fifth wheel hitches

[daily double]

I just pulled the trigger on a new long bed pickup and while shopping for a hitch my RV dealer suggested a gooseneck adapter with a B&W turnover ball hitch. I thought I heard somewhere that a gooseneck adapter puts too much stress on the Monty hitch and Mor-ryde pin. Is this correct or just another old mans moment?

[CamillaMichael]

Everything I have seen regarding the use of a gooseneck adapter has been negative and warned against the practice....

[DQDick]

It's my understanding that using one will violate your frame warranty and with the amount of frame flex going around I don't think you'd want to do that. Check with Keystone before you pull the trigger on that idea.

[Hooker]

quote:Originally posted by daily double

my RV dealer suggested a gooseneck adapter

Add this to the long list of bad advice from an uninformed dealer.

[camper4]

I have heard it is okay and it is not okay. You may hear arguments on both sides. For my money it is not worth the risk. Besides you have to crawl up into the bed to hook up safety chains. Dangerous, as you age, especially in the rain. A down right pain.
I had one on my 2005 Montwna and took it off. Wasn't worth it.

[racerjoe]

Ask yourself,do you have a need for a hitch that does both? I think what he is trying to sell you is the style that you can use either as a goose neck or a fifth wheel hitch. You mount the fifth wheel portion to the center pin,and if you need the bed you remove the hitch "turn over the center pin and you have a flush floor... If that is not needed then go with a good quality hitch,those hitches are expensive but if you need a clean floor that is an option.A friend of ours has that hitch and he has yet to pull it out of his bed.

[stiles watson]

If you want a gooseneck capability, then get a B&W turnover ball. Then add a B&W Companion Hitch for your Fifth wheel. That is what I have and it has been an outstanding hitch combination for 5 years. When you take the hitch out of your bed, the bed doesn't have the rails. You have a clean bed. Go to the B&W web site and explore your options.

[mlh]

X2 what Stiles said.
Lynwood

[Art-n-Marge]

Did this dealer also sell you the trailer based on the Shipping weight and tell you Marathons or other Chinese bomb tires were the way to go? You can add converting most residential Fifth Wheels to a gooseneck is not a good idea. As also mentioned it can void a warranty.

Here's one reason why. Most anyone will estimate that a travel trailer has 10% of its weight at the hitch. I never did weigh our TT but I knew one owner was at 12% and he told me he just adjusted his load to behind the wheels to fix it. In the case of a fifth wheel it is said that 15% of the trailer's weight is at the hitch. But this is the case for car transporters, utility trailers, horse trailers or even some smaller fifth wheel residential trailers that don't have much else over the pin BUT the hitch pin. In the case of our behemoths the front cap has a lot more room for cargo, loads and other storage in whatever is above the hitch and because of this, these trailers can have between 18% to 25% of its load in front of both axles and this will increase the hitch weight very quickly. The front area is where the cargo bays are and when adding your cargo much of it is between the hitch and the wheels. This will very quickly add weight to the pin.

I am not a full-timer and I carry 19% to 20% of the gross weight on the pin (and on my truck). This is much higher than the anticipated 15% and this translates to extra stress at the trailer's fifth wheel pin. Now by adding more stress with a gooseneck conversion, not only are you asking for trouble, there was a recent post reported by an MOC member about an SOB owner that has had trouble with his residential trailer after doing this (broken welds, etc).

Since in this forum you might run into posts where there has been weld damage on some Montys and theirs did not have the gooseneck conversion, you're adding risk by adding this extra stress. Not everything can be fixed by re-welding the whole front cap to shore it up.

BTW - if you do buy the B&W system you get the best of both worlds (can tow gooseneck or hitch plate trailers) AND can efficiently remove all the hardware and have a completely flat truck bed when not towing or when using the truck for other things. I wish I had known about this before I bought my Valley/Husky. I don't know the tow ratings for the B&Ws, but I do recommend you buy the highest rated hitch for your TV's fifth wheel rating, not the load you are pulling. For example, my TV's max fiver tow is 15K and I got a 16K hitch. I didn't need a 20K hitch if I was never going to tow that much and don't have plans to trade out the TV for something better. I can certainly (and have) towed less.

You don't say whether you are SRW or DRW but if it's a newer truck your ratings might be around 17K which means you can go up to 18K. The only point is there's no need on buying more rating than you need. Your choice but I'm just trying to make suggestions.

[Recumbent]

We had a B&W turnover ball with Companion Hitch in our previous TV and it worked excellent. We purchased a new Ford that came with a Reese that also is removable making a "flat bed", and has a gooseneck ball that can be inserted in the bed for cattle trailer towing. Based on my actual experience and the vast majority of posts here on the MOC I would recommend staying away from a gooseneck hookup for a 5th wheel trailer.

[Weldon]

I am with Stiles.

[southern thunder]

Good info here. I have also been told not to try the GooseNeck.

[1retired06]

For what it is worth, when touring the Montana plant in Goshen, the keystone reps specifically said not to use a gooseneck.

[fauch]

physics:
adds leverage stress to trailer frame hitch yolk equal to added length from pin box connection to ball

[fauch]

deleted post

[lasater]

I am also with Stiles. I have the B&W turnover ball with the Companion. That gives me the capability to pull anything I want within the weight limits of my truck: goose-neck, king-pin, or receiver.

This is my second truck with the B&W system and I really like the fact that I can go from Montana ready to a clean bed in just a few minutes.

AND the customer service provided by B&W has been great since I bought the first hitch 5 years ago.

[fauch]

more on the physics
:https://docs.google.com/document/pub..._YwhCWZC5KiYUo

[TAKPAK]

A thought.........what do ALL the big rig trucks with trailers running up and down the highways have on them........?

Clue.....it's NOT a gooseneck hitch!!!!!