Gooseneck extender vs hitch extender

[Rockin]

I was lookin on popup hitch (http://www.popuphitch.com) and they have a gooseneck extender. It seems like a better option for a shortbed than sliders and systems that locate the ball behind the axle. This just seems like it would pull as a 9" longer trailer and give more clearance.

Anyone see a reason this wouldn't make good sense as a way to add clearance for a shortbed?

[Rockin]

You can see it:

http://www.popuphitch.com/images/SB1b.jpg

[Rockin]

I did a little calculation, assuming the front of the trailer will hit the corner of the cab, just moving the trailer back 9" relative to the pivot point gives 12 degrees more rotation for a 7' wide goose nose.

There will be a little benefit by having the corner of the trailer further from the center which will give another degree or two.

[MAV]

It should help for sure. I thought there were a couple here that got one. Should work.

[Inspector]

I don't know for sure if this is valid but will look into it first chance but I was told that the pin box extender systems available may not be such a good idea. The added strain between the pin box and the gooseneck ball has a tendency to cause cracking in the pin box attach points in the trailer. This I am told is because of the added flexing.
This is just what I have been told. Unless the trailer is really heavy duty such as a car hauler or untility unit this could be a problem for the ordinary 5ver.
Some research must be done about this heresay before I will say it is valid.
Just some food for thought. I can see how this might be true.
Denny :(

[jcummins]

My fifth wheel hitch swivels 4 ways, fore/aft left/right. With this adapter all of that is lost. Isn't this a problem? OR does the rotation of the adapter on the ball take care of that?

[DalDMax]

Looking at the picture, it looks like the extender is designed for gooseneck trailers, not fifthwheels with GN adapters.
A lot of GN trailer have an adjustable height hitch on them where one pipe slides up and down inside another pipe, then several bolts are used to lock the two together when the correct height is achieved.
This adapter looks to replace the piece that slides up and down.

[jcummins]

There was another similar thread about gooseneck and fifth wheel hitches, I actually posted to the wrong thread. Popup hitch has a similiar adapter for fifth wheel to gooseneck.
You can see at:

http://www.popuphitch.com./

I've never pulled goosenecks, but reported stronger, but less forgiving on the trailer. I'd like to use a goosneck with my fifth wheeler to get my bed space back....but right now from what little I know, the trailer will suffer by doing it. Thoughts?

[Rockin]

This will be for a goosneck horse trailer. I will not be converting between 5th wheel and gooseneck.

Since it is a gooseneck, the allway pivioting will still be available at the ball,

It would be nice if anyone could substantiate the claim about added strain issues with the extender. It does make intuitive sense that it could be an issue, at least as far as pin weight. I think most gooseneck hitches are rated around 25K gross trailer weight and I expect about a 12K gross for the trailer.

[Kidd]

I have been using a similar setup on my 35 foot gooseneck flatdeck for about 20 years. No problems so far. Can't comment on the adapter pictured unless knew thickness and grade of steel used, looks like it would handle any normal load. smile.gif

K.D.

[DmaxMaverick]

Rockin

The ball and coupler may be rated at "X", but the frame rating is determined by the manufacturer. If you have a trailer that was originally a 5'er, and converted to GN, then the rating would be whatever the 5'er was. That is if the geometry of the hitch has not been changed. If it was originally a GN, then the original ratings apply, as long as the original hitch geometry has not changed.

That being said, any changes you make to the original hitch changes the geometry. Most GN's and 5'ers are adjustable for height from the factory. If you adjust the hitch outside of the OEM adjustments (such as adding an extender), then you need to contact the manufacturer to make sure you are not going to overstress the structure.

Bottom line:
If you are making changes to the truck end of the hitch, no sweat. If you are changing the trailer end, contact the trailer manufacturer and propose your changes to them.

[IndigoDually]

I'll add one thing to this discussion. STAY AWAY from any adapters that convert a 5th wheel to a gooseneck. The 5th wheel pin box and related structure are not designed to handle the torque.
On other RV forums there has been much discussion about this and many RV trailer manufacturers were contacted and NONE of them condoned the practice. If You look at a G/N trailer You will find a significant amount of steel and supports. A 5th wheel lacks the engineering and design to handle the loads imposed by the additional torque of extending the pinbox to adapt to a G/N hitch.

The above mentioned adapter will change the physics of the combination and is something to consider. Many poeple that I know that tow horse and livestock trailers with shortbed p/u's use a tapered nose trailer to gain more turning room.

John

[Rockin]

I kind of figure I'll start off with a tapered nose and then if the clearance is too small, I'll contact the manufacturer and come up with a way to get a little more clearance.