I have been wondering what the differances are between fifth wheel and gooseneck hitches. It seams like most RVs are using FW and construction/utility/horse trailers are GN. I currently pull a 37' Coachman and I am looking at getting a 30' flat bed utility when I get the money saved up. I don't really want to worry about another hitch in the bed, but I am curious about the advantages and disadavtages of the GN.

 

the GN hitch has more flexibility, in that it can pivot all directions, but the saddle setup on the fifth wheel will not allow as much pivot. This is likely the reason for not using the fifth wheel saddle on a lot of the trailers that will likely go places that are rough and require flexibility. You can get adapters for the fifth wheel on the camper to go gn.

 

Before you get a GN hitch for your RV 5ver you better check with the trailer manufacture to make sure that the frame will take the added stress from the GN hitch. If you look at trailer with a GN setup you will see that they all have gussets welded from the hitch tube back to the top frame for more support the adapter hitches that go on a RV do not have any supports like that. They do make RV style hitches for utility type trailers and with a rocker style hitch there will be plenty of side to side movement.

Denny

 

I believe that in general GVWR's are quite a bit higher on gooseneck hitches as opposed to fifth-wheels. We have several GN trailers the largest being rated at 25K, and the rest at 20K. I have presonally never seen a 5th wheel over 15K.

 

I have a Resse 20K 5ver hitch and Reese also makes 22K and 30K hitches.

Denny

 

The pin box on my 5th wheel toy hauler is stamped to be rated for 19K.

 

Ok, well I guess I was wrong about the GVWR issue. As stated before I personally have never seen a 5th rated at over 15K. This has now got me wondering the same question, whats the benefit of a 5th wheel? I personally can see none, only disadvantages, more costly, less range of motion, takes up much more room in the bed, etc. So why do people run them?

 

I believe that the two biggest reasons are they are easier to hookup(you can see the pin and plate from the cab of the truck) and less stress on the frame of the trailer.

Denny

 

Keep in mind that a fifth wheel hitch is a positive lock hitch. The trailer isn't going to disconnect if properly hitched. That's why no chains are required, however they are required for a gooseneck.
Besides, being an ex-trucker, I like fifth wheels.
Dorf

 

I currently have a Reese 16K FW hitch in the bed of my truck. I know I can get a pin box installed on a flat bed trailer in place of the GN. Hooking up to the FW is a one-man job and is fairly easy. But, I have seen very few utility trailers that are FW. I can't remember seeing a horse trailer that was not set up for a GN. So, I have been curious on why that is? For our trucks, either hitch can be used up to approx. 30K. Passing 40K I am thinking that the FW type hitch would be the only option like the full sized semis. But, those are also for larger trucks and larger kingpins. Anyone have ideas as to why one hitch would be better or worse than the other?

 

I personally went the GN route. However, if you are going to be pulling a 37' coach then I would not recomend an adapter, If you can have one built for your trailer, that would be best. The thing about the adapters is they put more torque on the kingpin than a FW hitch. Same idea as a short wrench and braker bar. I went the GN route for two reasons, 1) More movement 2) All I have to do with the hitch is flip the ball over, unroll the bed mat and you'd never know that I was just towing a FW. The adapter I bought for the trailer is a culbart (sp?) adapter, rated at 30K, at least that is what is stamped into the metal. It also has four bolts in addition to the kingpin to mount it. My trailer is 28', don't think that I would use an adapter on anything larger, I'd take it to a good weld shop or the similar to custom make the hitch.

 

A few years ago I wanted to convert my 5th to a gooseneck because I really don't like bed rails, or having my bed filled up with a bulky hitch. I decided against it for 2 reasons.

1) mainly because of the increased stress on the trailer frame, I tow a boat behind the camper and didn't think that 4x the stress would be a good thing.

2) I was told that the 5th wheels (even the ones with rockers) will generally keep the trailer from hitting the bed rails on uneven ground (side to side). The idea is that the hitch will let the trailer move as much as posssible and then start twist the truck and trailer so the suspensions work togeather. I'm not sure I'm real wild about that kind of stress on the hitch but it does seem to prevent the trailer from hitting the bed rails.

On most utility trailers with GN hitchs the trailers either come to a point, or have a much higher deck so the trailer really can't hit the bed rails except in very extreme conditions. So... its possible that one reason the Travel trailer makers use the 5th wheel is to keep people from complaing about dents on the truck rails.

 

Reese makes a 5th wheel setup that doesn't leave rails in the bed when the hitch is out, just little holes(Signature Series). There is also a GN plage for that arrangement.

The best of both worlds, just more costly.

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