Goosey Goosey Gander

Whither shall we wander?….Our family has now been living full-time in our RV since September of 2019. It did not take long within this lifestyle to recognize both the importance of choosing the right specific gear for the job as well as the willingness of other RVers to chat about their must-haves. With our traveling at a halt, this gives me an opportunity to brag on some of the products we have found to make a more challenging (in ways) lifestyle more comfortable and safe.

At this point in our journey, the majority of folks I have given the rundown of our rig to are not invested in the RV lifestyle, yet that does not stop me from boring them about my excitement for the Reese Goose Box. Yes, our research led us to the Grand Design Solitude 3704BH pulled by a RAM 3500 DRW longbed, which both turned out to be the absolute best fit for our family at this point. I undoubtedly would choose the same set up again and again at this point, however as far as additional gear we have chosen to rely on, the Goose Box has shined as the brightest investment thus far. The following is an unbiased review of along with a demonstration video (at the bottom of the page).

Our first purchase was “Bowen Brutus” our RAM. Next, was “Arrow” our 5th wheel home (see Finding Brutus and Arrow blog posts). Once that purchase was underway, I had to figure out how I was going to hitch her up and tow. I had never pulled a 5th wheel before, and thus did not own a fifth wheel hitch. I began researching- What is the best 5th wheel hitch out there, and what would it take to have it mounted? The traditional, and still most common way to go about this is to mount base rails in the bed of your truck with some sort of slider legs weighing 60 pounds held to the base rails. Then comes the crossmember at 35 pounds, followed by the head at 55 pounds. That is a lot of extra weight over the axles of your tow vehicle as well as a backbreaking headache of a job to remove should you want to have the bed of your truck back.

So how were we supposed to do this given we would be parked for 3 months at a time for physical therapy contract work, going on multiple weekend adventures? Enter the Reese Goose Box. I found out about this alternate towing option through Facebook forums, and read good review after good review. Could this be the answer for us? I chose to gamble, and instead of mounting a traditional hitch to the truck, I spent the same amount of money and ordered the 20K Reese Goose Box 2nd Gen from eTrailers.com. I ordered the B&W gooseneck ball (2-5/16″) hitch with a 1″ rise to fit in the RAMs OEM puck system. Two weeks prior to this order I would have looked at you cross-eyed if you said this is what I needed. Yet, I ordered it and crossed my fingers.

eTrailer.com came through and all was delivered on time for me to bring the Goose Box to the dealer when we took delivery of our brand new Solitude. The dealer’s techs installed the Goose Box (which by the way is endorsed by Lippert, thus not affecting any of the warranty through Grand Design). It was marvelous, and so self explanatory. Once we lowered the Goose Box Coupler onto the ball hitch and locked her in, we were able to step back look like we had a professional set up. The 1″ rise to the ball kept the rig just about perfectly level above the bed of the truck making us look like we knew what we were doing.

Guys, this thing is absolutely worth every cent. Not only can I have the bed of my truck back within literal seconds after unhitching, but the ride is sweet. Within the goose box is where the real engineering magic happens. It is air ride equipped, putting less stress on the trailer’s frame than a traditional pin adapter. The internal air bag system is adjustable and softens the ride by absorbing the usual chucking and jarring. Also inside is a dual shock absorber and pivot tube to reduce bounce and minimize chucking respectively.

Looks cool, right?

Again, you’ll have to experience this for yourself rather than completely take my words as gospel, as I had no experience pulling a 5th wheel prior to this purchase. However, what I feel, or rather what I don’t feel when towing with this set up, I absolutely will not invest in anything else. I am rather confused as to why manufactures, or even dealers don’t offer this pin box switch-out within purchase packages. I suppose they haven’t caught up to this technology yet, but they absolutely should so that more RVers who like to use their truck when unhitched can save their backs in the long run!

Greased up, hooked up, and ready to go with amble bed clearance!

There are a few other notes to mention that go along with the Goose Box. The ball does need to be greased when towing. The Goose Box does have a grease pin that allows you to use a gun to load up the reservoir within, however, I choose to manually wipe some all-purpose grease on the ball before hitching up. I just feel this provides a way for me to ensure full coverage of the ball. Also, I was able to find a heavy duty Gooseneck tri-pod stabilizer to use when parked through Eaz-Lift purchased on Amazon. Yet again, another couldn’t live without item as we have two bouncy kids and Leah and I still love each other ;).

The below video is an example of hitching and unhitching with the Reese Goose Box as well as install and removal of the ball and safety latches from the OEM puck system. I provide a few more details that have allowed us to most effectively use this awesome set up. I hope this helps someone feel good about the decision to utilize this set up for towing. Please find us on Facebook or Instagram @narrowraodjourneys and PM with any questions about anything you saw or read in the article. Happy RVing!

***I am not endorsed by, nor have been reimbursed by the Reese Towing, Eaz Lift, or B&W companies to provide a favorable review. This is my unbiased opinion of a very good product and set up.