Gooseneck Trailers

Ashley Phillips

Ashley Phillips

Moderator
I'm about to buy a new trailer. The one I have now is stuffed, as yall can see. Need some suggestions on a Bumper vs. Gooseneck. What are the big differences in towing and getting in tight places.

Will I have any trouble pulling with my Nissan truck? ha ha

Thanks Alot

Does anyone have any pics of a fifth wheel rig setup?
 

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Never seen a nissan pull a 5th wheel. Nate's truck has a 5th wheel mount in the bed which is odd for an f150 - it will pull a 5th wheel travel trailer, but I woudntl get a 5th wheel trailer for pw'ing. Why not just a tandem axle flatbed 20' trailer..... I have seen a 20' 5th wheel race car trailer used for pwing....thats craming alot of equipment in there, what about gas mileage..... I hate pulling our lil 12' around
 
Just Kidding about the Nissan. I thought the goose neck would be better for weight?
 

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What about going to a flatbed truck?

That is what I am planning on doing this year if it is possible. That way no more trailer so if I am very busy my helper can drive a regular truck or the flatbed since a lot of people do not have much experience driving or backing up a trailer.

Look at the pics of John T's flatbed truck. 2 hotwater rigs, 400 and 500 gallon tanks hosereels, etc....

I will not use 2 big tanks like that but will have other uses for the flatbed.

With a gooseneck, you can get heavier capacity axles so you can hold more weight, turn a lot sharper or reverse into tighter areas without jack-knifing as easy as a bumper pull.

It will also last longer than a bumper pull trailer due to the thicker metal in construction.

Most of the guys I know that pull them use a 1 ton or bigger because of the weight that they have loaded up on those trailers.
 
Ash,
My brother in Fla builds customized gooseneck trailers, don't want to brag on him, but his trailers are built better than most you have seen and prices are very reasonable.
He can answer any ? you might have, just tell him that I told you to call.
The only problem is this is a waiting list, there is usually 10-15 trailer on order. Tufdeck Trailer 863-735-1800 Laron Patterson
 
I use a 20' gooseneck racecar trailer, pulled with a 1-ton. I don't think there are many places I can go in a car, where I couldn't get my trailer into.

Of course, that is partly due to my former life driving 18 wheelers into and out of residential areas, military bases, and apartment/condo areas.

As near as I can tell, the gains in room and versatility offset the mileage penalty over my little van I used until this year. It also beats my open trailer setup in Nebraska's vile climate.

I'm still tuning this trailer, and haven't had a chance to get signs done yet, and my camera died a sudden and violent death, but pictures will be forthcoming.

One thing I know for sure, I prefer gooseneck to fifth wheel setups. I have a flip ball, and that means my bed is just as handy unhitched as it was the day the truck was built. Fifth wheels are heavier to remove, and have more accuotrements in the bed no matter what.

Just my preference though.
 
Scott - Nate has driven a truck since he was 18 - and he still does. He runs the Summit County (Mountian Run) everyday pulling a set of 2 trailers. He is the youngest Summmit driver they have and when the snow is at its worst, they send him. Knock on wood, he has never had an accident...

He can put our trailer down the smallest underground parking garages and get it in and out of spaces that amaze me.

Roll On...
 
Too many truck drivers on these boards...
5 years with a utility
5 years with a milk truck, doing local deliveries
2 years OTR pulling anything and everything, reefer, van, tank, flatbed, whatever the company had.

I can put a trailer just about anywhere, but I dont think I would want a gooseneck in a parking garage.
 
Scott's right about the garage thing.

Here are the good and bad about them.

1. Goose necks are great for loads and handling. All the weight is over the axles. You can carry more and have more control. Your truck will like it better also especially at highway speeds.

2. Goose's can handle 30 k or sometimes more. As to a bumper hitch, which is only 10 K.

Cons:
1.Goose takes up bed space. Sure, you can put some stuff in the truck, but no where near the stuff if the neck wasn't there.

2. Here's the biggie.... Turning. A goose takes a short cut on turning. It follows the back of the cab per say, not the bumper. If in a tight turning situation, such as a column in a garage, a goose could be difficult. A bumper hitch will follow the bumper in a turning radius.

We have solved this problem by building Powered Hydraulic Jacks that will extend out from underneath the trailer to lift the trailer off their axles with a push of a button. Totally automatic. Then wheel dollies can be installed in minutes. Jacks fold back up and we can push the trailer around the column if need be. Wheel Dolly is rated at 4 k each. 4 wheels... 16 K capacity.
 
David,


That is the new trailer we are building. We are over budgeted by $28,000, but it should be ready to show when I get back from Hawaii. This unit will have improved Hydraulics Bigger Turbo Diesel Motor, and more storage space. It will have the latest in technology as of 1/1/08 when we started to build it.

I have closed shop as of 5/5/08. Taking 3 weeks off with the family. Rented a 3 bedroom 1900 sq ft condo on the beach in Kauai. After that, heading to Hilton Waikoloa Village for 10 days, the 2 bedroom suite will be nice.

I'll be thinking of you guys....ya right
 
I went and looked at goose necks today. 7' x 16' or 18', wood deck, and 7k axles

3800.00 out the door. I think it would clear a parking deck. But like Jim said the cornering concerns me.

What is the maximum height I need to be???
 
Flatbed trucks are excellent. If and when I put together another Flatbed set-up I will look to do it on a Isuzu truck because of there great turning radius. My Ford F-550 Flatbed is a work horse but the turning radius isnt that good. I am in the process of adding another Burner on this Flatbed that can Handle another 12gpm. The reason for this flatbed is so I can run two cold water Powerwashers to it so now we can do 3 guys cleaning with Hot water and the gpms of all three running will be 8 and two 5.5's or if just two then it can be the 8 and 11gpm. Just trying to figure out where I can put this burner on this flatbed. The burner is being constructed and I ordered it from www.envirospec.com Its the 12 gpm 120 volt burner. I need these for the 36 strip malls where doing this month.

Oh yea I also pull an 18ft enclosed trailer with dual 5000lb axles with my F-550. I love the Ford truck strengths....But the diesel prices are definitely putting a hurt on my bottom line
 
its not on my end. here is what the message says on PWI

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that the one thing about Izuzu trucks that I haved driven and bought in the past. The Ford F-550 diesel can pull a house down and also put a dent in your wallet these days. Still a diesel ford is for me and right behind that is a dodge diesel cummins which is pretty decent on gpm.
 
If you are looking for a Parking Garage Height issue, 99 % off the multilevel PUBLIC parking garages are required to be 6'8". I have seen private parking garages, like in a condo building or a small office. ( 1 floor parking) at 6' 2" to 6'4". But again... These are rare.

Also, when buying a Goose neck, see about the construction. Cross beams need to be 3 inch "C" channel at least 16" apart, not 24". Ours are 12" apart due to water tank concerns. You don't want the unit to fatigue over time and bend.

2. Option, but worth it...We built the floor deck with 3/8 diamond plate steel. Most manufactures build them with 1/16. If you can jump and the flooring gives, how do you expect a 500 gallon water tank that weighs over 4,000 pounds in a 3.5 foot area to react bouncing down the road.

3. The goose should be at least 10x 16 pound steel I Beam. Ours are 10" x 26 pound I beam. A little over kill, but we are using it for storage as well.

4. Axles. Always think how much weight I am going to use, then add another 20 % to that number. Reason being is the bouncing down the road. The G force will put mores stress on the axles then the current calculate weight rate. This is were most trailers will fail over time.
 
John my friend, I have the Dodge Diesel Cummings. We did a pulling contest with the ford vs dodge. Same weight on a hill from a dead stop. Ford you had to increase the RPMS to get the torques so that the engine did not stall. Dodge we just let out the clutch and it took over. The Fords torque is at 2,000 + RPM's the Dodge is at 900 rpms. Idle is 800. If using a clutch, the Ford would burn up faster when under an extreme situation such as a load on a hill. If automatic it would be the torque converter.

Plus the Cummings in-line 6 has 40% less moving parts than International v8 Diesel. Less pistons but bigger. The force is spread out over a much bigger space. Dodge dose have a better turning radius also.

But I do like the body and the interior of the ford. I heard they sell kits to install the Cummings in the ford, but has problems with the Ford's frame cracking because of the torque of the Cummings.

But thats just my opinion. Can you tell I'm a Dodge man?

All aside, Ford is a good product and offers allot of different options... a mean allot. I really like that about Ford. I can almost customize the Ford from the factory. Great options.

I'm glade you didn't have a Chevy.
 
I'm kinda thinking of going with the Dodge myself. I have an f350 now, dually, 4 door, 2wd. SUCKS on fuel. I average 12.5 mpg.
I looked at the 3/4 ton Dodge Mega Cab, 4 door, and 4 wheel drive. The Ford is bigger inside and rides better to me. But that Dodge is Stout on pulling.
I'm still in the air on it.
 
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