Anyone use the Anderson 3139 adapter to convert your 5th wheel to a gooseneck hitch? Tired of having the huge hitch taking up bed space in my truck. New 17 SD 2 weeks away and wanting to know if anyone has any useful info on this? Originally wanted to build a complete new pin box and use a gooseneck tube for the hitch and move it forward 8" (my truck is a SB), but a friend uses the Anderson hitch and likes it. Any thoughts or concerns? A few have said the necks will not handle the added stress of moving the connection 15" lower from a standard 5th wheel hitch to the floor of the bed onto a gooseneck ball. Not worried about warranty issues. Have a 40' toy hauler with 2900 lbs of tongue weight. Pulling with a 17 SD CCSB 350. Thanks in advance for any help or ideas.

 

BPMD is probably the best source and has had the Anderson probably the longest.


He has given it good reviews. Hopefully he will chime in.

 

Ok, looking forward to it. Thank you senix.

 

The 3139 is NOT the one I have..... this converter is NOT recommended for use with a regular 5th wheel RV as it causes too much stress on the pinbox of the RV. Too many users have had cracks in the RV frame or pinbox. NO RV manufacturer will recommend this type of a gooseneck conversion.

 

X2

Steve

 

Use the Reese Goosebox which replaces the hitch on your RV. Lippert approves it for their frames

 

Was afraid of that response. Trying to get out of fabricating an entire pinbox conversion to Gooseneck hitch. Perfectly capable to do so but don't really see the benefit. I will overbuild it & it will not fail, however the added stress to the rest of the factory neck I'm not so sure about. Any other options to get out of having to use the traditional 5th wheel hitch in the bed of my new truck? Not interested in the toter-type axle that hooks up bumper pull and has the 5th wheel sit on another axle (although I've read great reviews), I will be towing doubles part of the time and by law the first trailer must be of 5th wheel type connection to the tow vehicle (I'm assuming Gooseneck falls into that category as well). The Anderson conversion seemed the quickest and least painful. My Toyhauler is the only 5th wheel type trailer I have and converting it to Gooseneck is my goal here to avoid the need for the 5th wheel hitch altogether. Any ideas?

 

Your other option is what I told you about two posts up. Reese - Goose Box

 

Or use the Anderson Ultimate Hitch. Only 40-45 pounds.

 

I used a adapter on our fifth wheel rv to convert it to gooseneck as I have the factory gooseneck setup
I absolutely hated it
having to crawl into the box of the truck to hook up the safety chains and put the locking pin in place was a pain
Not only that but the flex you could noticeably see on the entire pin box made for a bucking motion going down the road
That was on a lightweight 28 foot rv so I could not imagine putting it on a 40 footer with some weight behind it
They seem pretty hokey the way they mount to the king pin

With the factory installed gooseneck and fifth wheel setup the hitches come out pretty easily now so I just go with the fifth hitch as needed

 

Looked at the Goosebox but I need the offset as my 17 SD is a short bed. I sold my Superglide with my old truck and honestly didn't care for it all that much. Really like the idea of the Anderson hitch but was afraid of the added stress that puts on the pin box.

I guess now I'm left with either running a standard 5th wheel hitch or fabricating an extended box with a gooseneck hitch built into it, then I'm risking overstressing the neck of the trailer from what I'm hearing. I can build a gooseneck pin box that will extend out far enough to help with the needed clearance for the shortbed and I know I can build it to withstand the stress still unsure of the trailer. I would think if it bolts in just the same as the standard pinbox does it shouldn't matter or am I wrong?

My total weight with the truck ranges from 25-28k

 

The reese elite hitch is not that heavy. I can put it in and take it out by myself.

 

B&W makes a gooseneck ball that extends 4" back which would give you some added turning clearance- that is if you aren't running the Ford factory system.

If you build your own version of the Goosebox but make it longer then it would put more stress on the trailer. If you do this then I would also strengthen everything that the pinbox is bolted to

 

In most states to the best of my knowledge a gooseneck and 5th wheel ARE NOT the same. You would need to check with the state you are going to double tow in. While I am not a fan of the Anderson Ultimate hitch as I still think it is a ball type and requires safety chains in some states, the adapter you are referring to is not the Ultimate by Anderson. Almost any adapter, the Reese Goose Box being an exception, you put on your 5'r will eventually cause damage to the trailer frame, they were not designed for the torsional load an adapter puts on them. There are many options to handling a proper 5th wheel hitch that would be a better solution than adapting to a gooseneck.

 

I did order the new truck with the 5th wheel/Gooseneck prep and also the Gooseneck package which I understand is just the ball & a bag.

What options am I left with if I use a traditional hitch that will work with the Ford factory prep?
I like the idea of the Andersen Ultimate hitch being as light as it is. Worried a little about the deformity of the one pinbox after using the Andersen Ultimate Hitch.