Reese Goosebox 1st impression

gearhead · 03-25-2021, 09:50 AM

On the maiden voyage with the Goosebox. 1,000 miles so far, to Bristol, TN. It works well. No slamming on stops and starts, which I believe was due to the MoRRyde sliding pinbox. Goosebox has an air bladder and 2 shock absorbers which does dampen sharp impacts.
It is a bit tougher to line up and hitch on the gooseneck ball. Practice should help.
It was pricy with me buying through my RV shop and letting them install it.
So far it's worth it.

Texas Steve · 03-25-2021, 10:33 AM

Gearhead, you headed to the Nascar race on dirt at Bristol? Man wish I could have gone to that one!

Dege · 03-26-2021, 11:45 AM

Thats great news about the Goosebox. That is what is going on my 5er when it arrives. I’m curious, was it hard to get the TV and trailer level? I’m wondering because cougar half-ton I’m getting is only 29 feet long and it’s going on a 21 Silverado 2500. Kinda worried it might ride nose high.

gearhead · 03-27-2021, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Steve

Gearhead, you headed to the Nascar race on dirt at Bristol? Man wish I could have gone to that one!

Yes sir!
At yesterday's practice the track was dusty dry. It's not anymore. Getting plenty of rain today. I imagine the schedule will change.
This race date needs to change. I've been here before when it was sleeting and snowing. They need to move it a month later.

gearhead · 03-27-2021, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dege

Thats great news about the Goosebox. That is what is going on my 5er when it arrives. I’m curious, was it hard to get the TV and trailer level? I’m wondering because cougar half-ton I’m getting is only 29 feet long and it’s going on a 21 Silverado 2500. Kinda worried it might ride nose high.

I worried a lot about that. I measured and took pictures so the mechanic would be able to duplicate the height.
No reason to worry. The mechanic said there was no choice where to put it. There were only the number of holes to match the same ones on the trailer frame....no choice. It's level though!
You might ask your dealer about it. Like what is "Plan B" ?

Javi · 03-27-2021, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gearhead

On the maiden voyage with the Goosebox. 1,000 miles so far, to Bristol, TN. It works well. No slamming on stops and starts, which I believe was due to the MoRRyde sliding pinbox. Goosebox has an air bladder and 2 shock absorbers which does dampen sharp impacts.
It is a bit tougher to line up and hitch on the gooseneck ball. Practice should help.
It was pricy with me buying through my RV shop and letting them install it.
So far it's worth it.

Just out of curiosity, other than the obvious empty bed thing; are there other outstanding differences between an upgraded pin box and a good hitch like the B&W I use and the Goose Box.

Dege · 03-27-2021, 04:29 PM

Wait! There is a plan B?? My plan B will be the B&W Companion Hitch. Heard great things about it. It's a lot of metal to move in and out of my bed but better than most of the other traditional fifth wheel hitches. Hopefully the Goose Box will fit in place. I know you are pulling a much longer trailer but my 2500 is two wheel drive and 17" tires so I'm supposing that will make up the difference.

gearhead · 03-28-2021, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Javi

Just out of curiosity, other than the obvious empty bed thing; are there other outstanding differences between an upgraded pin box and a good hitch like the B&W I use and the Goose Box.

I like the idea of the air bladder and the shock absorbers. We had a 5th Airborne on another 5th previously and it took the hard sharp impacts out. This model Landmark has the bedroom slide within a slide. The bedroom slides out and the bed has its own slide that extends. It adds a bit more pin weight. I was concerned about the leverage flexing on the frame. There is a stress void under the front of the bedroom slide to prevent fiberglass cracking but ??? The more I read about about the Lippert vs Andersen fight the more it pushed me to the Goosebox. Our Landmark has a 5 year structural warranty but we are the second owner so I doubt it transfers.
Hooking up has been inconsistent. One time I did it without repositioning. It has to be very close to perfect. With the PullRite if it was in the funnel it would go. I line up on the trucks rear seat center head rest for side to side. Depth is a bigger issue. The one box I didn't check when I ordered the truck? Rear bed camera.
Otherwise I really like it.
I need to experiment with the air bladder pressure.

gearhead · 03-28-2021, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dege

Wait! There is a plan B?? My plan B will be the B&W Companion Hitch. Heard great things about it. It's a lot of metal to move in and out of my bed but better than most of the other traditional fifth wheel hitches. Hopefully the Goose Box will fit in place. I know you are pulling a much longer trailer but my 2500 is two wheel drive and 17" tires so I'm supposing that will make up the difference.

If I went back to a traditional hitch it would be the B&W Companion. The one I have looked at took up very little room.
I bet you will be good.

Dege · 03-28-2021, 10:21 AM

Hopefully the Goose Box fit and I will have been worrying about nothing. I'm gonna age 10 years in these next 5 weeks!

gearhead · 03-28-2021, 01:15 PM

^Its a camper. Alls well that ends well. If it doesn't work try something else.

DucBill · 03-28-2021, 03:28 PM

Gear head FWIW I have '15 GMC which didn't offer rear cab camera for hitching my Goose box bought one from Etrailer that allowed me to switch between factory tailgate camera and cab rear stop light mounted camera. It has alignment lines that move with steering wheel movement I just painted stripe on Goose Box and put colored tape on bed mat, line up X hairs and ball in socket every time. Keeps my fused vertebrae in back from creaking from twisting in my seat looking over my shoulder. I also had Fifth Airborne on previous rig which I enjoyed many years of trouble free usuage. The Goose Box so far (4yrs) has really gave my current rig a controlled ride on bridge transitions and RR xings FWIW I added SR4000 Morryde and xbraces which have helped as well. YMMV Happy Camping

bcintx · 03-31-2021, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dege

Hopefully the Goose Box fit and I will have been worrying about nothing. I'm gonna age 10 years in these next 5 weeks!

Took delivery of my cougar a couple of weeks ago. Had the dealer install a Goose Box. I have never towed anything with a traditional 5th wheel hitch so I can't really compare the two. I have towed plenty of trailers with both traditional ball and 4 point weight distribution. Also pulled a buddies horse trailer with a traditional gooseneck several times. I experienced nothing that I could call "bucking" or "chucking". The trailer feels like it is an extension of the truck.

As far as fitting. When I looked at the attachment points it seems as though there is plenty of "height" adjustment. If I can get to where it is stored before dark this evening I can take a picture of what I mean.

Dege · 03-31-2021, 11:41 AM

Which Cougar was it? I’m taking delivery of my TV this coming week. It’s a Chevy 2500 4x2 with 17” tires. I’m thinking it’s not going to be sit real high but the FW is a Cougar half-ton with a length of 28’10”. A lot shorter than the average FW. Maybe they build them to standard hitch heights and it’s a non worry.

bcintx · 03-31-2021, 12:17 PM

It is a 316 RLS.
I went over during a break and took some pictures. (not enough cell signal where I am to upload them right now.)
I did not install the Goose Box so I did not read the installation instructions and do not know what the bolt pattern has to look like. However, if you can use to same mounting holes that the original pin box used, it appears you could move the entire thing down 4 inches or so from where it is mounted for my truck (2016 f250 4X4).

Dege · 03-31-2021, 01:03 PM

Did the dealer have your TV when they did the install?

Dege · 03-31-2021, 01:40 PM

I was on my phone for that last post, lol. What I was trying to ask is did they have the TV together with the trailer when they installed the Goose Box so they could adjust the mounting holes accordingly?

bcintx · 03-31-2021, 01:41 PM

Yes - they had both the truck and trailer.

Dege · 03-31-2021, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gearhead

^Its a camper. Alls well that ends well. If it doesn't work try something else.

Great point. I'm not as eat up as I sound

. It's the waiting around that's got my mind running a hundred miles an hour with all of the variables. Thankfully my truck will be here Saturday so I can start taking a few measurements, read the actual weight specs on the door and go from there. Gotta get those 500 break in miles before I pull the trailer after all! Still a LONG wait for the trailer. They're saying May 10ish right now. <sigh> Such is life in the Age of COVID.

Dege · 03-31-2021, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcintx

Yes - they had both the truck and trailer.

Thanks for that BCINTX. Good to know info. Planning ahead. Okay, WAY ahead...

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