Fifth wheel vs gooseneck

[NCFischers]

We'll be ordering our Montana soon and I could use some input on hitches. I already have a gooseneck that came with the truck and am debating whether to use it with an adapter or install a fifth wheel hitch. The cost to purchase either one is about the same and I'll be installing the fifth wheel so there won't be installation charges. Does anyone out there use a gooseneck? I know that it will be a bit more effort to hook up with the goose but nothing I can't get used to. Any pros and cons will be appreciated. Thanks

Jim

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

IN the past this was seriously frowned on, as it put more stress on the overhang and pin area of the Montana. I would call Keystone.

[HamRad]

Montana does not certify the Montana for use with a Goose Neck. That question was asked at the Spring Rally in Tucson, AZ this past Spring.

There are several people that use the Goose Neck with their Montana. Perhaps they'll step up and share their experiences. As far as I've heard they work fine. It's just that Keystone does not engineer the king pin and frame for hauling with a Goose Neck.

Good luck.

HamRad

[bsmeaton]

With all the frame issues on the nose of these things (frame flex, broken frames, broken pin box supports), I would think you might just steer away from the gooseneck idea.

However, isn't there a 5er hitch out there that mounts into your gooseneck hole?

[skypilot]

4-Seasons RV (local Montana Dealer) has a big notice on their wall where one of the 5er makers flat out will not warranty the frame if used with a gooseneck. (Think it was Excel but it has been a couple of weeks since I was last there). Regardless, local management added a note to the effect of ' while other makers have not gone this far, they (4-seasons) frown on the use of gooseneck adapters to pull 5th wheels not originally coming from the factory so built!. FWIW.

[NCFischers]

Thanks for your input. You have all convinced me to go with the 5th wheel hitch.
Jim

[sunshineduo]

If your Gooseneck hitch is made by B&W, they make a 5th wheel hitch especially for it. It's called a B&W Companion hitch and it is a full-fledged sliding king-pin locking hitch that won't void your warranty on your new Monty. We have it, it works great and has the capacity we needed for the 3665RE. It slips down into your gooseneck hole, tightens into place quite nicely and looks like a standard hitch, but does not have bolts through your bed. I can remove ours in about 5 or 6 minutes and re-install it in about 10. It's really the best of both worlds as you can have the bed of your truck back quickly and it is not an adapter to the coach at all.
Ask your dealer about it, and make sure you have the B&W gooseneck in your truck (the hitch will probably work in any goosneck, but I was told that B&W was the only one that Montana would honor the waranty in). It was installed at the dealer here in Colorado but I could've done it myself easily enough. Looks like a lot of internet sites have them for sale for a little less than the dealer price .

here's one link: http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/r...-5th-hitch.htm



gary

[bsmeaton]

Yep, thats the one I was thinking of. There was a thread about those not to long ago and it all sounded positive.

[RRman]

Given the many frame failures I've read from RVers towing with a Fifth wheel hitch and heard about, it seems likely to me that Lippert Welder competency consistency or manufacturer specifications to Lippert combined with that poor welding is perhaps to blame, maybe sometime affected by RV overloading too?
So far I've only towed about a 1000 miles with a Star Performance Gooseneck adaptor. Hopefully the benefit of never dropping the RV on the truck will not be overcome by the "random" frame failures...

[Crossthread]

NC, I was in the same boat as you, a 30,000 lb B&W gooseneck hitch came in the truck. I bought the B&W Companion hitch and have absolutely no regrets. Bill