Gooseneck????

[CumminFast]

I am thinking about buying a gooseneck trailer. I don't really have to have one, but they sure look cool. I own a small lawncare service about (70-80 accounts), and I haul about a car a week from the auction. I am 19 and have never had a gooseneck. I hook up my trailer everyday. My question is how hard is a gooseneck to hook-up? Since I will be doing this ALOT it makes a difference. I am looking for about a 20 ft w/ a beavertail or at least one that is low w/ a rating of 7000-10000. I almost bought one on ebay. Also, if you have time what are the advantages of the gooser?





Thanks

Rick

 

[Steve Campbell]

IMHO...

... they are easier to hook up to. They follow better than a bumper pull, but they also cut the corners more. If you are going to do much city driving... you may want to reconsider.

 

[BCFAST]

Once you pull with a goose, you'll NEVER wanna go back to a tag trailer!! Dont you just hate backing up to your trailer and NOT being able to see the ball line-up with the tongue? With the goose, you just hike yourself up in the drivers seat about 3" looking out the back window steering with your left hand and navigate right under the tongue!! Manouvering with a goose is way better too... it tracks true and straight on the road and you can back it into nearly impossible spots. Once you get comfy with it, you'll learn that you can jack-knife your truck back into the trailer for some interresting perpendicular parking! Go goose, and dont look back!

Brian

 

[CUMINNTSTRKN]

with what you want i would buy a 20' 12k car trailer with the gooseneck option. this way the deck is low and it will be easier for you to unload your lawn stuff. it's about a $500 option.



jim

 

[RustyTRanch]

I will second all above

and Your License Plate will look like new

 

[csevers]

towing w/gooseneck

I have a 20 and 5 ft gneck trailer and love it very much the problem is with bumper pull trailers you can get sway in combo but gneck is solid and tracks good even over loaded I also have a bumper pull car/utility trailer that pulls good but w/moderate weight has a good amount of sway in back end of truck w/dually it is also hard to see a 16ft bumper pull trailer behind you it is all up to you if you like the way you doing it now or want a different set up some people get by with pintle hitch pull trailers behind trucks with alot of weight .



good luck

 

[maint.man]

I just bought a 20' gooseneck between the fenders trailer , with ramps, and there is no way that I would ever go back to a bumper pull. I can easily turn it around in the same space as a 16' bumper pull, and when it comes to goin' down the road , there is no comparison . Mine's got a 10,500 G. V. W. and came with brakes on both axles , new rims , and 10 ply radials and I gave 2,700 for it (plus tax) which seemed like a steal compared to some of the used ones that I looked at in the 4G or less range.

 

[QRTRHRS]

One disadvantage with a goose is you need to watch when you jack it around so you don't put to much sideways stress on the tires and axles. Just a matter of planning ahead.



One disadvantage to a bumper pull is when the truck is empty and the trailer loaded, the trailer can easily jack knife you in a panic situation.



Might want to check out the low profile or drop deck as it is referred to with a tilt deck. Makes for easy loading of low profile cars or equipment.

 

[jimk]

goose neck

I have a 18 flat bed trailer with a tongue hitch that is very heavy. I hand made it to do what I wonted. It has electric brakes on both axles and it is 100% steel, no wood. I have a 9000 lb electric pierce wench in the frount of it. I had it loaded before to where I thought it into trouble if I drove to fast.

I have a bed cover on my truck and it would require removing it to use the goose neck hitch in my bed of my truck. It probably would not be hard to remove by usually I am by my self so I dont wont to try to take off the cover.

What I did is to use a equalizer hitch that came off a travel trailer on the 18 foot flat bed trailer. I works good for me. It is more trouble than the goose neck or the fifth wheel and I perfer the goose neck hands down. But you can make the load the trailer and it pulls a lot better than it did with out the equalizer hitch. LOL JIm

 

[Okie-Go]

I have a 20ft gooseneck that is about 20 inches or so off the ground. It has two 7,000 lb axles with brakes on both. It is a dream to pull and don't bother me a bit whether on the highway or in downtown Houston or just pulling across town. I have also thought about a 6ft x 14ft gooseneck for hauling a couple of 4wheelers instead of haveing a small bumper pull type trailer.

 

[SLindblom]

Gooseneck

Gooseneck is the way to go, IMHO.



When you get it, measure the height to bottom of stem, so that when you back up with your shiny new pickup, you don't put a big crease in your tailgate



When you unhook each day, remember to drop the tail gate before you pull away from the trailer, or you will put a major crease in the tailgate :{



Done both, twice. Some people are slow learners.

 

[CumminFast]

I am trying to decide between a gooseneck and a bumper-pull, large enclosed trailer. Would it be a pain to chain a car down in an enclosed trailer? Do people use winches to put there goosenecks on the ball? Also, I already have a hole in my bed for the ball. I have seen trucks w/ a plate, is that all I need? Or do I need that hitch that goes under the bed and bolts to the frame?



Thanks

Rick

 

[Powder Extreme]

Rick, you do need an actual gooseneck hitch setup to bolt to your frame. B&W is the highest rated, not bad to install, and reasonably priced. From a guy who's been there, towed that (30 or so different trailers), if you can afford the extra cost, by all means buy a gooseneck, you'll never regret. The gooseneck is better in all aspects. Rides better, pulls better, tracks straighter, doesn't sway at all. Not to mention will hold MUCH more weight. You also don't have to worry as much about getting your load set "just right" to have the tongue weight where it needs to be. I've hauled several cars inside enclosed trailers, it's not difficult at all unless you are hauling a very large car (Cadillac etc. ) hauling a pickup in an enclosed is very difficult. "Do people use winches to put their goosenecks on the ball?" Ummm I'm not sure what you mean with that question.



Jerry

 

[DuallyDean]

goosenecks forever

Rick, a couple of other points to remember: "surge" brakes don't exist for goosenecks (they suck anyway IMO) so you WILL be instaling some type of brake controller. I have both electric (inertia style) and vaccuum over hydraulic controllers in my dually.



I built the hitchplate for my dually, I used a 5/8" thick plate about 22"x44" and bolted it with 6 (3 per side) 1/2" grade 5 bolts that run thru the box, box crossmembers and into the framerails (the center bolt on each side uses a spacer between the box and frame). The hitchball is mounted to a smaller 1/2" thick 10"x10" plate which can bolt to the main plate in 5 positions front to back to vary the load transfered to the front axle. The advantage of this setup over the "hide-a-ball" hitch that is in my 3/4 ton is that you don't have a huge cut out hole in the bed should you decide later to remove the hitch for resale or whatever.



In both cases the hitch must be fastened to the framerails. Reese makes a gooseneck hitch that mounts to the same rails that mount in the bed for their 5th wheel hitches, which would add versatility and possibly increase resale value. It is probably the route I will take next time.



Believe everything everyone is saying about how much better goosenecks tow than a tag trailer. I own 2 gooseneck trailers and not a tag type (although I might buy a 2 place snowmobile trailer in that configuration).

 

[HVAC]

Byson/Goose/Beaver

My new pride and joy-

#ad


Just brought it home Friday. It tows nice and smooth. It's rated for 14K so with a 7500 4x4 I've still got headroom.



I plan to tow my race truck to the strip with it. The fold down ramps make it easy to load. I like the twin jacks in front instead of a single.

 

[HillCountrykid]

HVAC, is this a picture of the same trailer you have? All of the daul/tandem trailers I've seen have at least 10k lb. axles. Just wondering.



Brian

 

[Don M]

HVAC,

I have nearly the same trailer. It has the oil bath tandem axles (10K each) Trailer weighs about 4500 empty.

It is 25+5 ft dovetail.

You did good getting the dual jacks too. Ive put mucho weight on mine in the past with no troubles but the fuel economy. (-:



Don~

 

[HVAC]

Byson/Goose/Beaver

HillCountry/Don,



The pic is very similiar to my rig. The exception

is the center of the beaver tail in the pic is decked with wood and my rig has an all metal beaver tail.



You guys are referring to the dual tandem version of the rig I bought. My trailer is a single wheel tandem with two 7K axles. It's gross rating is 14K which works for what I'm doing.



She's a beaut. I just scrubbed the wood deck with detergent and after it dried I brushed on a half gallon of exterior poly urethane. That and some armour all on the tires will keep that fresh face

 

[HillCountrykid]

I figured that was the case. When I get one it will be pretty close to your set-up. Single wheel tandem, 20+5, TWO jacks, all wood. That is unless I find something a little different for real cheap. This will be in the future though. I don't need one right now. Shoot, I've got over 13k miles and only hooked up to one trailer (bumper pull). I need something to pull! I want to see how this bad boy does. Someone with a big azz trailer needs to let me drag it around a little.



Brian

 

[JFitzgerald]

Gooseneck

After towing for several years with bumper pull trailers, I switched to a GN. BIG IMPROVEMENT! As others have said, pulls straight and smooth, no sway, easy to hook up.



Had a friend custom build mine. Low, 30 ft. flat bed with long reach up front. Plenty of room to walk between truck and trailer with the tailgate down. Twin jacks. I have a camper mounted up front, then room for a fourwheeler, dirt bike, generator and my Jeep. Guessing about 12K lbs. total, not including the Dodge.



No going back to a bumper pull for me.



Only thing I need to work out is hooking up. I have a toolbox in the bed that blocks my view of the ball. I'm thinking about mounting a mirror to the goose neck so I can see the ball from my seat.