Forum Discussion

OffTheRoadAgain's avatar
May 12, 2013

5th wheel hitch that attaches to gooseneck ball?

I recently got a killer deal on an F250 to pull the 5er that I'm buying soon but I've run into a snag and could use some advice. The truck has a gooseneck hitch in the bed. Not a Companion turnover ball; rather, a little plate that the hitch ball rotates down into. It looks a lot like this:



Am I correct that this will prevent the use of a Companion 5th wheel hitch because it's not a Companion turnover ball? Or will that hitch work with any gooseneck ball?

If not, are there any other gooseneck-ball-to-5th-wheel hitches? For many reasons, I'd like to avoid hooking the RV itself up to the gooseneck ball with an adapter on the kingpin. Am I going to be stuck removing the gooseneck hitch and its frame mount so I can install conventional 5th wheel rails?

Thanks for your advice.

28 Replies

  • My previous Reese Hitch had wide frame rails that would mount on each side of a goose neck hitch. Or you could buy a goose neck or 5er hitch that mounted on the rails. I had both so I could pull my horse trailer in addition to the 5er.
  • BAND AIDS come to mind here a lot! If you are going to tow a 5th wheel trailer, do it on a good 4 way tilt 5th wheel hitch. That way if you break down your trailer can easily be moved by a friend or a trip to a near by RV park/camp ground and ask someone for help getting your rig off the highway.

    Chris
  • alboy wrote:
    Why not go to a Anderson ultimate hitch that fits right onto the ball, pretty slick and light weight.


    What's the consensus on that? Would it be safe enough?
  • Why not go to a Anderson ultimate hitch that fits right onto the ball, pretty slick and light weight.
  • So that leads to the complication that the gooseneck frame mount has been welded to the frame. Thankfully, they're just spot welds, only four of them and they're very small. I guess it's time to bust out the angle grinder and the kroil...
  • Nope. The companion doesn't actually hook to the ball: it fits into a square hole in the box. Their ball is on a square pole. When removed and "turned over" and reinstalled, it leaves the box flat.
  • I would bite the bullet, pull the goose neck hitch and install a proper hitch once you patch the gaping hole left when you pull it out.