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Old 09-30-2018, 08:55 PM   #43
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First part, what did you do or how did you resolve the problem riding nose high and 1500 lbs on the rear axle. This was using a goosebox?

Second part, on the Andersen Ultimate...did you have to have that with your goosebox….is that what you did to fix the problem above?

My original lippert pin box with the Andersen Hitch rode about 2 inches nose high. The hitch was adjusted down as far as it could go, but I could have raised the pin box almost 2 inches. Doing so though would have resulted in less than 6 inches of bed rail clearance. Unfortunately, the Andersen pin adapter puts all the pin weight on two of the set screws that anchor it and hold it off the pin box base plate. This caused the base plate on the pin box to buckle. Andersen and Lippert wouldn't repair it under warranty so I bought an new pin box, upgrading to an air suspension pin box. I also replaced the Andersen Hitch with a B&W. The two hitches have virtually identical height adjustments, but he Fifth Airborne Pin box adds almost 3 inches to ride height when adjusted as high up in the ears as it will go. The trailer suspension equalizer seemed to handle two inches well, and the axles are within a couple hundred pounds of each other when only a couple inches high. When I get to five inches nose high though the front trailer axles looses some of the weight which transfers to the pin box and rear axle. Where that transition point is exactly I don't know, and I don't have unmanned scales I can play with near the house. You tend to find them in Logging and mining areas mostly in my area.


The GooseBox gets me back into the same ride height I had with the stock pin box, actually running an inch or two lower. Being an air suspension, Reese recommends a minimum of 7 inches of bed rail clearance to account for articulation and up and down movement on bumps, so that is what I have my settings at. My Ram has the factory self adjusting rear suspension so I don't get any suspension sag in the truck when loaded, and at 13'4" tall already I don't have any room to raise the trailer so 2 inches nose high is as good as it gets. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to cause any issues.


If you look at "Big truck Big RV's" youtube videos he has a couple on the Reese GooseBox that give a good idea of the hitch and how to adjust it. He does a couple wierd things though like wait to air up the goosebox air bag until after he is hooked up. I check my air pressure and air up without the truck in the way as it's easier that way, then hook it up.
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Old 10-01-2018, 08:28 AM   #44
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I did watch the Big Truck Big RV video on Goosebox. They just dropped the ball in the bed of the truck (in the puck hole). The ball was on a shaft about 4" or so long. Does it come in longer shafts to raise the ball a bit to give you adjustment? In the video, he only had 5 1/2" clearance above the bed rail. With an airbag taking "bounce", is that going to be enough? The video was interrupted with an ad for Andersen Ultimate which would raise the ball much higher. Is the Andersen Ultimate intended to be used with the Goosebox? That seems like a lot of height change.

Also, if I plan to go this route, I'll have to have the RV dealer install the Goosebox on the RV so I can tow it home. Any thoughts on doing this?

Sorry....so many questions, things to think about in advance.
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Old 10-01-2018, 02:45 PM   #45
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With the video, he didn’t lower the goosebox one set of mount holes like recommended in the instructions. Rather than change the mounting he used a higher ball to get the bed rail clearance he needed. As I recall that is explained in the video where he tows the setup.

The Andersen Ultimate is used with the existing pin box. It has an adapter to fit over the pin that accepts the ball. There are many YouTube videos where you can see it in use. A couple things to keep in mind with the Andersen designed to fit over the ball. First, it shifts the weight of the pin 4 inches aft in the truck bed. With most trucks this takes a couple hundred pounds of weight off the front truck axle and moves it to the rear. If you’re maxing out on RAWR this might be an issue for you. Some also say it negatively affects handling, but I didn’t notice any downside in that area. On the plus side, it can enable slightly tighter turning with a short bed truck provided you can use the ball adapter in a matter where the ball is in front of the pin. In my case I had to turn the adapter around or the back of the pin box ears would hit the bed rails in tight turns on unlevel surfaces. This resulted in loosing a couple degrees of turn capability rather than gaining them.

Finally, when purchasing your fifth wheel, many folks negotiate the hitch in the deal. A good dealer should be able to install whatever is needed to get you ready to safely tow. All hitches need to be initially properly set up prior to use be it simply installing and adjusting the hitch, or making adjustments to and even replacing the pin box.
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Old 10-01-2018, 02:58 PM   #46
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Originally Posted by Searching_Ut View Post
With the video, he didn’t lower the goosebox one set of mount holes like recommended in the instructions. Rather than change the mounting he used a higher ball to get the bed rail clearance he needed. As I recall that is explained in the video where he tows the setup.

The Andersen Ultimate is used with the existing pin box. It has an adapter to fit over the pin that accepts the ball. There are many YouTube videos where you can see it in use. A couple things to keep in mind with the Andersen designed to fit over the ball. First, it shifts the weight of the pin 4 inches aft in the truck bed. With most trucks this takes a couple hundred pounds of weight off the front truck axle and moves it to the rear. If you’re maxing out on RAWR this might be an issue for you. Some also say it negatively affects handling, but I didn’t notice any downside in that area. On the plus side, it can enable slightly tighter turning with a short bed truck provided you can use the ball adapter in a matter where the ball is in front of the pin. In my case I had to turn the adapter around or the back of the pin box ears would hit the bed rails in tight turns on unlevel surfaces. This resulted in loosing a couple degrees of turn capability rather than gaining them.

Finally, when purchasing your fifth wheel, many folks negotiate the hitch in the deal. A good dealer should be able to install whatever is needed to get you ready to safely tow. All hitches need to be initially properly set up prior to use be it simply installing and adjusting the hitch, or making adjustments to and even replacing the pin box.
That is exactly what I did. The dealer swapped the pin box. The first time they did not drop to the lower holes as per instructions. Causing the need to redo it. 7 inches of clearance is where it sits.
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Old 10-01-2018, 07:50 PM   #47
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I haven't seen a hitch offered as an option at GMC.
Look again. The quote in post #34 above was copied from the GMC build&price website.

The GMC website is lousy, so I can't find that GMC accessory again. But here it is direct from the Curt website:
https://www.curtmfg.com/part/16687
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Old 10-01-2018, 08:05 PM   #48
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I'm pretty intrigued with the Goosebox at this point.
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Old 10-02-2018, 09:12 AM   #49
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Hello, I'll help clear some things up. I absolutely dropped the Goosebox 1 bolt hole lower as stated in the instructions. This still caused the clearance to be too close so I then used the B&W OEM Ball, which sits 2" higher in the bed giving me the proper 7" of clearance when aired up. Hope this helps.
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Old 10-02-2018, 09:44 AM   #50
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Why does the Goosebox require safety chains and the FW hitch does not?
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Old 10-02-2018, 10:28 AM   #51
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Why does the Goosebox require safety chains and the FW hitch does not?


You’ll see a lot of debate on the exact reasons. My thoughts lean towards the thought that a fifth wheel pin hitch will most likely fail right away and not while out on the road should it not be properly latched. With a ball hitch should you not latch it, it could fail at any time. I once had a guy pull in to the spot beside me start cussing himself when he started disconnecting. When I asked him what was wrong he stated that he had just driven over 200 miles without having latched the hitch on the ball. Fortunately, it stayed on and he didn’t test his safety chains.
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Old 10-02-2018, 10:37 AM   #52
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Why does the Goosebox require safety chains and the FW hitch does not?
All gooseneck hitches that connect to a ball require safety chains, in case the coupler comes loose from the ball. But a fifth wheel hitch is completely different. The FW hitch doesn't connect to a ball so there is no coupler to become disconnected. Instead, the jaws in the 5er hitch head lock around the kingpin. With a 5er hitch, be certain the jaws are locked around the kingpin, and that the locking pin is inserted and clamped shut.

If you don't properly lock the jaws around the kingpin, then the kingpin can disconnect from the head and drop the kingpin on the bed of the tow vehicle. That's usually a problem only with "economy" 5er hitches such as the Reese Pro Series.
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Old 10-02-2018, 10:45 AM   #53
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Hello, I'll help clear some things up. I absolutely dropped the Goosebox 1 bolt hole lower as stated in the instructions. This still caused the clearance to be too close so I then used the B&W OEM Ball, which sits 2" higher in the bed giving me the proper 7" of clearance when aired up. Hope this helps.


Good to see you on the forum. I don’t have a YouTube account so I never thanked you for your videos. The one you did on the GooseBox was the most informative source of info on it I found prior to my purchase. Only have about 2500 miles of towing on mine so far and really love it. Not much mileage wise but a good amount of winding rough mountain type driving through mountains of Utah, Idaho and Colorado, and a fair bit of connecting and disconnecting under various situations. By the time I had a similar amount of use with my Andersen Ultimate I had discovered several issues with it, so I find my experience so far with the GooseBox promising. With My B&W I never had any issues as far as the hitch itself goes. It was a great hitch, just didn’t fit my needs.
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Old 10-02-2018, 11:41 AM   #54
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I have a Curt 20k that I bought back when I had my 05 F-350. Used it also in my 2012 F-350 with the Ford factory puks. Needed a reese adaptor to make it work. Now have it in the 2014 F-350 I just bought. So I can say Curt 5th wheel hitch hold up. Has life time warranty so just call them & they will replace parts at no cost.
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Old 10-02-2018, 01:56 PM   #55
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Same here. I loved my B&W Companion and plan on holding onto it incase I go to a larger Fifth Wheel that does not support the Goosebox. I've really enjoyed having a clear bed with the Goosebox and not dealing with the heft of removing and reinstalling the B&W each time.
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Old 10-02-2018, 03:05 PM   #56
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I’ll probably sell mine. To go to a heavier trailer I’d need a dually as I’m struggling to keep within RAWR already. My hitch is the puck mount, which would limit me to another RAM, and historically I haven’t been very consistent when it comes to brand loyalty. I have also pretty much sworn off dually so going bigger would mean diesel pusher.

Speaking of weight, with the GooseBox you can use a Sherline ball weight hydraulic scale to check you pin weight without hitting the CAT scale. Just put it on a plate in the bed of the truck and lower the pin onto the scale.
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