Gooseneck or 5th wheel hitch which is better

[abjb]

Originally Posted by casper77

Good afternoon a couple months ago we got our first 5th wheel a 2012 V-cross and we were hauling it with a Chevy, but the Chevy died and we just got a Ford F-250 and it came with a Gooseneck in the bed and we are having a problem with finding somebody to put our 5th wheel in the truck. Should we convert to a gooseneck or try to get the 5th wheel hitch installed? Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

A couple of questions.
What yr is your F250?
Is the gooseneck welded in?

The bed rails for our Reese 5th just bolted in our 08 F250, 4 existing bolts out 4 longer bolts in, no cutting and NO welding.
I kept the short bolts and took the bed rails out (sold hitch/rails on craigslist) when we sold the Ford.

[trbomax]

^^^^^ True about hooking up,but thats why you have a wife for a spotter! ^^^^^

[trbomax]

Originally Posted by abjb

A couple of questions.
What yr is your F250?
Is the gooseneck welded in?

The bed rails for our Reese 5th just bolted in our 08 F250, 4 existing bolts out 4 longer bolts in, no cutting and NO welding.
I kept the short bolts and took the bed rails out (sold hitch/rails on craigslist) when we sold the Ford.

I have the rails too. If you have the reese rails,you can put either a goose neck ball, or a 5 er hitch in with just 4 pins.I have 8 bolts holding my rails in. They (the bolts) go thru the box floor and attach to 4 brackets that I first bolted,then welded to the frame.If you have air r`ide,you need to fab up an offset bracket to clear the bag brackets.The ones supplied in the reese rail kit will not work.

AGBG, I hope your rails are not bolted to only the box floor?

[47chevy]

Ranch hand

[hbillsmith]

Originally Posted by burse

Look at the Andersen Hitch!!!

I believe you mean the Andersen Ultimate Fifth that utilizes a flat, high mounted, king pin adapter. Not the Andersen Ranch Hand which is like other similar "Snout" looking conversions. The only Snout design that appears to be acceptable for 5ers is the cushioned designed Reese Goosebox. My 5er is a BAL frame, not Lippert, I use the Andersen Ultimate Aluminum and it works well for me.

[casper77]

After making phone calls to local rv shops, none of which would instal our 5th wheel, they told us they would put one in that we got from them- one of the place in fact is Camping World; the place we bought our camper from and the hitch was Boat n Rv in Hamburg,Pa and they said they put it in but refuse to return my calls. So after talking to my ford dealer they said they put it in and my truck goes in for service in December and we have it ready to go next year

[casper77]

We thank you all for your input


2013 Ford F-250 SD
2012 V-cross
One year old lab/husky Caly

[SlowrideHD]

There is a huge amount of leverage action on a gooseneck ball and post. Horse trailers and equipment trailers (I've had both) are made for this. Fifth wheel frames are not designed to resist all that induced torque through that lever action. I'm not saying it can't be done safely, but it won't be done on mine.

[hbillsmith]

Originally Posted by SlowrideHD

There is a huge amount of leverage action on a gooseneck ball and post. Horse trailers and equipment trailers (I've had both) are made for this. Fifth wheel frames are not designed to resist all that induced torque through that lever action. I'm not saying it can't be done safely, but it won't be done on mine.

You are so right! That's why Andersen created the "Ultimate Fifth" as a better solution for fifth wheel frames (better than their Ranch Hand and similar long nose adapters). With the Ultimate, the ball that connects to the fifth wheel pin box is raised off the truck bed using a pyramid frame that basically connects without adding extension leverage (pretty much the same connection place as the traditional collar and plate).

[Davidg]

Simple fix. Order a Reese Goosebox which uses the fifth airborne technology. It incorporates an airbag along with dual shock absorbers. This hitch makes towing a dream compared to the old regular fifth hitch we used. We went from heavy chucking at every expansion joint to a really smooth ride that has virtually zero chucking.

[trbomax]

Originally Posted by SlowrideHD

There is a huge amount of leverage action on a gooseneck ball and post. Horse trailers and equipment trailers (I've had both) are made for this. Fifth wheel frames are not designed to resist all that induced torque through that lever action. I'm not saying it can't be done safely, but it won't be done on mine.

Lippert endorses the use of the Reese GooseBox,they even own the company that makes them.Our trailer was changed over buy the dealer before it left the lot,so there could not be any "unauthorized modification " issues.

Originally Posted by Kenny kustom

Ram towing guide says I should have 3920 payload.
I lost a 1000lbs in payload?


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS