gooseneck adapter vs B&W companion. ride improvement???

[tooldad1041]

just purchased our family's first 5th wheel. 24ft coachman 1997. weighs about 7500#. already have a gooseneck ball in truck bed, so I found a gooseneck adapter on CL for $200. 5th wheel hitch that came with the trailer has no side to side movement and is as old as the trailer. Plus I snow plow and salt in the winter, so I didn't want the rails, hence the adapter.

I have found that pop-up hitch makes an adapter for the B&W companion. You simply remove the square-square mounting shaft and replace with their square-round shaft and it will work with pop-up goosenecks.

I have found a companion for $550 on CL. Money is not the issue, in fact that is a good deal for the hitch. Question is, how much will my ride improve, if any?

I have had goosenecks before and didn't mind the ride. However when I took this camper on a 500 mile trip one way and then back, I swear I felt every bump in the road. Will the B&W companion improve it that much with it's side to side and front-back articulation?

thanks for the input and comments.

[ricatic]

The post conversion for the Pop-Up hitch that adapts it to a B&W Companion hitch works perfectly...My Chevy DuraMax Dually came with the POP-Up hitch setup. I bought the conversion post from Young's and have been very pleased with the results...

Regards

[Cummins12V98]

Many of you know I am a BIG FAN of the Companion. It will not improve the ride over the Gooseneck pin box.

But it is "FOOL PROOF"……….IMHO!

[pinesman]

I have the B&W gooseneck setup and the companion. I have two gooseneck trailers that I pull and use the companion with my fifth wheel. The gooseneck horse trailer and fifthwheel pull like a dream and I do not know it is back there. The flatbed gooseneck lets me know whenever I go over any bump. Most of what you feel is due to the percentage of weight on the hitch. Since you can't (very easily) move the axles, you might want to consider shifting more weight to the front of the trailer. I do not think simply going from gooseneck to fifth wheel hitch will not fix your problem.

[avantidave]

I recently switched from a cushioned gooseneck extender mounted on my 14,000 gross weight FW trailer to the new Andersen Ultimate hitch made to connect to the gooseneck ball in the bed of my truck. This was because I did not want permanent rails in the back of my new truck.

With the cushioned gooseneck extender, I had frequent up and down movement felt in the truck from the trailer rocking fore and aft. Switching to the Andersen Ultimate hitch completely stopped that oscillating movement. The cushion in the extender seemed to be adding to that motion instead of dampening it.

With the same trailer, I have used a Reese 16K standard 4-way tilt 5th wheel hitch (in truck #1), a gooseneck with a Convert-a-ball cushioned 5th wheel extender/adapter (in truck #2) and the same gooseneck with the Andersen Ultimate hitch (again in truck #2).

Hands down, the Andersen Ultimate was the best experience for me. No chucking at all (no slop) and rare up-an-down motion felt from the trailer.

Truck #1 was a 2001 Dodge Cummins 3/4 ton with 1 ton rear suspension (extra spring leaf added at factory as a camper special option). Truck #2 is a 2009 Dodge/Ram Cummins 1 ton dually. No air bags added nor needed in either truck.

I remove and store the Andersen Ultimate hitch when not towing the 5th wheel trailer. My gooseneck hitch is a pop-up ball. After lowering the ball below the bed and placing the protective cap over the hole, the bed of my truck is completely flat.

[Miles_Away]

I have towed with both a goose neck adapter and the B & W Companion. Simply switching to the companion WILL NOT improve your ride. It will however make others who think it is going to do harm to your trailer feel better. Given the age of your trailer and its' weight, I do not think you will have any issues. To improve your ride you will have to go with some sort of air-bag pin box or air bag goose neck adapter, there are several out there on the market. I switched from the goose neck adapter to the Companion when I purchased a larger & heaver trailer. I also use a 5th Airborne pin box to smooth out the ride.

[Housted]

We towed with a companion for two years and many thousand miles. Liked it a lot except it is too heavy for me to get out of the truck. Liked the flat unobstructed bed when the hitch is out. I went with an Andersen Ultimate 5th Wheel Connection and have now towed over 2000 miles with it. Hitched and unhitched many times. I like it a lot. Seems smoother than the Binkley head due to NO slop because of the ball connection. I can see the ball in my rearview mirror and can raise or lower the pin box with the remote for the Ground Control system from the drivers seat. It seems to have the best features of a gooseneck without putting the stress on the front of the 5er frame. BTW I can easily remove it from the truck by myself. It fits under the retractable tonneau cover also. The total cost is about $450.

Housted

[SWD]

I just bought a convert-a-ball which has cushioning built into the adapter. Works great. $600. Contacting frame manufacturers is pretty much useless. They dont want to say one way or another because of liability. Just watch the pin box. If you begin to notice any issues you can deal with them accordingly. Have the same pop-up ball as you.
My ride is smooth and feels nice.

[Alley_Fox]

I have towed two different 5th wheels many miles with the B&W Companion and I have absolutely no complaints or problems. Our older 5th wheel had a MorRyde pinbox and our current one has a 5th Airborne, I would recommend either as a good addition to the hitch setup. $550 is a good price, I paid $400 for mine 4 years ago on cl and it has performed flawlessly. I think they are about $850 new. You can always make a cash offer for less, I would buy it if I were you. Just make sure it has all the hardware, 2 "U" bolts/Esna nuts and the square mounting post. You can buy the pulldown bolt at a local hardware store.

[jmtandem]

just purchased our family's first 5th wheel. 24ft coachman 1997. weighs about 7500#. already have a gooseneck ball in truck bed, so I found a gooseneck adapter on CL for $200. 5th wheel hitch that came with the trailer has no side to side movement and is as old as the trailer. Plus I snow plow and salt in the winter, so I didn't want the rails, hence the adapter.

I have found that pop-up hitch makes an adapter for the B&W companion. You simply remove the square-square mounting shaft and replace with their square-round shaft and it will work with pop-up goosenecks.

I have found a companion for $550 on CL. Money is not the issue, in fact that is a good deal for the hitch. Question is, how much will my ride improve, if any?

I have had goosenecks before and didn't mind the ride. However when I took this camper on a 500 mile trip one way and then back, I swear I felt every bump in the road. Will the B&W companion improve it that much with it's side to side and front-back articulation?

thanks for the input and comments.

I would contact the coach manufacturer and determine if they recommend using a goooseneck hitch for the fifth wheel. Some fifth wheel manufacturers do not recommend using a gooseneck hitch.