Hi Paul,

Check out www.trailersaver.com  I have been very happy with mine.

Cheers!

Paul

A gooseneck type hitch is one that looks like the one in this picture:

The gooseneck then comes up over the tailgate of the truck and attaches to a ball mounted in the bed of the truck, similar to the one below that would be bolted to the bed:

By contrast, a fifth wheel is generally mounted in the bed of a truck in different ways.  This picture is of one that fastens to two rails that are then attached to the frame of the truck through the bed.  The pins at the four points where the hitch attaches to the rails can be removed so that one can still use the bed of the truck for hauling if so desired.

An air hitch is one that has air bags that are inflated to allow "cushioning" of the ride of the fifth wheel trailer when attached to the truck.  Here is an example of an air ride hitch, and you can see the air bags under the flat plate:

All of the above are examples only.  I think that there are different manufacturers of air ride hitches, just as there are different manufacturers of standard type fifth wheel hitches.  There is even a manufacturer (B&W Hitch) that builds a "companion" fifth wheel hitch that attaches to a receiver that is located under the bed of the truck.  When the fifth wheel is removed, one can even still have the flat bed of the truck to be clear of rails that might otherwise be in the way.  You can see a part of the hitch extending down in the center of this picture that is inserted into that "receiver."

Depending on the brand of trailer and its options, one can also get trailers with air ride suspension and air ride pin boxes, so one doesn't always have to have an air ride hitch.  The following picture shows the Trail-Air air ride pin box that is on our Mobile Suites.  Our pin box also has what is called "Tri-Glide," which is where the plate at the very bottom has the ability to compensate for what we refer to as "chucking" when towing over some rougher roads.  Chucking can be a very sharp jerking movement that really gets one's goat.

As I mentioned in your introductory posting, one wants a truck that is heavy enough to handle the trailer one chooses.  By the same token, one also wants a fifth wheel hitch that is heavy enough as well.  The above Reese hitch is an 18,000 pound capacity hitch.  Since our trailer's gross vehicular weight rating (GVWR) is 18,500 lbs, we went with a 22,000 pound capacity Reese hitch.

Terry

Terry's given you some good info…but basically you want an air cushion to make the 5ver ride better. If you get the TrailerSaver hitch the airbags are in the hitch; it's hinged on the front and the rear end of the hitch rides on the bags. You could alternately get the TrailAir and the airbags are on the rig side of the hitch combination. I don't think either has a distinct advantage.

We've got the TrailerSaver and love it. Easy to hitch/unhitch and no chucking at all while traveling.