Differences, pros and cons of a gooseneck hitch and 5th wheel hitch?

[Jorge6.5]

Been thinking lately about going with a gooseneck or 5th wheel hitch. I'm not sure of the major differences between the 2. Is one better than the other? Is one more superior than the other. Does my bed have to be installed on the truck to run either hitch?

I'm asking cause I'm interested in getting a camper to tow, thought I should do some home work before I took the plunge.

 

[WarWagon]

5Th wheel trailers for campers are the most common. They tow better than the tag, bumper pull, trailers. More weight over the rear wheels, better balance between front and rear wheels, and less sway. Be careful of your truck's weight rating as newer trailers easily exceed what your truck can handle. Off the top of my head this is an 11,000 LBS trailer with a 454 gasser. With our engine mods maybe we can use the higher rating except for the engine weighing more than the 454... 6.5's are rated at less weight.

5Th Wheel trailers are truck only so you can't pull it with a Suburban or a friends vehicle unless it has a 5th wheel hitch in it.

5th wheel trailers are easy to hook up as you can see the hitch and trailer through the rear window.

 

[SmithvilleD]

As War Wagon notes, the camper & RV industry primarily uses 5th wheels.

The common B&W turnover ball gooseneck hitches conveniently allow flipping over/storing the ball mount flush with the bed so there's little impact on bed use. Some 5th wheel mounts compromise bed use unless you remove them - although I believe there are some that can be removed fairly easily also.

As for notable differences: gooseneck allows for more articulation btwn truck & trailer & prolly gives up a bit of overall stability (truck & trailer as a unit) for the same reason. The articulation might be beneficial if you'll pull a trailer over rugged terrain - stock trailers thru rough pasture land comes to mind.

Both gooseneck & 5th wheels pull so much nicer than bumperpull for reasons such as:

1) hitch point is over or a bit in front of the rear wheels (as compared to bumperpull where lateral forces coming from the trailer have more leverage on the truck.

2) the effective "tongue" length of gooseneck or 5th wheel's is much longer than a comparable length bumperpull trailer.

I know a friend's wife never wanted to drive to horse shows with their bumperpull. When they upgraded to gooseneck, she now hooks on a goes without worry. They're just that much nicer to trailer with.

 

[schiker]

clipped....

Does my bed have to be installed on the truck to run either hitch?

As in you want to make a flat bed or take the bed off? You can take the bed off for goosneck ball fairly easily with a B&W hitch as the frame mounts under the bed (others too) but most 5th wheels have large bases that use the bed so you'll have to have some floor like framework: I guess 3 ft by 4 ft +/-. B&W also has a companion 5th wheel that mounts to the turn over ball system (but still uses the bed for support).

You don't have to take the bed off to mount the B&W turn over ball and probably don't have to take bed off to install 5th wheel but I don't know for sure about 5th wheel.

Both are rated about the same weight depending on model and will exceed your K2500 capacity easily. I have a B&W hitch and pull a 7 ton gooseneck occasionally. I have grossed about 15k lbs total weight (truck plus trailer and cargo) it did ok on secondary roads. I wouldn't want to pull over 5K lbs with a bumper pull but that is just me.

 

[WarWagon]

I had the bed on my truck for both GN and 5er hitches.

Tow ratings:
http://www.trailerlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Trailer-Life-Towing-Guide-1999.pdf

Transmission, crew cab, and 4X4 all make a difference.

Each part has to be rated for or above the max weight. So a 5000 lbs ball towing a 7000 lbs trailer has issues with the ball being too low rated. Most parts will be over the specs of the truck. The factory hitch has a rating sticker and it is a different higher rating for a weight distributing hitch. These WD hitches are not needed for 5er or GN setups.