A fifth-wheel-to-gooseneck adapter replaces your trailer's pin box so the trailer couples to a gooseneck ball in the truck bed instead of to a fifth-wheel hitch. People do it to get the bed back, because a gooseneck ball turns over and disappears where a fifth-wheel hitch is a large permanent object taking up the whole bed. The usual complaint about doing it is ride quality, since a gooseneck ball is a hard joint where a fifth wheel has some give. That is the problem B&W set out to solve here. The SumoSpring is a microcellular polyurethane spring that SuperSprings International originally developed for commercial trucking. B&W built one into this adapter, which is what makes it different from the plate-and-ball adapters it competes with: it absorbs road shock and the chucking that a fifth wheel transmits between truck and trailer, in both the vertical and the horizontal direction, and it does it with no airbags to inflate, no adjustment to make and no break-in period. B&W has tested it down to -20°F. The coupler is worth as much attention as the spring: it latches automatically when you lower the trailer onto the ball and resets itself when you disconnect, the funnel shape guides the ball in when your alignment is not perfect, and the release cable is where you can reach it rather than up under the trailer. It takes a padlock. Two 42" safety chains with hooks are included. This part number is the Rhino version for Lippert Rhino pin boxes with a maximum pin weight of 4,500 lb, on a 25,000 lb maximum trailer weight.
What's Included:
- B&W 25K fifth wheel to gooseneck adapter, Rhino version
- Two 42" safety chains with hooks
- Mounting hardware for the pin box mounting plate
Features
A Spring Where Other Adapters Have a Bolt
The SumoSpring is a microcellular polyurethane spring that SuperSprings International originally developed for commercial trucking. B&W built one into this adapter, which is what makes it different from the plate-and-ball adapters it competes with: it absorbs road shock and the chucking that a fifth wheel transmits between truck and trailer, in both the vertical and the horizontal direction, and it does it with no airbags to inflate, no adjustment to make and no break-in period. B&W has tested it down to -20°F.
Dual-Axis Cushioning
The adapter is designed to move in both the vertical and the horizontal plane rather than only up and down, which is what takes the edge off starts, stops and stop-and-go traffic. Chucking, the back-and-forth surge you feel through the truck at low speed, is a horizontal problem, and a system that only damps vertically does nothing about it.
Latches Itself, Resets Itself
Lower the trailer onto the ball and listen for the click. The coupler latches automatically and resets when you disconnect, so there is no lever to remember and no sequence to get wrong. The funnel-shaped mouth does the fine alignment for you, which matters when you are backing a fifth wheel on gravel with nobody spotting.
A Release Cable You Can Reach
Unhitching a gooseneck usually means climbing into the bed and reaching under the trailer. The latch cable on this adapter is routed to be reachable from beside the truck. It is a small thing that you notice every single time you use it.
Maintenance You Can Actually Keep Up With
The SumoSpring itself needs nothing: no air pressure, no adjustment, no break-in. What the adapter does want is grease, and B&W is specific about it: inspect the bolted connections and grease the ball before every trip, grease the four articulating joints through their angled fittings every 2,500 miles until a little shows at the ends, and grease the coupler through its straight fitting once a year, rotating the latch handle to spread it.
Rhino Pin Boxes, 4,500 lb Maximum Pin Weight
This is the Rhino version, for Lippert Rhino pin boxes, rated to 4,500 lb pin weight on a trailer up to 25,000 lb. The other pin weight in this family is 3,250 lb (part number RVGN3163). B&W's own guidance on choosing between them is that the smaller pin weight model gives a better ride and is the right choice in most cases up to about 3,500 lb of pin weight, and above that you want the larger one.
Lockable
The adapter takes a padlock, so a trailer parked at home, at a storage lot or at a campground is not simply a matter of backing a truck under it and driving away.
Fitment & Compatibility
| What Has To Match |
This Adapter |
| Trailer pin box mounting plate |
● Lippert Rhino |
| Pin box family |
● Lippert Rhino |
| The other family |
● RVGN3153 and RVGN3154, for Lippert 1621, 1621HD, 1116 and 1716 pin boxes |
| Max pin weight |
● 4,500 lb |
| Max trailer weight |
● 25,000 lb |
| Shim kit |
✗ Not required |
| Truck side |
● A gooseneck ball in the bed, rated for your loaded trailer |
| Ball clearance in the bed |
● About 5.5" clear of any obstruction |
Fit guidance: Fitment for this product is decided by your trailer's pin box, not by your truck and not by a year, make and model list. This is the Rhino version, which fits Lippert Rhino pin box mounting plates. The other family is RVGN3153 and RVGN3154 for Lippert 1621, 1621HD, 1116 and 1716 plates. If you do not know which you have, the mounting plate is the bracket the pin box bolts to on the front of the trailer's frame, and B&W's own guidance and its dealer network can identify it. On the truck side you need a gooseneck ball rated for your loaded trailer and roughly 5.5" of clearance around it, which is the figure to check if you have a recessed toolbox in the bed. A typical installation leaves 6" to 10" of bed clearance under the trailer. Two 42" safety chains are included; Ram HD trucks with the factory gooseneck prep package need the longer 51-1/2" chains, which are sold as RVXA3141.
Specifications
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B&W Part Number: RVGN3164
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What It Is: Fifth wheel to gooseneck adapter, replaces the trailer's pin box
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Pin Box Family: Lippert Rhino
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Fits Pin Box Mounting Plates: Lippert Rhino
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Max Trailer Weight: 25,000 lb
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Max Pin Weight: 4,500 lb
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The Other Pin Weight in This Family: 3,250 lb, part number RVGN3163
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Suspension: Integrated SumoSpring microcellular polyurethane, maintenance free
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Cushioning: Dual axis, vertical and horizontal
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Cold Weather Testing: Performs to -20°F
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Coupler: Auto-latching and self-resetting, funnel shaped, with an easy-reach latch cable
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Security: Accepts a padlock
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Safety Chains: Two 42" chains with hooks included
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Longer Chains: RVXA3141, a 51-1/2" long safety chain kit, for Ram HD trucks with the gooseneck prep package or where extra length is needed
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Shim Kit: Not required for the Rhino version
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Bed Clearance: Typically 6" to 10" in a normal installation
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Ball Clearance Needed: About 5.5" from any obstruction, for a recessed toolbox for example
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Shipping Weight: About 170 lb
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UPC: 843233085273
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Warranty: B&W Lifetime Exclusive Limited Warranty
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Made In: Made in the USA, built by B&W in Humboldt, Kansas
Installation
Type: Replaces the trailer's existing pin box on its mounting plate · Time: Allow a couple of hours, with help · Tools: Socket set and torque wrench, plus a way to support the weight of the adapter · Difficulty: Intermediate, and not a one-person job
This part weighs about 170 lb and it bolts to the front of your trailer's frame, so support the trailer properly and get a second person before you start. Remove the existing pin box, fit the adapter to the same mounting plate with the supplied hardware, and torque the fasteners to B&W's figures. Then couple to the truck and check bed clearance before you go anywhere. B&W states that use of the adapter should not void a trailer frame warranty, but if that matters to you, ask your trailer manufacturer in writing first.
Warranty, Shipping & Returns
Warranty. B&W covers this product with its Lifetime Exclusive Limited Warranty. B&W warrants its products to the original consumer purchaser, for as long as that purchaser owns the product, against defects in material and workmanship. The remedy is replacement, or repair or a full refund at B&W's option. Installation and removal labor, shipping costs, and damage caused by misuse, overloading, alteration or improper installation are not covered. Warranty service goes directly through B&W at 800-248-6564, which issues a return authorization before anything is sent back. B&W states that it does not authorize dealers or distributors to create any other warranty, so what is described here is B&W's own coverage and nothing has been added to it.
Free shipping. This item ships free to the lower 48 states. Because it is an oversized item, it ships by freight and typically arrives in 3 to 7 business days.
Inspect on delivery. Please inspect the packaging before signing. If you see any damage, note it on the delivery receipt and contact us right away, and we will make it right.
About B&W Trailer Hitches
B&W Trailer Hitches started in 1987 in a Humboldt, Kansas garage, where Roger Baker and Joe Works built the first Turnoverball gooseneck hitch. The idea was simple and nobody else had done it: a gooseneck ball that turns over and stores flush with the bed floor, so the truck bed goes back to being a truck bed the moment you unhook. That one product built the company, and B&W still makes its hitches in Humboldt, in a plant that has grown to about 600,000ft². The company has been 100% employee-owned since 2007, with roughly 500 employee-owners who have a stake in what comes off the line.
The testing story is worth knowing, because it is not how the rest of the industry does it. SAE J-2638, the standard for gooseneck and fifth-wheel hitches, is a recommended practice, and it is common to satisfy it with a fresh sample for each test. B&W runs a single hitch through all three 300,000-cycle dynamic tests and the six static tests, one after another, on the same unit. The Tow & Stow line is tested to SAE J-684. Every B&W-brand product is covered by the company's Lifetime Exclusive Limited Warranty to the original consumer, against defects in material and workmanship, for as long as that person owns it.
Prestige Truck is an authorized B&W dealer. Every B&W product we ship is new, in the factory carton, and backed by B&W's own warranty and its US-based support team in Humboldt, Kansas.