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Gooseneck vs 5th Wheel

R

RCP

Well-known Member
Location
Grove City Pa
I am going to look at a 36ft enclosed trailer that uses a 5th wheel instead of a Gooseneck hitch. What do people think about the 5th wheel hitch?

Rich
 
Each one has it place but the gooseneck has weight limit where as the 5th wheel in theory has no weight limit. Gooseneck is 30K limit but the 5th wheel limit is the hitch it self and the truck you have it on. Also the 5th wheel you do not have to have safety chain but he gooseneck you do. Also 5th wheel allows passengers in the trailer while driving down the road the gooseneck does not. Gooseneck is better for rough ground where as the 5th wheel has it limits side to side sway. So on the road they are better in so many ways. Just look at the fact that the big rigs are 5th wheel and NONE are gooseneck. My pickup is set up for all types of trailers bumper pindle gooseneck and 5th wheel and the only limit I have is the truck it self. I also still carry a CDL and have over 1.9 million miles under my belt and then is on many types of things. Motorcycle car truck big rig and most any thing between
 
On an enclosed trailer I would go with the fifth wheel style hitch. It has more side to side stability so there would be less twisting force on the trailer.
 
They each haved their good points and bad. There is no universal answer, so you will need to provide more info to recomend which is best for you. Generally fifth wheels have less slop and banging which is why they are used for campers. But ball type goosenecks are better for off road work. Some pickup 5th wheel hitches have side to side pivots as well, so that would make them better for off road work.
 
Actually the opposite is true, as anyone who has dropped a semi van trailer wheels in a hole and pulled the wheels of the tractor right off the ground can attest to. 5th wheels are mostly used where trailers stay on fairly even ground, or they can put a lot of stress on both truck and trailer frames.
 
For years I and all my friends did beach camping with 5th wheel trailers--there was never a goose neck on the beach due to the rough terrain and the inherent stability of the 5th wheel hitch---they are strong and very durable
 
This trailer 36ft will be used to haul antique pulling tractors and will be at capacity 15K. The fairgrounds and pulling tracks are not terrible but there are not even by any means.

Rich
 
You should be fine. If you were a contractor going on and off job sites or something I would recomend gooseneck. You can get 5th wheel hitches for pickups that pivot side to side too. That might be worth the extra for you.
 
Gooseneck uses a 2-5/16 ball.
5th wheel uses a drop pin and is the same as the big rigs use.

Neat thing about the 5th wheel if you have a camper with 5th wheel it is legal to have people in the camper while driving down the hwy. But on a gooseneck it is not legal to have people in the trailer and you also have to have safety chains on the gooseneck but not the 5th wheel
 
I had a side to side pivot on my 5th wheel reese hitch---sure made hooking up much easier if you weren't level sideways with the pickup
 
So you are saying that if I change my 25 ft gooseneck over to a fifth wheel I can then haul anything I can get on it legally ? I don't think so.
 
Read what I said not what you think I said. I said the weight limit is the hitch and the truck. So if you have a hitch rated at 14 ton that is the limit of that hitch. But if you have hitch wit ha limit of 80 ton then you can haul more. Gooseneck on the other hand has a top limit of 30K.

Many big rigs haul well over 80K by adding more axles under the trailers etc. Saw one go threw this area not long ago that had at least 10 axles under the trailer and some sort of steering at the rear end of the rig
 
I decided to pass on this trailer, it had not been on the road in a few years, probably need tires and brakes, would have to strip the makeshift living quarters out of the front, and the fifth wheel hitch in the truck bed was going to be a pain.

Thanks for the input.

Rich
 
Jon I am looking at it when on firm ground. I know how a semi fifth wheel will hang you up on a drive way/road that is of set. I am meaning just the sway a gooseneck has when setting level. You can jump up and down of the corner of most gooseneck trailers and get them rocking more than you think. I have had hay throw off the top of the trailer when you would cross a water way at and angle and the trailer whips back.
 
(quoted from post at 21:30:33 03/16/18) So you are saying that if I change my 25 ft gooseneck over to a fifth wheel I can then haul anything I can get on it legally ? I don't think so.
Click to expand...

How did you possibly get that from this conversation?
 
(quoted from post at 06:46:28 03/16/18) For years I and all my friends did beach camping with 5th wheel trailers--there was never a goose neck on the beach due to the rough terrain and the inherent stability of the 5th wheel hitch---they are strong and very durable
Click to expand...

That may also be because NO RV manufacturer makes a "gooseneck" travel trailer. They only make 5th wheels.
 
there are conversion kits available--my friend had one for his travel camper
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