There is a saying among the old hands at towing. Once you have towed a gooseneck style trailer, you will never want to go back to towing a bumper pull style. If it's a need for a large payload, I agree with them. The versatility and the ease of towing makes hauling a gooseneck trailer much easier. 
    Many people get confused when referring to a gooseneck, sometimes calling them fifth wheels. Basically they are the same trailer. The difference is the hitch style. Both have the same profile. They each have that front extension to the trailer that arcs in that "goose neck" style, but a gooseneck attaches in the truck bed with a ball and coupler mating usually with a 2 and 5/16 or 3 inch ball. A fifth wheel rests on a hinged plate mounted in the truck bed and has a securing pin.
The fifth wheel payload is rated higher: 15-30,000 lbs, 4,000 lb pin weight and the gooseneck is rated: ball hitch with weight distributing setup, 10,000-12,000 maximum. For our purposes, we will concentrate on the gooseneck livestock trailer but the handling characteristics are basically the same as pulling a fifth wheel.

  What are the advantages? Have you ever been towing a bumper hitched trailer down the road and had it start to sway behind you? Did you get that sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach? Maybe you reached for the electronic brake handle and lifted your foot off the accelerator while tapping the brake lever. These are all things you don't have to contend with towing a gooseneck. The hitch being placed over the axle of the rear wheels virtually eliminates trailer sway and gives true stability in towing.
  The turning radius of a gooseneck setup is much tighter. Now this is something a driver has to get used to, compensating when turning a corner. That tight turning radius makes it much easier to run over a curb or sideswipe a post or another vehicle. New drivers will sometimes tear up a fender learning to compensate for those wider turns. But once a driver has some experience, it becomes second nature and the increased stability and payload make it all worthwhile.
  The advantages become even more clear the first time you back to the gooseneck to hitch up. That gooseneck is in plain view and looking out the rear window of your truck you can line up with the ball very easily. Goosenecks by their very nature are much more secure and provide peace of mind that your load won't come un-hitched and pass you on the highway.
  Other things to learn with your first gooseneck livestock trailer is how to load your cargo. Always load your heaviest of your load up front and try to equalize the load left and right. If you are hauling just a few head of calves for instance, you will want to herd them to the front and use the separation gate to secure them so they don't have room for much movement. Livestock moving around in your trailer can cause an unstable hauling situation. Another advantage to this trailer is being able to load your horses backward. Recent studies have shown that horses that usually don't load well and stay under stress in traveling, have a much easier time when loaded backwards.
  So what are the disadvantages? The most obvious is a bigger trailer equals higher cost. You must tow with a truck. And the hitching system is much more expensive, particularly the fifth wheel setup. When hitching up a gooseneck, you must get into the bed to finish the procedure. The hitch setup takes up a lot of room in the truck bed also. And when you aren't towing, that ball in the bed can be in the way unless you remove it.
  All in all, the gooseneck trailer is the way to go if you can afford it. The advantages of ease of towing and security far outweigh the disadvantages.
If you found this article useful and own or manage a website, please link to it for the use of your visitors.
Happy trailering!