just take a random wrench out of a random tool box and put a pipe on the end. Then hang you and your family out over a cliff. If you are lucky you grabbed a quality wrench and you live, if not we all hope the failure isn't sudden and you still live, but have to change your underwear....
Most of the perverted fifth wheel trailers I see towed on a gooseneck ball are towed ILLEGALLY because they did not attach the safety chains.
I just built my new sled trailer with an inverted fifth wheel hitch system. I still have a clear bed without removing a 100+ pound hitch and I don't have to perfectly align to a ball in the bed that I can't see. The B&W kingpin accesory works perfectly. It is truly the best of both worlds.
 
boondokr said:
As a mechanical engineer I always warn people to stay away from the gooseneck Perverters. The fifth wheel frames are not designed for the added stresses. Just take a random wrench out of a random tool box and put a pipe on the end. Then hang you and your family out over a cliff. If you are lucky you grabbed a quality wrench and you live, if not we all hope the failure isn't sudden and you still live, but have to change your underwear....
Most of the perverted fifth wheel trailers I see towed on a gooseneck ball are towed ILLEGALLY because they did not attach the safety chains.
I just built my new sled trailer with an inverted fifth wheel hitch system. I still have a clear bed without removing a 100+ pound hitch and I don't have to perfectly align to a ball in the bed that I can't see. The B&W kingpin accesory works perfectly. It is truly the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...

So your saying there is a fith wheel setup out there were you can still have a flat bed when you pull it out? any links this is what I have been looking for.
 
As a side note for the short bed owners, Colibert makes a slider hitch that fits into your B&W system. I was planning on buying one until I built the trailer with the inverted fifth wheel system (king pin in the bed and heavy hitch permanently attached to the trailer.)
 
I pull goose neck setups for work and 5th wheel trailer for personal use and the 5th wheel pulls much nicer. I too have the B&W goose neck setup in the bed and I tried to go with the goose neck conversation on the 5th wheel but I didn't like the stress it put on the frame. The trailer would push front to back with a jerking motion and I knew it was going to do damage if I continued to run it this way. I sold the goose neck conversation and bought the companion setup by B&W and things are much better...

All the goose neck trailers I pull are 20,000-26,000 equipment trailers and I'm guessing they handle the weight better.
 
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