Gooseneck vs. Fifth Wheel

When you want facts and opinions, all you have to do is ask the good folks on the discussion forums. My question is why are working trailers such as horse trailers and utility trailers built with gooseneck hitch while RV trailers are build with a fifth wheel hitch?

Most of the time, a fifth wheel is on an RV for convienece. Since the truck can be backed under the RV without aligning to a ball, it's easier to hitch up for the majority of RV folks. Also, they normally don't need the bed of the truck for other purposes other than to haul their RV.
As for a farm trailer, they are normally a gooseneck since they truck is used more as a truck for hauling than used to pull the trailer. A ball in the bed of the truck takes up a lot less bed space than a fifth wheel plate.

Only an opinion...but my guess would be that farmewrs and horse people need the room in the box more often than the RV'er type. Saves taking out and putting the fifth wheel hitch back in. I specified fifth wheel kingpin on my gooseneck, but so as my pickup spends 80% of its time in front of a trailer.

It has nothing to do with "taking up space in the bed". It's all about the ability of a gooseneck to be able to roll side to side in relation to the tow vehicle. Much better suited to off road type travel. Fifth wheels are mostly relegated to on road travel where it is nice and level. Although there are fifth wheel hitches now that do pivot side ways also.

RV"s use the 5th wheel hitch for smoothness of ride and the ability to use a lighter trailer frame. Goosenecks typically are on horse and farm trailers due to rough ground and the ball"s ability to let the trailer tip in any directions. The Gooseneck requires a strong pin point, lots of steel to handle the loading stresses. Tougher to hook up. I also see now that you can get a 5th wheel hitch that rotates in all four directions versus tilting just in 2 directions.

I know this will start an argument but hey. As per Fed.Reg 39342 a 5th wheel trailer does not need safety chains and a passenger can ride in said trailer but a goose neck HAS to have safety chains and no passengers are to ride on said trailer. That is the law.

Can't have people in 5th wheel in all states and if allowed you must have a way to communicate with them. Ask me how I know... Don c

In my humble opinion,and I have pulled fifth wheel RVs all over US, the reason for goosenecks on heavier loads is, the load point is lower in the bed. By almost a foot. Therefore when you turn and pull at the same time, the truck stays more stable. At least it seems to me. Bernie Steffen

I think there are a couple of valid answers here. And I have to admit that I was very confused by the "need" for the 2 different systems. I have had the stock trailers and the big flatbed with the gooseneck ball, and have found that system to be very satisfactory and safe. But the trailer frame must definitely be stronger than a 5th wheel RV. My son lost his 5th wheel RV last fall in a fire, so we got to study the frame and it is hugely different (thinner gauge, lighter metal) than what a gooseneck trailer has.

Admittedly, the gooseneck is harder to hitch up as you can not see the ball in the PU bed, so it is similar to a "bumper pull" trailer in that respect. It will take a few tries of backing, getting out to look where you must go, and then try again (maybe 5 or 6 times). Even with my long crew cab PU, I can see the 5th wheel pin from the center rear view mirror, and usually make the hitch in 1 or 2 tries.

And then there is "history". The RV industry adopted the 5th wheel hitch universally, and the farm and equiptment manufacturers adopted the gooseneck universally. The early 5th wheel hitches took up a lot of bed space, but the B&W hitch company of Kansas decided there is a good market for a hitch system that can be either gooseneck or 5th wheel. So the B&W turnover ball base, along with the B&W Companion for the 5th wheel. Both are very well made and allow a truck to have either hitch system, or even a completely flat floor in the bed. As a gooseneck setup, it has a 30,000# trailer capacity, and as a 5th wheel unit, it is rated for 18,000#. Both exceed what your pickup should be pulling.

There are some adapters for the 5th wheel trailer that allows them to be hooked up to a GN ball, but most trailer manufacturers will void their frame warantee if you install an adapter.

So there is my take on this topic....

Paul in MN

One of the very few things I ever showed my dad that he did and it worked.
When I want to use the goose neck, I have an old CB antenna with a mag mount. I put a flat piece of duct tape over the top making a 2in wide flag.
I put this right in front of the ball in the bed. I back up looking in the rear view mirror aligning the tape with the hitch. When the tape is centered and touching the hitch...I am right where I need to be.
With that super cab and a bed tool box...it makes it sooooo much easier.

I just thought Id through this in here. Michigan now has a law that says if you hook a trailer behind your fifth wheel, like a fishing boat on a trailer, or any type of double hitch, you have to have an "N" on your drivers license, or have a CDL with a "T".

But the trailer frame must definitely be stronger than a 5th wheel RV. My son lost his 5th wheel RV last fall in a fire, so we got to study the frame and it is hugely different (thinner gauge, lighter metal) than what a gooseneck trailer has.

Click to expand...

The frame doesn't need to be as heavy on an RV for two reasons:

1. It doesn't have to haul large heavy "point loads" like a tractor or cattle. The weight in an 5th wheel RV is distributed fairly evenly throughout the house.
2. An RV's strength is in the fact that it's a box structure, almost like truss bridge. When all you have is a platform, the material must be heavier to be strong enough.

All of what you say is true, and would account for the big differences in frame strength of the trailer deck. But what I was trying to point out is the big difference in the strength in the hitch area. When a GN is being pulled, the pull forces are at the bottom end of a "lever" created by the GN of the trailer. Therefore the trailer upper frame is not just being pulled straight forward, but being pulled by kind of a twisting force that is attempting to pull the frontmost part of the upper frame "up". With the lighter frame of the 5er, and its relatively close up 5er pin, then the pull forces are much more straight forward, and the lighter frame does that quite well. In normal smooth road pulling, neither of these differences is significant. But where there is a problem is when the trailer begins "chucking" (forcefully moving backward and forward compared to the truck). The chucking is probably caused by joints or wear spots in the pavement. Some roads are horrible for this problem, and can do serious damage to the 5er trailer. The big forces caused by chucking are amplified by the extended length of the GN adapter (that I thought about buying). The chucking problem is severe enough that it has spawned a new industry of making 5er trailer pin boxes with air bag cushions, shock absorbers, or rubber mountings for the hitch pin. Mor-Ryde is one I have considered as it seems to be cost effective and simple compared to its competitors.

Paul in MN