I agree the Goosenecks aren't as easy to connect as the 5th wheel hitch. However its very easy to convert a Gooseneck to a 5th wheel hitch. On my last Gooseneck equipment trailer I converted it to a 5th wheel king pin.. Happy Trails....
"You can see in the upper still from the video that they are installing it on a B&W base and they have installed the safety chain loop."
Maybe so, but I have never seen a fifth wheel trailer that has safety chains installed.
IIRC, in Montana such chains can not be bolted to the trailer, the connection must be welded. I could be wrong, it happens frequently...
The fact remains, as shown in the videos, such a hitch would be ILLEGAL in Montana, due to the lack of safety chains.
CM1, USN (RET)
2002 Fleetwood Southwind 32V, Ford V10
Toad: 2006 Jeep Rubicon LJ
Other toad: '06 PT Cruiser, Kar Kaddy dolly
Toy: 1977 Dodge W100 CC SWB, 3/4 ton axles & springs
"When seconds count, help is only minutes away!"
I've towed since 2007 using a Gooseneck. My Star Performance Gooseneck Adapter has a glider motion. Most RV Parks I've stayed in have one or several Fivers with adapters. Friend of mine has a extended adapter and has towed all over the country with it. Any frame failures must be related to bad/unlucky frames?
It does take longer to hitch up since I have to raise or lower the trailer onto the ball. A nice gentle motion and no wheel chocks needed.
you do have to line up on the ball fairly closely in two directions, just like bumper pulls? Hooking up the chains is quick and easy enough but does require agility.
mowermech wrote: "You can see in the upper still from the video that they are installing it on a B&W base and they have installed the safety chain loop."
Maybe so, but I have never seen a fifth wheel trailer that has safety chains installed.
IIRC, in Montana such chains can not be bolted to the trailer, the connection must be welded. I could be wrong, it happens frequently...
The fact remains, as shown in the videos, such a hitch would be ILLEGAL in Montana, due to the lack of safety chains.
The B&W base has two 1/2" diameter u-bolts that go through the bed and through the base frame under the bed. They are designed to rest in the trough of the bed corrugations and pull up to install your safety chain hooks when towing a =gooseneck= trailer. Chains are not required for FW's in most states I know of. AFAIK, chains are required for all ball and pintle hitches.
Lyle
2002 GMC Sierra 2500 HD Duramax Crew Cab 4x4
Banks Bullet Tuner and Monster Exhaust
B&W Turnover Ball with 5th Wheel Companion
2004 Komfort 25FSG Fifth Wheel
1936 John Deere Model A
International Flying Farmers 55 Year Member
mowermech wrote: "You can see in the upper still from the video that they are installing it on a B&W base and they have installed the safety chain loop."
Maybe so, but I have never seen a fifth wheel trailer that has safety chains installed.
IIRC, in Montana such chains can not be bolted to the trailer, the connection must be welded. I could be wrong, it happens frequently...
The fact remains, as shown in the videos, such a hitch would be ILLEGAL in Montana, due to the lack of safety chains.
The B&W base has two 1/2" diameter u-bolts that go through the bed and through the base frame under the bed. They are designed to rest in the trough of the bed corrugations and pull up to install your safety chain hooks when towing a =gooseneck= trailer. Chains are not required for FW's in most states I know of. AFAIK, chains are required for all ball and pintle hitches.
Lyle
Yes, I know the HITCH PLATE has connection points for safety chains.
The point is, the TRAILER has no safety chains, and it has been converted to a ball hitch! Therefore, safety chains are required.
BUT, since it HAS NO safety chains, and it is NOT connected to a fifth wheel hitch, it is illegal!
The trailer is now connected to the towing vehicle via a ball hitch.
All ball hitches require safety chains.
The trailer does not have safety chains.
ERGO, it is an illegal hitch.
Period.
When the proper sized safety chains are welded to the trailer, and properly attached to the towing vehicle, it will be legal.
Opinions on safety chains aside, what do the members think of the hitch?
I'll tell you what I think. I would be interested in it if I had a long bed truck. It seems fairly light and well made. I would definitely consider it if I was changing trucks and hitchs.
Alan Brown
2001 Ford super duty 4x4 CC SB 7.3 powerstroke Tymar Performance Intake/Muffler deleted/Reese 16k slider
2001 KZ Sportsman 25 foot 5th wheel,axles flipped,low profile,10,000 GVWR/2006 RMZ450/2003 RM125 double towed on a 5x8 3 rail trailer
A GN adapter is nothing more than a "lever". Actually we should all be speaking of the GN "lever" .
Have you ever seen a "pin" box peeled back like a can of sardines?? I have- it aint pretty- actually this could have been catastrophic accident on the roadway.
The GN "lever" exerts tremendous strain on the FW pin box....just dont do it... I will let the engineers do the math on the forces at work...
jerb wrote: how many of you use a standard 2 5/16'' ball in your bed with an adaptor mounted to the camper, pros and cons please, would be nice to use a ball do to the many available deigns that allow the ball to be easily removed or flip upside down for a completely smooth pickup bed!
Since I have both a fifth wheel and a goose ball on my truck I can be neutral in this discussion. I find no real advantage of either hitch. Some here have mentioned that goosenecks aren’t as easy to connect. That is true for pickups, but not for my truck. With my truck I use the truck’s air dump rear suspension to make quick work of hooking up and un-hooking my gooseneck trailer. I can also see both my fifth wheel hitch and my goose ball from the driver seat.
I have friends that have used the adaptors successfully on their fifth wheels, but their fifth wheels are not heavy.
Personally, I would not use a gooseneck adaptor for any trailer over 10K pounds.
In the picture below you can see the triangular gussets on my gooseneck trailer. These gussets are not on fifth wheel trailers.
2005 Freightliner M2 106 class 7 HDT 2004 Teton Sunrise Grand Jeep Wrangler toad ...PICTURES...
ABinOK wrote: Opinions on safety chains aside, what do the members think of the hitch?
I'll tell you what I think. I would be interested in it if I had a long bed truck. It seems fairly light and well made. I would definitely consider it if I was changing trucks and hitchs.
As a structural welder and metal fabricator by trade, here is what I think of the hitch.
I don't like the fact that the coupler is aluminum and greaseless. No grease in an aluminum coupler riding on a hardened steel ball with 2000-3000 lbs of vertical weight = a worn out coupler in short order, in my opinion. If the coupler were steel and greased, my opinion would be more positive.
Even if it were steel instead of aluminum though, I still don't like how the coupler connects to the king pin. I don't like the offset connection, or the clamp and set screws securing it. I would prefer to remove the kingpin completely and weld the coupler directly to the pin box plate, just as the king pin is welded directly to the pin box plate. The coupler would have to be steel to weld it to the pin box plate, obviously.
I also don't like that the frame is made of light gauge tube, with crimped connections. If I were building that frame, it would be built with 1/4" wall square tube, with mitered connections on both ends, welded all around the tube, which is about twice the weld area as a crimped connection, as well as greater strength in all directions of the connection.
So, though I am in agreement with the concept of the design (a frame that fits over the ball with another ball above it), I dislike most of the structural details of the actual design.
Furthermore, if using with a B&W gooseneck hitch, I would prefer to eliminate the B&W ball and coupler on the bottom of the hitch frame and just use a 3" solid square bar to insert directly into the B&W hitch ball hole, eliminating the extra ball connection, which is exactly how B&W's Companion hitch connects to their gooseneck hitch.
I've never used a gooseneck adapter, but here in CA they are very popular. I see them in just about every campground. If there were serious issues, word would get around. So I don't believe it is a problem.
As for warranty, who cares? No manufacturer is going to say "yes it is okay". Why would they? There is no upside for them. Manufacturers will always tell you "no" unless they can turn it into a marketing advantage. Same with rear receivers, bike racks, and any other non-stock item. They have no incentive to say "yes".
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