Posted: 9/9/2025 9:37:17 AM EDT
|
I am selling a big bumper pull and going to a 5th wheel. I absolutely do not want a king pin hitch taking up a lot of room in my truck bed. Since I have a goose neck work trailer, I want a 5th wheel with a goose neck hookup. Tow truck is a Ram 3500 with the factory puck setup. I have looked at Reese Goose Box, Anderson, ect., but not sure which is best. I have also seen lots of conversion devices to add to the king pin to convert to a goose hitch but they look iffy to me. What is the best option? Here is the Gen-Y  Reese  Anderson Ultimate hitch 
|
|
There is a member that bought a 5er about a year or more ago that went with a gooseneck for his camper. He's one of the "engineer" names, maybe turfengineer. Search thru some older threads in this subforum. I think he bought an Alliance. He gave a decent reasoning why he chose the goose over the 5th wheel, but I can't remember now. If I'm not horribly mistaken, there are some advantages to the goose setup, but some possible disadvantage as well, and it depends on how your truck handles either. For the above reasons, I can not advise either way, but good luck on your new purchase. Post some pics and the specs |
|
A fifth wheel hitch will offer a more stable, quieter, and more comfortable ride on smooth roads and is also easier to couple and uncouple. A Gooseneck will ultimately have a higher possible weight rating, which may be a consideration if you're considering one of the monster travel trailers. They also offer more flexibility in the coupling if you plan to do any off-roading or travel on uneven surfaces. Either one, properly installed and properly used will be safe and secure. I have no real preference beyond the above limitations. I won't get into the sanity of the arms race of towing capacities and GVWR of modern pickups. All I will say is that I wouldn't tow some of the large travel trailers with anything less than an F-450, F-550 or equivalent. I would actually prefer a medium duty rig. Source: Over two million safe towing miles. Attached File |
|
Originally Posted By PhuzzyGnu: A fifth wheel hitch will offer a more stable, quieter, and more comfortable ride on smooth roads and is also easier to couple and uncouple. A Gooseneck will ultimately have a higher possible weight rating, which may be a consideration if you're considering one of the monster travel trailers. They also offer more flexibility in the coupling if you plan to do any off-roading or travel on uneven surfaces. Either one, properly installed and properly used will be safe and secure. I have no real preference beyond the above limitations. I won't get into the sanity of the arms race of towing capacities and GVWR of modern pickups. All I will say is that I wouldn't tow some of the large travel trailers with anything less than an F-450, F-550 or equivalent. I would actually prefer a medium duty rig. Source: Over two million safe towing miles. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/69748/PXL_20250323_173644004_jpg-3621565.JPG @PhuzzyGnu Thanks for your professional insight. I am one of those rare guys who understands that my 1 ton is not the same as a semi and I have no desire to pull a 44 foot triple axle RV. I am purposely sticking to about a 35 footer max and want to stay around 12K weight. I like camping in the mountains and some RV parks do not have the most level spots so I want something easy to hitch up and unhitch even if my truck and camper are not level with each other. I also like having some of the bed space available which you have with a ball hitch. Finally, as I said in OP, I would prefer to just have the ball in my bed so I can easily switch between RV and my farm gooseneck trailer. If the kingpin mount is the best option, I can go that route, it would just be a pain to remove every time I want to use my equipment trailer. |
|
In your case I would go the gooseneck route with a coupler from one of the reputable companies (Reese, etc). For the bed, if you don't already have a ball (which it sounds like you do) get a B&W Turnoverball setup. The ball removes easily to completely free up bed space. And I understand many trucks can have the B&W setup installed without bed removal. Attached File Also the B&W kit allows the flexibility to couple just about anything with the right parts setup. Attached File Finally if your truck doesn't have an adequate one, get an aftermarket camera that will allow you to guide the truck exactly into place for an easy coupling every time. A cheap dash cam with a remote monitor will be adequate. Cheat and put some stickers or Sharpie lines on the screen to make it idiot proof. |
|
turfengineer gooseneck thread Not as many details as I remembered, but I found the thread I mentioned on pg2 here in the RV forum |
|
Originally Posted By lizARdman15: turfengineer gooseneck thread Not as many details as I remembered, but I found the thread I mentioned on pg2 here in the RV forum Thanks |
|
Just got done installing turnover ball on my SRW F350. Bought a 35' 12k 5th wheel camper. Got a deal on a 5th wheel converter that is "rated" for 20k towing. Didn't want to give up bed space for a full 5th wheel hitch. If I don't like the converter, I'll prob buy one of the goose box type conversions like the Y2. Going to try it out as soon as I get home from work sometime next week. If you haven't pulled the trigger on something hit me up & I'll tell ya how it tows. |
|
I have the Anderson conversion. The part in the bed weighs 39 pounds and can be installed or removed by one person in under 2 minutes. It will not void any manufacturers warranty. I have a Ram 2500 HD pulling a 39 foot Keystone Alpine. The Anderson hitch was the best thing I have ever bought RV related. With it, I have gone from FL to CA and back, to WA and back, to VT and back along with numerous shorter trips. ETA got to disagree with Puzzygnu. My truck rides better, is more stable and handles better with the Anderson than it did with the 5th wheel hitch. With the 5th wheel, we went from ID to FL then to MI and back to FL. So it is easy to make the comparison. |
Soldier for Life
|
I did go with the Goosebox and B&W 4” Offset ball. Great setup for me in my situation. The air bag does a great job mitigating chunking and I only have to adjust the air pressure a couple times a year. That airbag is something to consider bs the Gen-Y. I went Goosebox because it’s ~1.5” longer (from memory) from ball to pin box. So that moved the front cap away from truck cab. Easy to hook and unhook if you’re already using a gooseneck. I use a ‘22 F350 and haven’t had any clearance concerns. Either brand are good, but I personally would stay away from the Anderson due to a few failures I’ve read about. |
Land of the Free, Home of the Brave!... Not available in all states, must be 21 or older to apply.
|
had a B&W gooseneck set up for several years. Then we bought a 5th wheel trailer. Went with their companion hitch, we have been happy. |
My Sister....."Damn girl, get over it, we have all had to get on our knees and suck a dick to get what we wanted."
Great Aunt Florence..."Life is too short to drink cheap booze"
Great Aunt Florence..."Life is too short to drink cheap booze"