Gooseneck towing vs. tag towing?

[Trusty Steed]

I am considering departing from a 14 foot tag along trailer for my lawn/landscape business. I am looking hard at two options, one being a 20-24 foot enclosed, or a 20 to 25 foot Gooseneck. It would likely be 20 foot in a low profile, and a 25 foot deckover with 5 foot being a dove tail. I like the big deck of the deckover, but the added length is a concern.



I tow in town much of the time, many tight and small streets are encountered 1-2 days a week, with the rest of the days involveing wider streets and places to manuver, at least for the most part.



I know the Goose will turn tighter and ride better, but could you fellas give me thoughts on how different it will be to drive a gooseneck in town areas, busy trafic, and small tight streets? I figure anywhere else the Gooseneck will be a dream to drive, I am just unsure of the city stuff.



Will a 20 foot goose really track that much different then a 14 foot tag as far as turning and stuff? Seems like the wheel placement from the pivot point on the truck in the two different configurations may not be much different?



Thanks alot guys.

Jay

 

[fox]

The gooseneck will require a wider turning radius/ larger intersection. It will also ride much better and more stable.



Go find the goose that you like and ask if you could test it for a day.

 

[Duluth Diesel]

I would go with the goose. Much more manuverable, and you can turn it sharper (because you can make an acute angle with the truck and trailer if you have to and make the trailer pivot around. Can't do that with a tag along or bumper pull. I've been pulling goose necks up to 51 feet long since I was 15 years old. I am very comfortable with them in busy downtown traffic. Additionally, my company has a little single axle, bumper pull 12 foot enclosed trailer. Weighs less than 2000 pounds loaded with emergency spill response gear. I hate towing that little p. o. s. I mean, its small enough that you don't know it's back there, but it is a pain in the butt to back up. If I had a choice, I would only pull goosenecks.

 

[bmoeller]

Gooseneck.



Sometimes you can find flatbeds shorter than 20'. Just have to look around. Had 2 at the last consignment auction we had near here last fall. 16-18' car trailers.



If the eqipment isn't too big, you could get a livestock gooseneck trailer. Have seen them as short as 14' long. There are some farmers around here that haul their skid loaders in them. Not very light, or much room, but they fit. just use ramps or have a short pile of dirt to drive onto to get in the trailer. They don't use stands on the back either. Trailers seem to take it OK.

 

[Trusty Steed]

Thanks for your replys fellas.



I really do need 20 foot of deck space. Any thoughts on how much better torsion axles are? I have seen ones without for very reasonable prices. Any suggestions on types of material, or ways of constructing some sides using the stake pockets? I would like something on the order of two feet all the way around. Ideally I would use the front as a type of side dumping unit, just have not decided on the best way to accomplish this yet.



Thanks guys

Jay

 

[bmoeller]

Can't comment on the axles.



For sides, if you need to remove them regularly, I would just use treated plywood and 2xs if you need solid sides.



For dumping, I don't know that the trailer would like that from the side to much. If you still want to, there is this option- http://www.ez-dumper.com/ Could mount the "insert" they have for pickups that would fit across the front of the trailer.



I know they are not cheap, but have you considered a low-profile gooseneck dump trailer? Some are made to drive a skidsteer up into them. They would already have sides, and you can dump whatever it will handle. Don't know that anyone makes a dump trailer 20' long though.

 

[Trusty Steed]

bmoeller



I have indeed considered the ez. dump or other types. I kind of hate to spend $2,000 bucks on it especially since it is a bad use of space. What I mean is that it is a pretty small unit as is because it is v'd out to accomodate wheel wells for a truck. It would work though, and I think the ez dump would legally fit. There are a couple other manufacturers that would exceed the legal width for a trailer. I wondered how stable the trailer would be if you got a good load with a good angle of tip on the side of the trailer?



I have considered the low pro design. I am not opposed to it, it would make a dovetail needless saving me length. I would suffer from a lack of width though, which may force me into a 22-24 foot low boy. I like the idea of some with sides in the low boy design, but it would likely goof up my front dump design.



Any thoughts on a Big Tex GN?



Thanks

Jay

 

[QRTRHRS]

Originally posted by bmoeller

Don't know that anyone makes a dump trailer 20' long though.

PJ does at least in the deck over style. I think they go up to maybe 24'. Talk to these trailer makers. They can do pretty much anything you want to pay for. Low Pro is really nice when you need to get on and off the deck alot. Don't forget there are all kinds of nice tilt deck options these days. Can't help with Big Tex but these guys build a nice trailer. http://www.hhtrailer.com/



Oak makes a better side stake then treated. It's tuffer and more stable. If you can find some wide extruded aluminum planks such as guard rails used in a factory, they make excellent sides. One problem with sides is dealing with tiedowns. If you want to haul bulk material, the sides need to touch the deck. But, then your chains or straps have to go over the sides. Makes for a poor tiedown and stresses the sides. You may want D rings on the deck. I see a lot of landscape trailers with sides made to hold equipment.

 

[y-knot]

I think in your line of business, a goose neck would be a good investment. They maneuver so much better the a tag unit. Tags have about 30 degrees of cut, then you start getting into bumpers and such. Goose necks have at least 90 degrees of cut, which makes them very nice for tight places. Also they will have a much higher payload, with higher pin weight. They do track very well and are a pleasure to tow (this is based on quality trailers built by skilled workers, with quality parts. There are some trailers sold now days that are junk, but are still new).



It is often hard to find GN trailers in the smaller lengths. This is because GN trailers cost more then TAG units, and usually the price difference will curtail the use of short GN's. That is, most people will not spend the extra money for a short GN when there TAG units that are readily available in the same length but at half the cost. So what happens is only the longer/higher payload GN will get built. The smallest factory built GN I have seen was 20', and they are rare.

 

[bmoeller]

TS, found a low-pro 20' flatbed goose on Ebay. Thought it may be of interest to you.



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2462287056&category=33653



#ad




Make that 2- http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2462386974&category=6737

 

[Duluth Diesel]

Had torsion axles on three Featherlite horse trailers (all goosenecks). Very nice axles, rode nicer (for the livestock). I also noticed that with the trailer empty, the torsion axles were not upset as much by large bumps (trailer would not bounce around as much as my friend's leaf-sprung goose. ) For hauling cargo, torsion or not probably isn't going to make a huge difference, but if you find a trailer you like with torsion axles, I wouldn't consider it a negative feature.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I think someone once posted that torsion are more likely to be damaged if your on really rough terrain such as a job site. Spring suspensions can handle that uneven loading better. Multiple spring packs ride better empty than do the thicker packs with less leafs.



Another area of concern with gooseneck vs BP trailers is sideloading on the tires. Because you can jack the gooseneck around much more acutely, you can put a lot more drag on the tires, putting a lot of stress on everything. This does not mean you can't do this at all. It means plan ahead, minimize the jacking (a good idea for any trailer) and if you do jack it hard, do it slowly, don't whip it around like a maniac.

 

[y-knot]

That is funny, it is actually just the opposite. The torsion axle assembly is very compact, quiet,smooth and durable. The leaf spring suspension is just the opposite, all of it pieces are out in the open, where they are exposed to the elements. Spring use hangers, shackles,equalizers,spring packs,and U-bolts, that is alot of individual moving pieces to keep lubricated, tight,aliened and protected. The design of the torsion axle lends itself to more bed room and quieter operation. Also each axle is isolated from the others, which results in a smooth ride, especially over large bumps and train tracks.

I think most people are just afraid of change, and refuse to accept new ideals.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Originally posted by y-knot

I think most people are just afraid of change, and refuse to accept new ideals.

I don't think so. That thread was quite some time ago and the person seemed knowledgeable. I have had both and taken them through some fairly rough spots and had no problems with either one. Take note that when you get into the heavier duty trailers like the tandem dually goosenecks, springs are the only choice that I know of.

 

[Duluth Diesel]

Used to have a 51 foot, tandem, 6-horse plus dressing room gooseneck trailer. It had the torsions. Do they get more heavy duty than that and still be towable by our trucks? Normal trailer weight (loaded) was 21,100 pounds, so with truck I was moving around 28000. Those axles never gave me any trouble and always rode nice. Also, it was a 1996 model trailer.

 

[stacerbob]

For your side dump idea opt for the twin front jacks and put them down slightly when you are going to dump.

 

[barbwire]

Torsion Axles

I have a 30 ft. flatbed home made trailer, that weighs in at 9900 lbs empty. When I built the trailer, I ordered two 7250# rated torflex axles for it. I wanted torflex so that I could get the bed as low to the ground as possible. With a spring design you are stuck at whatever height that the springs allow. With the torflex design I am sitting about 8" lower than any spring design that I have ever seen. Anyway, the trailer now has well over 100,000 miles on it, and was grossly overloaded much of that time. Not to mention that my brother used it to haul large bales in from the fields. And he put on as much hay as he could get on it. And this took place on very hilly and rocky ground. You guess the weight. And I NEVER had one ounce of problem with the Torflex axles. I know from experience that had I had axles with springs, I would have been replacing shackles,bolts, and probably whole axles. And I am sure that it would have been constant repair (with spring design). Take this for what it's worth, but I have run both, and if I have the need in the future, I will definitely be going with the torsion design, if not just for the lower center of gravity, then for the lack of maintenance required. I also agree with y-knot when he says that each wheel is isolated from the others giving a smoother ride. OK, I'll quit ranting now

 

[ropinfool2]

The only thing I don't like about torsion axles is that if you get on uneven ground or run over a curb, you could load all the weight on one tire as these axles cannot droop like a spring suspension. I have seen bent spindles before on torsions more so than springs. But I still prefer them to springs, especially the never lube by dexter!! Just my humble opinion. John

 

[Duluth Diesel]

If leaf springs articulate so well, why do these things work?



http://www.hitchesonline.com/jiffyjack/jiffy.htm

 

[Trusty Steed]

I was checking out a couple deckover GN's. One was a Big Tex, and I can not recall the other. Both were spring suspension, and looked very well made. The rear dove would have to be modified. They had that Metal stairstep design that they promote as self cleaning. I think it would be great to drive on, but fear walking up and down would quickly disturb an ankle or a knee. I would have to have a different design, and also a different design on the ramps. They are big time heavy, and appear would require lifting from above, and tossing them down to the concrete with great force. I could be wrong, but that looks like the way they work. I would also need something that would allow for a more narrow ramp. I think something could be fabricated pretty easy for this. All in all, I think I may be better off with a low profile deck between the wheels. I would sacrifice some deck, but probably not all that much. By the time you consider the rub rail, and stake pockets I assume you are down to less then 96" of useable deck width, and likely a bit less. I assume you can get 82-84 wide in a low pro, and would not have to fool with the added length of the dove, with a lower center of gravity.



I think maybe my brain is mush from toiling over so many decisions.



Thanks so much for all your thoughts and experiences.



Jay