Goosebox hitch installed

[2014MegaRam4x4]

Hello all, I needed some extra room in my bed of the truck and wanted to do away with the Dodge factory Picture frame adapter and reese hitch to make a little room for my 60 gallon Fuel Cell / Toolbox combo. So I wanted to share some photos and give some feedback on the Reese Goosebox that I installed over the weekend. The install went relatively simple, removed the 10 bolts on the original pin box, and it slid right out it's not too heavy about 40 Lbs, easily managed with 2 people. The only challenge of the install of the Goose box is the wight (150lbs) and awkwadness of the size. The two of us lifted it up and installed one bolt each side to hold it in place. Once in place is was a whole lot more manageable and bolted up the 6 of the 8 required grade 8 hardware bolts (3 per side), it's just getting it up and holding in place to slide bolts in to hold it that's difficult, but this can be overcome easily with more people. We could only put 3 bolts in as one of the holes was off on each side and we had to drill the through the frame using a 13/16 drill bit to allow the bolt to fit. Outside of the need to drill and the weight there was no issues at all and the total install time was about 3-4 hours.

The ride felt like it was an improvement, as there appeared to be less chaulking and bumping coming from the trailer transferred into the truck frame as the hitch airbags that are built in holding 50 PSI appeared to be doing what they were designed to do.
I can say it was an all around good investment, allowing me to increase my traveling range and easy access to necessary tools in the invent something happens. Oh yeah and no more struggling with lifting in and out about the 200 lbs of the adapter and hitch into the bed every time we went somewhere, now it's just a drop in gooseneck ball, connect the 2 chains and were rolling!!!!

Moderator edit to re-size pictures to forum limit of 640px maximum width.

[Greene728]

Looks good!

[TXiceman]

A year ago, I received an email from a Reese representative asking why I was bad-mouthing their Goose Box pin box. I explained the basics of the mechanics and told him it was nothing more than a fancy goose neck adapter and the GB was no different.

He was not an engineer and told me that Reese stood behind the product. I offered to write a report about the design for his engineers to review at my normal consulting rate or even discuss the design with their engineers (if they even have an engineer). Never heard a word back from him.

But if you want to chance damaging an RV, go ahead and try the Goose Box. I would not touch it any more than a regular GN adapter.

Ken

[boocoodinkydow]

Cequent Performance Parts actually manufactures the goose box and Reese markets it with Lippert being named exclusive distributor. Since Reese is solely owned by Cequent, I question Lipperts involvement as "distributor". My cynicism queries that this may simply be a a vehicle designed to give Lippert Industries a slice of the pie for their endorsement. Irrelevant of the behind the scenes politics, I feel comfortable with the goose box/ Lippert combo & plan to utilize it on my upcoming light weight 5er purchase.

[tinner12002]

I would also believe common sense tells me that the farther you get from the attachment points on the frame the more stress your going to have at those points. Whether its enough to be concerned with would have to be figured out by some form of testing. And then there is the possible warranty issues.
I couldn't use one anyway as they only have a #16000 max tow rating.

[TXiceman]

Shoot, a 1st year engineering student has the knowledge to look at the Goose Box and tell that the "engineering" behind the Lippert statement is pure marketing hype and BS.

Ken

[N-Trouble]

You have two lever arms at play here. BOTH horizontal and vertical.

Lets talk vertical first. The major forces exerted at the pinbox of a trailer are the result of for/aft movement of the TV due to acceleration/braking and become even more amplified when you factor in pulling grades or braking on downgrades. These forces are amplified ONLY by the length of the lever arm in the vertical direction which any GN pinbox increases, and has nothing to do with the length of the horizontal lever arm (i.e. extended pinbox). You can have an extended pinbox that is 10ft long in the horizontal direction but the same height in the vertical direction and these fore/aft forces are not amplified one bit.

Now for the horizontal arm. The length of the horizontal arm will only amplify forces in the up/down direction. These forces are generally MUCH less than the fore/aft I mentioned earlier and are also cushioned by the TV's suspension. So yes an extended pinbox will amplify these forces but they are generally much less order of magnitude than the fore/aft forces which do get amplified by the increased vertical length of a GN attaching way down at the bed of the truck.

I have read all of the Lippert disclaimer, but my engineering degree tells me otherwise and just did not make me comfortable installing on my trailer. So, I guess we can agree to disagree but good luck with your setup. As long as your happy with it is all that matters.

[TXiceman]

mdamerell wrote:
The leverage or "arm length" is the same as the original extended pin box.

Goose Box on Lippert Website

I would like to know where there engineer (if they have one) got his engineering degree. The leverage on the pin box attachments is no different than a conventional goose neck adapter.

Looks like marketing hype with no engineering involved.

Ken

[mdamerell]

N-Trouble I disagree. Torque is what is applied to the frame of the trailer through the hitch assembly. The height or angle are not a function, only the length of the arm. The longer the arm the greater the forces applied to the trailer mount and thus the frame. You could say that the greater height is a result of a longer arm but we are back to the length of the arm is the force multiplier.

In the old style 5th wheel hitch the pin box was very short (compact)and carried the load very close to the trailers frame. When you added a gooseneck adaptor you raised the height or extended the arm's length (increased leverage). With the newer extended pin box, the frame is designed to deal with the stresses of a longer "lever arm". The Goose Box is very similar in length. Lippert in their testing found the vibration dampening system to produce stress similar or less that the original solid pin boxes.

From the Lippert Website "•Reduced stress on trailer system verified by independent lab testing"

Thanks for the discussion. Hope you have a great day.

[N-Trouble]

The increased "vertical" distance not horizontal is what creates the longer lever arm and additional stresses. So no the "lever arm" is not the same as an extended Pinbox. Am aware that Lippert approved however, but wasn't willing to take the chance.

[mdamerell]

The Goose Box is not the traditional gooseneck adaptor. Lippert actually approves it for their frames and says so on their website. The leverage or "arm length" is the same as the original extended pin box.

Goose Box on Lippert Website

[coolbreeze01]

Nice. Good to know there are some trailers that are strong enough for a goose neck.

[mdamerell]

Welcome to the "dark side".

I've had my Reese Goose Box since we bought our Sundance and have been very pleased with it. Some of the earlier ones tended to leak air through the relief valve. Need to air up my hitch before towing. It tends to hold while parked but I guess the motion of towing near the 50# max tends to burp air out the relief valve. Some people have removed the relief valve and reported no more issues. There's no relief valve on suspension (truck) air backs so I'm not sure why they installed on the hitch.