I think there are a couple of valid answers here. And I have to admit that I was very confused by the "need" for the 2 different systems. I have had the stock trailers and the big flatbed with the gooseneck ball, and have found that system to be very satisfactory and safe. But the trailer frame must definitely be stronger than a 5th wheel RV. My son lost his 5th wheel RV last fall in a fire, so we got to study the frame and it is hugely different (thinner gauge, lighter metal) than what a gooseneck trailer has.
Admittedly, the gooseneck is harder to hitch up as you can not see the ball in the PU bed, so it is similar to a "bumper pull" trailer in that respect. It will take a few tries of backing, getting out to look where you must go, and then try again (maybe 5 or 6 times). Even with my long crew cab PU, I can see the 5th wheel pin from the center rear view mirror, and usually make the hitch in 1 or 2 tries.
And then there is "history". The RV industry adopted the 5th wheel hitch universally, and the farm and equiptment manufacturers adopted the gooseneck universally. The early 5th wheel hitches took up a lot of bed space, but the B&W hitch company of Kansas decided there is a good market for a hitch system that can be either gooseneck or 5th wheel. So the B&W turnover ball base, along with the B&W Companion for the 5th wheel. Both are very well made and allow a truck to have either hitch system, or even a completely flat floor in the bed. As a gooseneck setup, it has a 30,000# trailer capacity, and as a 5th wheel unit, it is rated for 18,000#. Both exceed what your pickup should be pulling.
There are some adapters for the 5th wheel trailer that allows them to be hooked up to a GN ball, but most trailer manufacturers will void their frame warantee if you install an adapter.
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Today's Featured Article - When Push Comes to Shove - by Dave Patterson. When I was a “kid” (still am to a deree) about two I guess, my parents couldn’t find me one day. They were horrified (we lived by the railroad), my mother thought the worst: "He’s been run over by a train, he’s gone forever!" Where did they find me? Perched up on the seat of the tractor. I’d probably plowed about 3000 acres (in my head anyway) by the time they found me. This is where my love for tractors started and has only gotten worse in my tender 50 yrs on this “green planet”. I’m par
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