Adapter, gooseneck to 5th wheel

[docsears]

Does anyone know of an adapter that goes from a gooseneck ball (mounted already on our truck,) to the 5th wheel set up already on the escape 5? Thank you in advance.
Hayden

[Brian B-P]

Yes, there are lots of those. You can get

1. a fifth-wheel hitch that is secured to the truck at the ball mounting point (e.g. B&W Companion), or
2. a coupler mounted to the trailer's pin box converting it so that it latches onto your truck's ball (several suppliers).

The couplers which adapt the trailer (option 2 above) are lighter, cheaper, and simpler, but

• they extend the trailer down to the ball - if this is too far it could be a concern for the trailer structure, so I would want to check that with Escape
• they are still heavy and seem like a lot of extra hardware - since most pin boxes are in two pieces to be adjustable, it would make more sense to me to replace the removable part with one having a coupler instead of a pin

The Reese Goose Box is an example of a replacement lower pin box section, endorsed by Lippert (the pin box manufacturer); however, it is probably too big for the Escape 5.0 and is complicated by adding an air cushion system (which would be nice but is not required). Since this type of solution must exactly fit the upper part of the pin box, you would need to know which pin box it is... no one makes their own, they buy them from companies such as Lippert. I would ask Escape if they can tell us which pin box they use, and if they are aware of a corresponding coupler product.