Fifth wheel gooseneck adaptor and short bed pickup question

[Clifford Lee Gallington]

Hi, I am thinking about a camper, I have a crew cab short bed pickup, Chevy 2500hd, i have seen adapters to attach the gooseneck ball to the fifth wheel camper,,but do not know if a shortbed will let me turn like it should with out making a mess of the back of the cab.
I was thinking a bumper pull but some of the fifth wheels look handy.
Any advice for a non camper owner.

[William Briggs]

Before I bought a fifth wheel several years ago, I asked a lot of knowledgeable people about the gooseneck adapter, and every one of them warned me against it. I do see a lot of those adapters used but I'd rather use the fifth wheel hitch as designed.

 

Because I had a crew cab pickup with a shorter-than-normal bed, I settled on the SuperGlide fifth wheel hitch. It was expensive -- $3,500 installed. And it required a modification to the king pin which makes the trailer impossible to be pulled by standard fifth wheel hitches. After I had it installed, I drove the rig to a parking lot where I could practice my sharp turns and see if there was ever any danger of contacting the cab of the short-bed truck. I was very pleased; when the truck begins to enter a sharp turn, a cam-gear inside the hitch slides the hitch toward the back of the bed. And, as the rig straightens, the cam-gear pulls the hitch back into its proper position. Although, conceivably, the trailer *COULD* make contact with the cab, you'd be at an almost-90-degree-angle before it ever did.

 

I pulled that fifth wheel for 2 years without any worries. The downside is the hitch is bigger and heavier than a standard fifth wheel ... don't plan on using your pickup bed for much else, other than the hitch.

 

In the end, I agree with Pat. If you're planning on dragging the camper to the lake on the weekends, go with a bumper-pull trailer and save the money. It will feel a little sloppy when you pull it, but for an hour or two driving, you'll be okay. BUT, if you plan to drive long distances (days at a time), there's nothing like pulling a fifth wheel.

 

Happy trails,

 

Billy

[William Briggs]

Here are pics of a fifth wheel trailer, adapted to a gooseneck hitch:

 

 

Required addition of a short length of heavy-duty chain:

 

 

The brace was whittled out of a 4x4 post; note the care which the installed whittled the peg at the bottom of the 4x4. That must have taken him several hours.

 

[0ic943wdlq63y]

HEY BILL ! Where oh where did you get pics of my rig ? ROFLOL ROFLOL

Man would I love to have been a fly on the wall while that engineering master minding was going on . I'm thinking maybe WAY WAY WAY to many beers went into that design . ROFLOL ROFLOL

 

How in the world that WHOLE rig didn't end up in the front seat when this genius hits the brakes is well beyond me . lol

[William Briggs]

Wes, although his tag says "Utah" I figured the engineering master-mind was probably born in Georgia (or Oklahoma!). Glad you enjoyed it.

These pics illustrated the point I discussed above, that it's generally unsafe to modify the fifth wheel kingpin arrangement by adding a goose-neck adapter.

--Billy

[0ic943wdlq63y]

Bill ,

I'm thinking the Utah tag was stolen once they got to Utah from SA . lol lol lol

 

Typically when I see a rig like this on the highway , I'm pretty sure I want to shoot on around it at all costs . But this looks so dangerous I think I'd just take another route to avoid being his victim and or being a witness of the impending doom . lol

[William Briggs]

And I agree, his engineering was probably enhanced by a sipping a dozen beers while he sketched out the idea onto paper.

[0ic943wdlq63y]

Followed by yet another dozen during the install . lol

WAIT ! HOLD ON ! Isn't there a photo of one of these setups on it's side that got posted in this thread . lol lol

Sorry Pat . I couldn't resist .

[0ic943wdlq63y]

Everytime I see that photo of your rig in it's side on I-70 , all I can do is shake my head and think " WHAT A MESS " . Glad you guys made it for sure . I imagine the aftermath and cleanup of it was truly tough .

Many safe travels to you both . I'm hoping you got all our tragedies out of the way in one fell swoop and much success is on your horizon .

 

Wes

[Clifford Lee Gallington]

Thanks for all of the replies on this, I think I will go with a bumper pull type only because I do not have an s10 blazer to use to pull one of the 5th wheel :)

I have pulled a lot of miles with bumper trailers, but do not imagine heading out on any long journeys since I am just trying to get into this....oh what is this called?  an activity, it is not a sport....oh well trying to get into a camper or camping.

I think once hunting season gets over there should be a few local campers avalable to choose from.

Thank you all for the advice.

Now to start looking for a camper, or are they called travel trailers?

Don't laugh, I do not know the terminology even HAHA!

[0ic943wdlq63y]

It is called " ADVENTURE " ! lol . Many safe miles to you .

[William Briggs]

For me, it's called "home." My only regret is I didn't make this decision years earlier. Best of luck Clifford. whatever you decide to call it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

P.s. To wes: we're looking at a 25 degree night tonight and I neglected to unhook the rig and drive it over to refill with propane. This little electric heater is being asked to work double duty during the night--and the boogie dog may be asked to join me in the bed!

[William Briggs]

Hey Clifford, I'm showing you' re only 4 hours from me. When you get that camper look me up and we'll meet halfway.