5th wheel questions

[sidriptide]

i'm picking up a 5th wheel camper soon and i havent ever owned a trailer bigger than a quad so it's all new to me. i dont even own a tow rig right now so i'm in the position to have to move it and find someone else to do it for me.

is a camper 5th wheel kingpin the same as for a semi-trailer? this pin measuses 3" tall, 2 3/4" wide with a groove 1" wide where the pin is about 2 1/4" diameter. these are all tape measure numbers with cold hands so i know the fractions arent exact. i was told by 2 people that it is the same, but when i talked to a riend who drives class "A" he said it doesnt sound like what he runs with.
if it is the same as a class "A" it will make it easier with transportation, otherwise i have to pay someone to bring it the 200 miles to my house.

while i'm on the subject, what about the adapters to run a 5th wheel hitch on a gooseneck ball? when i get a tow rig next winter i'd rather do a gooseneck hitch. the trailer is 25' and the data plate says 3950#.. i would assume an adapter would be ok for a relatively light trailer like this but i am never a fan of adapting anything critical like a hitch.

thanks!!

 

[redneckboarder]

most semi trucks can run any size kingpin, just gotta adjust the gooseneck a lil. and that sounds like its about the same as our box trailer.

 

[sidriptide]

what about replacing the kingpin? i understand that some older campers might have a welded kingpin, this is a 1993 model so i'm hoping its able to unbolt.

 

[dbperformance96]

Every kingpin that I have seen in the trailer industry is a standard 2" SAE kingpin. The difference's in them comes with the bolster plate thickness. In regards to running an adapter to go to the ball I would personally not recommend it due to the load it puts on the front of your 5th wheel. It was designed to be used with an actual 5th wheel hitch, and needs the surface area the 5th wheel hitch has in order to function propoerly and not crack the nose of the 5th wheel unit. The B&W Turnover Ball with the Companion 5th wheel hitch is the cats meow. I would look into that set up if it were me.