trailers - gooseneck vs. 5th wheel

[LCAM-01XA]

Alright, I got a question that may sound a bit stupid to some, but it kind areally bugs me - why are most big camping trailers with the 5th wheel arrangement, and most heavy-haul dump and flat-deck trailers with the gooseneck arrangement? In other words, why is it that every 5th wheel car-hauler I have seen has been a home-made trailer, and not a factory setup? What is so much better with the gooseneck setup than it is with the 5th wheel when it comes to pulling big and heavy?

 

[Russ]

One of the biggest problems with a 5th wheels set up is the bed rail clearance. A goose neck doesn't have that issue and can be drivin over much rougher terrain. Like across a pasture on a ranch. Most RV's stay to the paved roads and don't need much articulation. Also 5th wheel is easier to hook up, so it is easier for our retired "snowbirds" to travel.

 

[icanfixall]

You can ride in 5th wheel ut not a gooseneck hitch. A 5thwheel hitchas a shutter that closes behind the trailer king pin. You also need to be able to talk to the person in the trailer if something goes bad... Like fires.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Russ, that's kind of what I figured out - for instance my 5th wheel hitch only has a tilt of 15 degrees front-back (total of 30 degrees), and little to none tilt side-to-side, so I'd have one hell of a time driving over rough terrain. Bed rail clearance itself would not be much of a clearance in my case, I don't think, but the limited tilt of the 5er can be a big issue... Speaking of which, how much is a 5th wheel hitch supposed to tilt front-back?

Gary, I'm thinking of a flat-deck 5th wheel trailer for hauling cars, there will be no people riding in the trailer. It would be a strictly on-road setup, as my truck has zero suspension articulation on rough roads.

 

[RLDSL]

The 5th wheel is easier to hook up in most cases because most goosenecks you have to get right under just like a bumper pull, although Atwood makes a gooseneck coupler that you back into like a 5th wheel. I have one of those on my car hauler and I love that thing You get the best of both worlds , Weight capacity and articulation of a gooseneck and ease of hookup of a 5th wheel

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Robert, just out of curiosity I checked out Atwood's site, and couldn't find the coupler you mentioned... I did find out tho that my front-back sway is actually pretty decent, as the Atwood hitches allow for 10 degrees (total of 20 degrees).

 

[RLDSL]

Robert, just out of curiosity I checked out Atwood's site, and couldn't find the coupler you mentioned... I did find out tho that my front-back sway is actually pretty decent, as the Atwood hitches allow for 10 degrees (total of 20 degrees).

It's a bear to find that thing, in fact I recently wrote to them about that and suggested that they activly market the thing since once folks try that coupler , they will never go back to a standard gooseneck, I guess it didn't sink in.
but you can find it in this catalog here on page 41, part numbers75025, 75401,75004, I know that you can order it through Nuera trailer parts they don't have it online but it is in their print catalog that they send to trailer builders and I checked at one of their distribution centers., because I want to put one of those couplers on the adapter on my 5th wheel camper.

 

[icanfixall]

Some of the upper end 5th wheel hitches will tilt front to back and side to side. Camping World sells them. Some even come with air suspension air bags making for a smoother ride.

 

[Agnem]

I've wondered this myself, but obviously articulation is the big differentiating factor. I suppose the trade off is the ease of hook up with a 5th wheel. I'd also imagine that a 5th wheel has a larger weight carrying capacity then a gooseneck, and this in of itself may be the biggest reason to have one. When you think about OTR trucks, they are all 5th wheel oriented. Even the "goosenecks" that haul big heavy earthmoving equipment. When you get outside of the pickup or light duty market, it seems the next choice is a pintle hook, which has better articulation then a ball. I suppose the bed mounted ball for light duty goose neck trailers fills its own niche, offering a farmer or construction worker the ease of trailering as with a 5th wheel, but with the versatility and flexibility of a pintle hitch.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Robert, that's an odd looking thing for sure, how does it work? Do you bolt it up to the gooseneck leg, and it is what the ball on the truck bed slides into? Then you back up the truck till the ball starts sliding under the front angled plate, till it hits the hole in the coupler and the trailer sinks down onto the ball and is ready to be latched up?

Gary, yeah, I've seen those air-ride hitches, they sure look nice, but they cost more than my truck ever will, haha! I was asking mainly because I already have a 5th wheel, hitch, and back from my logging tractor-trailer days I trust a 5th wheel with locking jaws a whole lot more than I do trust a simple ball, so I was thinking of finding an old gooseneck trailer then converting it to a 5th wheel...

Mel, your are right, indeed most trailer arrangements I see with heavy agricultural trailers is the pintle hook - I've been meaning to install one of those on my truck as well, just so I know I have it in case I ever need it. Also it seems that heavy trailers with the pintle hook are more affordable than regular car haulers with the 2-5/16" ball, so that would be a deciding factor as well...

 

[RLDSL]

Robert, that's an odd looking thing for sure, how does it work? Do you bolt it up to the gooseneck leg, and it is what the ball on the truck bed slides into? Then you back up the truck till the ball starts sliding under the front angled plate, till it hits the hole in the coupler and the trailer sinks down onto the ball and is ready to be latched up?

.

Those things weld up to the gooseneck . You can either get just the coupler end or the whole leg, bolt adjust or crank adjust.

You just back up to it within about a 6" area, about the same as the slot on a 5th wheel, with it a little low so it ramps up on the ball, hookup your trailer brakes hold the trailer brakes , and just back it on under and it rides up on the ball and plops down and latches . Simple as that. Go back and put in the safety pin and attach the safety chains and emergency brake cable and on your way It is a wonderful setup

 

[RLDSL]

I've wondered this myself, but obviously articulation is the big differentiating factor. I suppose the trade off is the ease of hook up with a 5th wheel. I'd also imagine that a 5th wheel has a larger weight carrying capacity then a gooseneck, and this in of itself may be the biggest reason to have one. When you think about OTR trucks, they are all 5th wheel oriented. Even the "goosenecks" that haul big heavy earthmoving equipment. When you get outside of the pickup or light duty market, it seems the next choice is a pintle hook, which has better articulation then a ball. I suppose the bed mounted ball for light duty goose neck trailers fills its own niche, offering a farmer or construction worker the ease of trailering as with a 5th wheel, but with the versatility and flexibility of a pintle hitch.

I'm not sure if you are thinking overall or just in pickups. For overall, then, yes, the commercial 5th wheels are built for handling some insane loads( personally, I don't think it is possible to break a Holland 5th wheel under normal circumstances ), but for pickups, you can get goosenecks to handle up to 45k, where I've never seen a pickup style 5th wheel for over 30k ... All of which gets to be kind of a moot point when you consider what an insanly large load that is, so it really boils down to preference.
Pintles will beat you to death and your truck. MAin reason they are popular is to hook up behind dump trucks for hauling equipment

 

[Agnem]

I was thinking overall. Yea, I'd agree that it is a moot point. It is funny though when you see a pickup hauling something that belongs behind a OTR tractor, or vica versa.

 

[RLDSL]

I was thinking overall. Yea, I'd agree that it is a moot point. It is funny though when you see a pickup hauling something that belongs behind a OTR tractor, or vica versa.

I guess they really have overbuilt the snot out of those new superduties though, because they are the ones that they build those 45k gooseneck setups for, hauling pipe and equipment. You see them out in Texas in oilfield areas and we are seeing them more and more here in Arkansas now that they have a bunch of natural gas drilling going on, it's starting to look like west Texas with all the drilling equipment on the roads and you see stuff like that everywhere

It doesn't shock me too much when I think back to the first semi trucks I drove that had less power than my pickup ( and fewer gears )

 

[Russ]

I just checked out my 5er hitch in my truck. It will tilt 45 degs. front and back, and about 15 or so side to side. Trailer would be far into my bed rails before any of those numbers mattered.