Gooseneck gone!! Welcome B&W Companion!!!!!

Yesterday I got the Cat back from the dealer. They replaced all of the steel in the front end due to my gooseneck adapter tearing it. The old steel was 3/16", the new is 1/4". I finally broke down and got a B&W companion which I should have done in the first place. I can't even explain how much better the ride is, I know some of you talk about chugging, but you ought to try a gooseneck. I do not know if it is the companion hitch that makes the big difference, but we can't even tell the camper is back there now except that the truck rides better over bumps due to the camper weight. I have always wondered how "older" people can possibly stand to pull a 5th wheel since we were always beat out after traveling a couple hundred miles, but now I know!! This is great!!! I am actually looking forward to traveling on I-20 now for our Memorial Day trip out to Macon. In the past, I always dreaded that stretch.

I know there is alot of discussion about changing pin boxes, and the Demco looks like a great product, but I am wondering how much of the ride is due to different types of hitches. The B&W has urethane bushings in it and I think they must take alot of the shock out of things. My neighbor has a Reese, and I know they are good hitches, but the B&W is much stouter compared to his. I am not trying to put down any other hitch, just very impressed with mine.

Also, I would again like to say how well Shady Pines RV in Texarkana has taken care of us. This is the third time they have had to work on the front end of the camper that I bought used from them. The first time, there was a minute charge of $300 and they had it almost a month. Since then, there has been no charge, even though Lippert specifically says no goosenecks!! I am sure that installing the new steel was not cheap. Thank You Shady Pines and Pam in particular!!

Sorry for rambling on, but I am just so impressed with the new set-up. If anybody you know talks about using a gooseneck adapter, talk them out of it or have them call me. I went and looked at the steel structure after they got it apart, it was actually torn in 4 different places.

Sorry, don't have any. The guys were working on things while I was there, and I didn't think to have them get out of the way so I could take some. It probably would not have shown up with my camera phone anyhow. The structure is like a big H with the center line being the pin box assembly. The back side broke the welds last time so they put gussets on it. This time, the front part which is actually up under the cap tore the steel. The factory welds held on the front. Now if you want pictures of the hitch and bushings, I can easily do that or you can just go to B&W's web site.

Brad,

Welcome to the B&W Companion team! I've been using mine since '04 and love it. The hitch is very rugged and works great. Plus it gives you your truck bed back when the hitch is removed.

So far, I have been very impressed with it. I installed it last week, needed to haul a gooseneck this weekend, took me about 3 minutes to switch it over. Do you torque the front U-bolts to 80# everytime, or just make them as tight as you can get them? I think the 40# on the top bolt is probably the most important.

I torque every time, 80# on the "U" bolts and 40# on the top bolt. Words of warning! Use a never seize type product on the stainless steel hardware. Over the last 5 years of use, I've had two "U" bolts gal and had to cut them to get off. I have also had the top bolt gal and mess up the center square tube. Fortunately B&W is good about sending replacement parts free. I have learned my lesson and wanted to pass this on to other companion users.

Thanks for the heads up!!

moo2613 wrote:Yesterday I got the Cat back from the dealer. They replaced all of the steel in the front end due to my gooseneck adapter tearing it. The old steel was 3/16", the new is 1/4".

This adds evidence to my claim that 5th wheel hitches with king pins are not stressed for the gooseneck adapter. I don't care what the adds say differently. Take a look at how a gooseneck trailer is constructed. There is a heck of alot more bracing, and the steel is heavier.

I think that the trade off of bed space for a gooseneck adapter is a poor trade indeed.

I know that some of the folks on here have them, and I'm not flaming them, just adding MHO to the pot.

You are right about the bracing. After seeing mine apart, there is no angle bracing like a gooseneck trailer has. It could easily be done if somebody wanted to go through the trouble, but the 5th wheel pulls so much better, I don't know why somebody would. The bed space wasn't an issue for me, it was the fact that I had easy access to other gooseneck trucks if I had to sell mine in a hurry since it was also my work truck.

Congrats on the B&W, you'll like it. I know what you went through with the underbelly repair and once you see that area I was surprised at how little they are braced.

If B&W were smart they would make a round shank pin also. So people with other kinds of goose hook ups could use thier product. My truck came with a reese on it, can't use the companion.

Call them, they might make one for you, who knows. I suspect that they might have a liability issue by using another brands base unit, but maybe not.

I talked to B&W they don't make anything . I've got to use an adapter, picking up the camper thurs. and going to NC. friday.

Where so you get an adapter? Do you have to make it? What model camper are you getting?

I got the Covert-a Ball from Ebay, we are buying 2008 32 QBBS

I am NEW on this Forum, and I see this is an old thread, but did a search and couldn't find other references to "Gooseneck," so I resurrected it.

Curious if anyone else sustained pin-box damage from using a Gooseneck Adapter, and if so what size/weight 5er was involved.

I am running a 2007 Wildcat 24RL behind my '03 Quad-Cab Dually Cummins with a B&W gooseneck hitch with a Colibert 205 adapter.

The Colibert adapter bolts to the king-pin pad w/ 4 bolts and doesn't use the kingpin as its structural element (if that makes any difference). Of course, the manufacturer says it's perfectly safe and is rated to 30,000 pounds GW (7500 pound vertical load), so it's a bit overkill for my rig.

Obviously I don't want to destroy my trailer, and I am hoping that the lighter the 5th wheel, the less the stresses and probable damage. My 24RL has a dry-weight of 6700 pounds. I was told at one point that it's the bigger, heavier 5ers that tend to be damaged by such adapters since they exert starting and stopping loads that "torque" the pin box so much more.

I am a very conservative driver, and "little-old-lady" my rig pretty badly (Even my wife says I pamper my vehicles too much, slowing over bad roads, and obstacles like RR Tracks and such.), if "use" plays any factor in probable damage.

I am not adverse to adding some structural elements from low on the adapter to high on the pin box if that is a possible preventive solution.

Comments?

Thanks,
Bob

bobinyelm to the forum from Southeastern Va.

Welcome to the forum bobinyelm.

Have a question in regards to the gooseneck adapters. Do they cause instant failures in the frame or does it take a while to tear the frame apart. One of my co-workers has a Jayco Super-lite that he has been pulling using a gooseneck adapter for a couple of years now with no issues, so he says. I would like to tell him what he is in store for down the road.

c04678 wrote:Have a question in regards to the gooseneck adapters. Do they cause instant failures in the frame or does it take a while to tear the frame apart. One of my co-workers has a Jayco Super-lite that he has been pulling using a gooseneck adapter for a couple of years now with no issues, so he says. I would like to tell him what he is in store for down the road.

He won't see any damage unless he pulls the skin off. The goose neck adapater has a long 'arm' and puts a huge amount of twisting force (fore/aft) on the pin box. That is why they don't recommend it. Take a look at a gooseneck stock trailer next time you see one. It will be built very strong with large gussets; you don't see that on the average 5th wheel.

Congrats Brad on your purchase. I use to have a Reese, and "man" what a difference it made for the ride. I really forget the FW is behind me. One more note for strength of the B&W, in July while we were up in Virginia on the interstate, a car cut me off trying to make her off ramp, and all of a sudden, she slammed on her breakes. Needless to say, I could not get stopped. I hit her in the rear end at 42 mph. When I got back home, I took the under skin off above the pin box, and inspected my whole B&W system. I could tell the hole for the hitch might have moved 1/4" forward in my bed, but no real damage to anything. I couldn't believe it. It was a hard hit, but that backs up that B&W makes a great hitch. My hitch sits on a thick OEM rubber mat in my bed. When I had it installed, B&W said that it would be fine on top of the mat. I think that was what caused the 1/4" move. But nothing noticeable. I really was also shocked that the WC steel held up. Hope you enjoy yours like we do.

moo2613 wrote:So far, I have been very impressed with it. I installed it last week, needed to haul a gooseneck this weekend, took me about 3 minutes to switch it over. Do you torque the front U-bolts to 80# everytime, or just make them as tight as you can get them? I think the 40# on the top bolt is probably the most important.

I use spring u bolts. U bolts from Manufacture were to long. I notice they have changed them.

Torque it once and forget it. Mine is set up, took a while, so that the hitch pin can only be pulled when the trailer is on the back of the truck. I set it to have some drag when pulled. In fact some times it takes some twisting and turning to get it pulled. Forget about torquing the top bolt. It will bend the frame. The U bolts will do the same also. A little but it will bend. I only tighten the top bolt after I torque the U bolts. I do not tighten much. Just enough to keep it from moving up or down.

bobinyelm wrote:I am NEW on this Forum, and I see this is an old thread, but did a search and couldn't find other references to "Gooseneck," so I resurrected it.

Curious if anyone else sustained pin-box damage from using a Gooseneck Adapter, and if so what size/weight 5er was involved.

I am running a 2007 Wildcat 24RL behind my '03 Quad-Cab Dually Cummins with a B&W gooseneck hitch with a Colibert 205 adapter.

The Colibert adapter bolts to the king-pin pad w/ 4 bolts and doesn't use the kingpin as its structural element (if that makes any difference). Of course, the manufacturer says it's perfectly safe and is rated to 30,000 pounds GW (7500 pound vertical load), so it's a bit overkill for my rig.

Obviously I don't want to destroy my trailer, and I am hoping that the lighter the 5th wheel, the less the stresses and probable damage. My 24RL has a dry-weight of 6700 pounds. I was told at one point that it's the bigger, heavier 5ers that tend to be damaged by such adapters since they exert starting and stopping loads that "torque" the pin box so much more.

I am a very conservative driver, and "little-old-lady" my rig pretty badly (Even my wife says I pamper my vehicles too much, slowing over bad roads, and obstacles like RR Tracks and such.), if "use" plays any factor in probable damage.

I am not adverse to adding some structural elements from low on the adapter to high on the pin box if that is a possible preventive solution.

Comments?

Thanks,
Bob

scottz wrote:

c04678 wrote:Have a question in regards to the gooseneck adapters. Do they cause instant failures in the frame or does it take a while to tear the frame apart. One of my co-workers has a Jayco Super-lite that he has been pulling using a gooseneck adapter for a couple of years now with no issues, so he says. I would like to tell him what he is in store for down the road.

He won't see any damage unless he pulls the skin off. The goose neck adapater has a long 'arm' and puts a huge amount of twisting force (fore/aft) on the pin box. That is why they don't recommend it. Take a look at a gooseneck stock trailer next time you see one. It will be built very strong with large gussets; you don't see that on the average 5th wheel.

I agree with Scott. Some brands of 5th wheels (prowlers come to mind) do not have a skin around the pin box, look at how those are constructed, it is an "H" type of structure instead of the "V" like a gooseneck trailer.

bobinyelm wrote:I am NEW on this Forum, and I see this is an old thread, but did a search and couldn't find other references to "Gooseneck," so I resurrected it.

Curious if anyone else sustained pin-box damage from using a Gooseneck Adapter, and if so what size/weight 5er was involved.

I am running a 2007 Wildcat 24RL behind my '03 Quad-Cab Dually Cummins with a B&W gooseneck hitch with a Colibert 205 adapter.

The Colibert adapter bolts to the king-pin pad w/ 4 bolts and doesn't use the kingpin as its structural element (if that makes any difference). Of course, the manufacturer says it's perfectly safe and is rated to 30,000 pounds GW (7500 pound vertical load), so it's a bit overkill for my rig.

Obviously I don't want to destroy my trailer, and I am hoping that the lighter the 5th wheel, the less the stresses and probable damage. My 24RL has a dry-weight of 6700 pounds. I was told at one point that it's the bigger, heavier 5ers that tend to be damaged by such adapters since they exert starting and stopping loads that "torque" the pin box so much more.

I am a very conservative driver, and "little-old-lady" my rig pretty badly (Even my wife says I pamper my vehicles too much, slowing over bad roads, and obstacles like RR Tracks and such.), if "use" plays any factor in probable damage.

I am not adverse to adding some structural elements from low on the adapter to high on the pin box if that is a possible preventive solution.

Comments?

Thanks,
Bob

First, Welcom to the Forum!!!!

I would say that no matter how careful you are, every little bump or dip in the road is multiplied many times over by the gooseneck adapter. I'm not saying you will definitely have trouble, but there are no diagonal gussets from the pin box to the front corners of the trailer like a gooseneck trailer. There is nothing to stop the steel from twisting.