I Need Advice on a 5th Wheel to Gooseneck Adaptation

[Iplayfarmer]

I got a new truck and now I need to outfit it to pull my trailers.

Old Truck = '99 Chevy Silverado 1500 extended cab long bed, 5.3L engine
New Truck = '07 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Extended cab Short bed, 6.6L Duramax with the Allison Transmission.


The new truck came with a B&W turnover ball installed. I have a tagalong flat bed trailer, a gooseneck horse trailer, and a 5th wheel camper. The tagalong and gooseneck are no problem, but I need advice to help me decide how to modify the truck or trailer so that I can pull the 5th wheel

I like the idea of not having the rails in the bed, but that's not an absolute must.

Here are the options as I see them...

1) adapt the king pin so that it has a gooseneck coupler instead
2) get the Andersen ultimate 5th wheel connector
3) install traditional rails in the bed.
4) use an adapter that connects to the turnover ball and gives me rails that are removable
5) other options that you geniuses think of that I never would.

Ready..... Discuss.

 

[wolfpack2]

Why not get the 5th wheel hitch for the B&W?

Companion 5th Fifth Wheel Hitch | B & W Trailer Hitches

 

[Soundguy]

i agree. use a hitch converter that plugs into your flip over ball rcvr already in the bed.

my 350 has a flip over ball.. my 450 has rails for a 5th wheel reese hitch, and i have that out right now and have a reese 'the goose' installed to use a GN on the rails.. etc..

 

[nc redneck]

Small 5th wheel 28 or less, convert it to goose neck. Over that size check with camper manufacture to see if it is allowed to convert to goose neck. I have 43 foot Toy Hauler and 28 foot horse trailer. It is a pain to change out hitches. 5th wheel hitch is heavy and hard to remove but it sure does pull great at 65 to 80 MPH. Much better than goose neck or bumper pull.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I got a new truck and now I need to outfit it to pull my trailers.

Old Truck = '99 Chevy Silverado 1500 extended cab long bed, 5.3L engine
New Truck = '07 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Extended cab Short bed, 6.6L Duramax with the Allison Transmission.

The new truck came with a B&W turnover ball installed. I have a tagalong flat bed trailer, a gooseneck horse trailer, and a 5th wheel camper. The tagalong and gooseneck are no problem, but I need advice to help me decide how to modify the truck or trailer so that I can pull the 5th wheel

I like the idea of not having the rails in the bed, but that's not an absolute must.

Here are the options as I see them...

1) adapt the king pin so that it has a gooseneck coupler instead
2) get the Andersen ultimate 5th wheel connector
3) install traditional rails in the bed.
4) use an adapter that connects to the turnover ball and gives me rails that are removable
5) other options that you geniuses think of that I never would.

Ready..... Discuss.

Where are you at? I have a used B&W 5th Wheel Companion. Stored indoors and used maybe 15 times.

Chris

 

[diesellineman]

I say get the B&W Companion hitch as well. If you take out the turnover ball that's in there and replace it with a rail system you're going to end up with a 4 inch hole right in the middle of your bed and then you will always have the rails to deal with if you ever need to slide anything in and out of there as well.

 

[AGRIMAN]

I farm/work with my trucks so there's no way I wanted to deal with the 5 wheel hitch, so when I bought my 36' camper I installed a king pin adaptor and changed it over to a goose neck. I had a 7'' offset built into it that gives me some extra turning room with my 250. I'm very happy with it and have change over two ofter friends campers. I have pulled it at 80 + before and it does just fine.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I like the idea of the companion hitch. It's too bad it's so expensive compared to other options. It's also too bad Diamondpilot is in Indiana. I'm in Idaho, and that would be a long drive to pick up a hitch. My trailer is only 17 foot, but it's likely that we'll upgrade sometime in the future.

Another question I'm hoping to discuss here is what, if anything, do I need to do now that I have a short bed truck? There's a guy locally selling a Popup brand hitch adapter for the trailer at what I consider a good price, but it's a straight down type of hitch. There's no offset. What are the factors that will help me decide if I need the offset?

 

[diesellineman]

I know guys have run into clearance issues while towing a gooseneck horse/stock trailers before. B&W makes an offset ball that will move it a couple inches toward the rear of the truck to help with this issue. My truck is a short bed and I have never had any issues with either gooseneck trailer I tow, but neither one of them are horse trailers. I didn't realize the companion hitches were so expensive. When I bought my turnover ball for my truck I could of sworn I could of got the companion hitch for $400 more if I bought them together. I guess I was wrong now after checking prices.

 

[rustyshakelford]

Depending on the pin box you have check out the goosebox by Reese. Replaces the entire pin box and adds air bags and shocks. Made a huge difference in ride and ease. I had the companion and sold it to get the goosebox.

Brett

 

[Xfaxman]

I like the idea of the companion hitch. It's too bad it's so expensive compared to other options. It's also too bad Diamondpilot is in Indiana. I'm in Idaho, and that would be a long drive to pick up a hitch. My trailer is only 17 foot, but it's likely that we'll upgrade sometime in the future.

Another question I'm hoping to discuss here is what, if anything, do I need to do now that I have a short bed truck? There's a guy locally selling a Popup brand hitch adapter for the trailer at what I consider a good price, but it's a straight down type of hitch. There's no offset. What are the factors that will help me decide if I need the offset?

How wide is the front of your horse trailer? The ones with a slight taper at the front will usually work in a 6.5' short bed.

In a big open area like a field or a parking lot, pull forward while turning right. Watch the corner of the horse trailer as it gets close to the back window of the truck. If you can do a 360 degree turn, you should be good to go.

If the fifth wheel is wider, it will need an offset adapter. And be very careful turning sharp while backing up, with either trailer.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

The horse trailer is a featherlite with a narrow nose. I'm not worried about the horse trailer.

I'll have to go and check the camper. That's the one that I have to modify.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I measured the camper. It is 86" wide. The center if my hitch ball is 35" back from the front of the truck bed, and the bed is 63" wide from inside to inside of the bed rails.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I got a hitch adapter and installed it. It is the popup RV3. I have plenty of turn radius in the truck, but it's not going to work because the camper nose is too high. The camper frame comes uncomfortably close to the bed rails of the truck. The adapter I have is adjustable, and I have plenty of room to increase the height of the hitch. The problem is that with the camper jacks maxed out even with 8" blocks under them I have less than an inch of clearance with the ball.

All this comes of buying a truck with a bed height half a foot higher than my last truck.

I could flip the axles to get more clearance and use higher blocks under the jacks, but my family has almost outgrown this camper anyway. It worked great when my kids were little.

If only money grew on trees.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I got a hitch adapter and installed it. It is the popup RV3. I have plenty of turn radius in the truck, but it's not going to work because the camper nose is too high. The camper frame comes uncomfortably close to the bed rails of the truck. The adapter I have is adjustable, and I have plenty of room to increase the height of the hitch. The problem is that with the camper jacks maxed out even with 8" blocks under them I have less than an inch of clearance with the ball.

All this comes of buying a truck with a bed height half a foot higher than my last truck.

I could flip the axles to get more clearance and use higher blocks under the jacks, but my family has almost outgrown this camper anyway. It worked great when my kids were little.

If only money grew on trees.

That is by far the smallest 5th wheel I have ever seen.

Chris

 

[Iplayfarmer]

That is by far the smallest 5th wheel I have ever seen.

Chris

I know. It's awesome! It was perfect for us for a long time. It fit my young family perfectly, and it was the perfect match for my half ton truck. Unfortunately both the family and the truck have outgrown the trailer. I still need to sell the old truck, and we're considering selling the camper and truck as a package deal.

 

[aczlan]

The problem is that with the camper jacks maxed out even with 8" blocks under them I have less than an inch of clearance with the ball.

Looks like the jacks are held on with U bolts, Why not loosen them and slide the jacks down 4-5" so the fixed tube of the jack is even with the bottom of the frame ibeam (ie: so that in the attached picture, the red and yellow lines line up)?


Aaron Z

 

[RobertN]

Flip the 5th wheel axles. The truck is too tall, and you can't adjust your pinbox to make up that much(on the compact 5th wheel, do you have adjustable pinbox?).

My stock Ram 2500 is tall enough, that my '98 Wilderness 5th wheel needs the flipped axles. Otherwise the back of the bed would be hitting the underside of the RV. My 5th wheel effectively has about 4" of "lift kit". It matches my truck great, but I carry 4" blocks to put under the jacks. And, the bottom step at the door is at an odd height. And, there is a large space in the wheelwells.

 

[nc redneck]

I had to do the same thing when I bought a 2013. All 3 axles on my Toy Hauler. Also had to modify front and rear steps splitting the difference between first and last step into RV. Works OK once you get used to it.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Looks like the jacks are held on with U bolts, Why not loosen them and slide the jacks down 4-5" so the fixed tube of the jack is even with the bottom of the frame ibeam (ie: so that in the attached picture, the red and yellow lines line up)?
Aaron Z

The jacks are tack welded in addition to the U-bolts. Taller blocks under the jacks would also meet the need.

Flip the 5th wheel axles. The truck is too tall, and you can't adjust your pinbox to make up that much(on the compact 5th wheel, do you have adjustable pinbox?)...

I do have adjustment in the pin box. I also have plenty of adjustment in the adapter, too.

I had to do the same thing when I bought a 2013. All 3 axles on my Toy Hauler. Also had to modify front and rear steps splitting the difference between first and last step into RV. Works OK once you get used to it.View attachment 336422View attachment 336423View attachment 336424

Thanks all for the suggestions. There are a lot of people around here driving RV's with flipped axles. If this camper were still the perfect fit for my family, I would flip the axles and not look back. As it is we are growing out of it. My kids are no longer toddlers and infants. We've been considering an upgrade, and this is a good opportunity. Not only would the family be more comfortable in a bigger camper, but I have a big enough truck now to be comfortable pulling a bigger camper.