Gooseneck Trailer Ideas

[David Muench]

Nice picture. Wonder what brand camper that is with the side door. I'm drooling over a lance 1160 for the trailer with the new side door, but I know that'll be out of my reach for awhile and I'll have to start out smaller. .



Still can't wait to see some pics.

 

[JFitzgerald]

Coachmen

I could see the brand in the pic before I had to shrink it to post it. I hear ya, Lances are supposed to be the "Cadillacs" of truck campers, and they're proud of 'em. Just this weekend I got an old Amerigo 12 ft. with a side door, shower and rear pop out bed. Needs some work, but the price was right.



Anyone looking for an 8 ft. truck camper (cheap)? Needs work. Selling my old one.

 

[QRTRHRS]

JFitzgerald,



Good pic! Your ideas are right on. The low profile does make a big difference in mileage plus makes access nice.



What are your plans for licensing the trailer? I guess loaded it falls into the RV catagory. I assume you have been following the "hotshot" thread?

 

[JFitzgerald]

Licensing

QRTRHRS,



I plan to plate it as a regular trailer (non-RV), but I'm not sure how IL will look at it. The camper will not be permanently attached, but maybe that's not the criteria used to decide? Good point, guess I better check that out.



Along with less wind resistance, I like the idea of dropping the trailer and having the truck free to go from camp without having to put everything in the camper away, etc. Also, loading and unloading the camper in and out of the truck every time I want to go for a weekend trip gets old real quick. Soon, I'll be able to keep the camper ready to go, and just hook up to the trailer and go with much less work to prepare. The way I've been doing it - it's a lot of work to go play!



Guess I better go check out the "hotshot" thread...



Thanks,

John

 

[David Muench]

From another thread on the JeepsUnlimited board. .



#ad




Yeah, yeah, it's a Ford. . Trailer doesn't look balanced too well either.

 

[JFitzgerald]

Wow, that must be about 34-36 ft of bed! The deck is so high on that one that he's carrying the camper higher than if it was in the truck bed. That height is necessary to support all that length though (beefy frame channel). I bet that combo is fun in a headwind, especially with a Furd pulling.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Ahh, the desire to take it with...

Cool! Hey, just think if this guy was in a state where he could pull a double, he could hang a boat/trailer on too.

 

[MidwestMotorman]

wow

Must be a his/hers setup. That rear jeep has a one ton driveline. The front jeep has trusses. Maybe it would have been easier to get an enclosed trailer that one could live in and park the jeeps in.



Definitely one heavy trailer though. Look at the triple axles all the way to the rear. Looks like it needs a semi to properly carry the weight, also probably getting close to the 26k limit.



To each his own.

 

[JFitzgerald]

Got It!

Picked up the trailer Friday and took it for it's first trip yesterday. Hauled my Jeep, dirt bike and son's 4-wheeler for a 100 mile round trip. Pulls really sweet. I like how there is no "whip" when changing lanes compared to my bumper-pull trailer. Just have to watch the length on those turns. Had a pretty good headwind going South in the morning, but smooth sailing on the way back. It's too bad, my brother almost came with, which would have added a Toyota 4WD pickup with Chevy small block to the load. That would have broken the trailer in right. Have a trailer brake control problem though, they work too well, see other thread in "towing".



P. S. David - Pictures are on the way.

 

[David Muench]

Cool.



We decided to scale our plans back for now, we decided to not get a camper for awhile (not convinced we'd use it enough over the next 5 years to make it worthwhile, we need to build a house) and just get a 28-30' gooseneck for hauling the 2 Jeeps. Someday though, I'm sure a camper will be added to the mix. Looking forward to the pictures. .

 

[NVR FNSH]

Originally posted by HDH



Brian,

WOW! 36ft Long, I bet you dont take that Rig up to National Forest Campgrounds. .

We have a Little 26ft Pull behind Toy Hauler, And It Barely fits in the Campgrounds in the Sierra's.

Most of the Campgrounds in the Sierra's have a Limit of 22ft. They are tight!

Doug.

Doug,

Just saw this today - forgot about this thread.



My 36ft 5th wheel/truck isn't much longer than your 26ft TT/truck combo. I'll bet your 26ft trailer is really closer to 31ft ball/bumper and it's hanging off your bumper whereas my 5th wheel is 36ft end/end and overhangs my truck. There are a lot of campgrounds we won't get it into but oh, well. We were up at Elkins Flat OHV in October and didn't have any problems. Elkins is off Hwy 88 just north of Cooks Station.



Brian

 

[QRTRHRS]

Back to the top!

Hey JFitzgerald, are you still around? How's that rig doing that you were working on? Maybe out having fun?

 

[JFitzgerald]

Re: Back to the top!

Originally posted by QRTRHRS

Hey JFitzgerald, are you still around? How's that rig doing that you were working on? Maybe out having fun?

Yep, still here . The trailer project has just been delayed a bit with the holidays. This weekend I will install my wood stove in the pole barn so I can have some heat when I start remodeling the Amerigo camper that will go on the trailer. The Jeep is also getting an engine swap this winter, so I'll be busy getting ready to play this summer.



I have been using the trailer some though. Got my brake controller set up correctly now. Also got the wood deck sealed with Thompsons (sp?) before it got too cold. I want to pull two Jeeps on it once before the camper goes on. Hauled a dump truck on it recently. Boy, that thing must have been heavy, I sure knew it was back there. Tweaked my ramps too . The ramp storage pockets are one of my favorite features.



David - Haven't forgotten about the pics. A friend who went with us last time we went Jeepin' had a digital camera with him, and I thought he got a shot of the trailer, but it turned out he did not. I still intend to get a pic to post. If I wasn't spending all my extra money on the trailer & Jeep, I'd buy myself a digital camera!

 

[QRTRHRS]

JFitzgerald, thanks for the report. Excellent thread you started and it's good to see your still on board and on track with the project.

 

[CJ Lagos]

One of the main reasons I got my gooseneck was for the deckover feature. I run full width axles with 39. 5x18 boggers on my TJ... so it puts the width way wider than 83". With the deckover I get the fullwidth of the trailer as deck surface so fitting between fenders isn't an issue.



Only downside is that it puts the Jeep higher up which makes fast turns a little different but oh well, i run 80psi when towing.



CJ

 

[Okie-Go]

I know the feeling on enough trailer. I am considering selling my 20 ft. gooseneck. It is 82" by 20 ft with the 3" pipe top rail. A jeep or small car is just fine. It is super to put firewood on. I built removable sideboards for it. Hauling a tractor or anything wider is tough.

 

[JFitzgerald]

Update

OK guys, I know it's been a year, but I haven't forgotten about posting a picture. Just got a picture scanned in, it's not a great pic, but it's something. I'll get some more next time I hook up to it. It is backed into a tight spot right now. Soon I'll put the trailer in my barn to do some more work to it over the winter. Had to wait 'til the farmer took his corn out because the rig is so long I have to pull out in his field to back it into the barn.



I have used the trailer several times now, and I'm really happy with it. I have had to BOMB the truck a bit to make pulling this weight easier. I figure there's 12,000 lbs. between the trailer, camper, Jeep, dirt bike, son's quad, generator, spares and tools. The Cummins really pulls it well now, and I haven't really BOMBed serious yet. Just what's in the sig.

 

[David Muench]

Very cool. . I am still planning on doing that in awhile, but I've got to build a house and a new 4x4 first (sold my Jeep). Nice job.

 

[midwestdually]

man that gooseneck looks low 2 the bed rails... . any one else??

 

[JFitzgerald]

Originally posted by midwestdually

man that gooseneck looks low 2 the bed rails... . any one else??

You're right it looks that way in the picture, but it's really not. Not sure why it looks so close. The truck has chrome tube bars running along the tops of the bedsides. I thought I'd have to take them off when I got this trailer, but it clears and has never hit them. I left them on because if it does hit, I'd rather toss the bars and save the bed side. Just turning out of my driveway onto the road, the trailer axles dip into the ditch and it tips, but has never hit. There have also been some hills I had to turn down to get to a campsite, etc. I'm always looking back there though.



Maybe it's closer than most goosenecks, but it so far, so good.



Gotta get some better pics now that I just got a digital camera.