Trailer Q: 5th wheel to Goose

Can a 5th wheel trailer be converted to a goose neck trailer easily?

There are adapters, however I use the B&W system on my trucks, The gooseneck mount is attached to the frame and a fifth-wheel adapter is used. I have used it for years with a 44' fifth wheel enclosed trailer with no issues, mounts and removes in seconds...https://www.bwtrailerhitches.com/5th-wheel-hitch

Yes they can be converted. You just unbolt your pin box and bolt on the adapter kit. Kit

That's interesting....Found a trailer I like, but its a 5th wheel and I am setup for GN

What brand is the trailer?...don't see many car trailers with fifth wheel hitches...

My old Haulmark fiver at Frisco, Colorado after blowing the hose off the turbo on the 99 dually...LOL I only went through 7 NV4500's in this truck...

The one I linked to goes over your fifth wheel pin. Here are some others. More adapters

One more thing about a fifth wheel. NEVER GET IN A HURRY HOOKING IT UP! Leave the landing gear on the trailer down after you think it is hooked up then pull forward a short amount to make sure that the pin is set, just like you would do on a semi. It will save the sides of your truck box, DAMHIK!

Personally, I would never use an adapter on a heavy trailer. The adapter acts like a lever, and will flex the trailer frame where it Z's up to the 5th wheel pin area. The frame will eventually crack and break on a heavy trailer. Use a B&W Turnover Ball hitch under the truck bed, and a B&W Companion Hitch in the bed to tow the 5th wheel. The companion attaches to the Turnover Ball hitch, and there are no rails in your truck bed to be in the way when you aren't using the 5th wheel Companion Hitch.

That's what I'd do. I converted a goose neck trailer to fifth wheel, first thing I noticed after conversion was a noticeably better ride.

As I said above, the B&W hitch with the Companion is the only way to go! Pricey but you will never need another. I made the mistake of selling the unit with my dually, should have kept it...

As far as converting from 5th wheel to goose neck it can be done. I know of several and have never seen failures. It is like anything else do it right and inspect often. Other things to consider is how much towing will you be doing. If it was to make a living then buy the right trailer. If it is for recreation just do it. I believe most failures could be attributed to extreme conditions, over loading, poor quality trailer, lack of maintenance. A lot of cracks come from cycling, and harmonic vibrations. If they were unsafe they would be banned from selling. B and W does make nice hitches. That companion is one heavy SOB to take in and out. If you do not care about taking the hitch out then look around for one. Most of the used ones can be had for 5 to 7 hundred bucks. There is some set up required when first installing one. Each will vary depending on your bed floor.

Admittedly I have never pulled a Fifth wheel trailer (only goosenecks) but it seems like they are less forgiving than a Goose neck especially on uneven terrain. Without having done any investigations, what are the advantages of a fifth vs a goose?

All I know of, better ride, no safety chains required, less landing gear cranking. Only downside is what Jim mentioned, if you don't latch the jaws (should be automatic) you can drive out from under it. When I had my Freightliner I always double checked the latch before leaving the truck stop in case some clown might have pulled the release, never happened to me, but heard stories.

So its a Toy Hauler trailer, and it would be seeing some interesting locations with uneven ground.

So I didn't want all the 5th wheel crap in the bed, when my truck was setup for a goose. And mines a short bed, not a long bed which really scares me.

And second, it seems like a real pain and I should just go tag...

Use a goose neck you'll never want a tag again...in the spring come drag my 36' around the block you'll see what I mean.

I use a tag because I need the bed, goose or fifth takes most of it away, plus I like to run a cap. This 36' Imperial I had was the cats [censored], wish I would have never sold it!

My 2004 Dodge is a quad cab 4WD.....and a short bed. The 5th wheel camper we had for several years was a Sunnybrook, and the dry weight was 12K lbs! It pulled it just fine, and I was always careful to not jack it too far around while backing or turning it. If your goose neck hitch is one where you have to pull a little lever in the drivers side rear wheel well to flip the ball over, it is more than likely a B&W hitch. All you have to do is pull the ball out, and drop the solid steel square bar from the Companion hitch down into the hole the gooseneck ball just came out of. The Companion hitch sits in the bed on top of that square steel bar. You torque the bolt going into the top of the square bar to 40 ft lbs, and the u bolts going around the square bar to 80 ft lbs....and it's ready to tow. No rails in the bed....no more holes in the bed.

Yup! you just need a new hitch for that!

I had a 34 ft. fifth wheel camping trailer that weighed 11,500 on the two axles and added around 700 lbs. on the rear axle and 350 lbs. onto the front axle of my 2006 Ram 3500 4x4 long bed, that trailer hooked up made my truck feel and ride a bunch better than my 24 Ft Pace Shadow did weighing 8600 Lbs. on the two axles adding 500 Lbs. onto the rear axle and lighting the front axle around 150 Lbs.
I've never towed a goose neck but I really like towing that travel trailer a lot better than any of the three enclosed car trailers I've owned and towed

Not that this is the smartest thing to do but...my 36 foot goose enclosed goes down the road at 12-13K lbs and I am perfectly comfortable doing 80-85 one hand on the wheel , lane changes are effortless, my 53 foot goose is at 18-19k and I slow down a little but still an absolute effortless pull. a 28 foot bumper pull although power wise is effortless the bucking and lane change require more attention to detail... my point being if you are going to do any distance hauling, get the goose.
But to Randy's question, If you can convert it, safely do so I don't think you will regret it.

I was at a dealer a few weeks ago and while I was there a guy pulled in with a ram with a fixed mount gooseneck ball in the bed. He had just purchased a 40ft toy hauler 5th wheel camper. He slapped this adapter onto the 5th wheel king pin in about 5-10min, hooked the rig up and left with it. I have no idea if he planned to use this set up full time or if he was going to replace the entire 5th wheel king pin on the camper with a gooseneck hitch after he got it home. I do know that he said he was ONLY going to tow it with the gooseneck ball because they go out in the wilderness with 4-wheelers and the gooseneck is more forgiving of uneven ground than a 5th wheel. Especially when trying to disconnect or hook it up the camper.

When we were camper shopping I decided I didn't want 5th wheel rails permanently mounted in my bed.
So I bought a Curt Gooseneck under bed hitch (similar to the BW hideaway) and a Curt 5th wheel adapter that slides down into it when you pull the ball out. I heavy sob, but you can pull it out in 2min and have a flat bed again. Any 5th wheel hitch works in the rails of the adapter... but it is weight limited to 20k lbs.
Curt X5 adapter , Double Lock EZr Gooseneck

So after I bought all that stuff, "The Wife" picked a new camper that is "technically" puts my 2500 over weight limits. With the firestone red airbags it would pull it all day long & not squat, but with the pin weight of the camper plus the added weight of the gooseneck+adaptor+hitch... the truck would be sitting around 9800 lbs (9k gvwr)... I didn't feel like being held "at fault" should we get in an accident some day... So I went south and bought a rust free 2004 3500 dually. It has a set of Reese rails in it already, & since the holes are already in the bed I'm not taking it out to swap in the gooseneck set up.
I month ago I had a plan & a truck I trust to go anywhere... now I have a gooseneck hitch and a 5th wheel adapter sitting on the floor without a home, & looking at selling a rust free truck I love & trust... while hoping the new one is just as reliable.
I guess that's why some guys stay single.