Trailering Questions

[Soundguy]

i like backing a 5thwhl or gn way better than bp if it is close quarters..

 

[powerstroke444e]

I have both gooseneck and bumper pull trailers and like pulling the gooseneck. It is 30' and is almost effortless to pull other than its a little long. But down open road its great. In tight spots it takes a little more time but it ussualy fits. I pull a 23' bumper trailer behind my f450 and it pulls fine but just feels like more work to pull than my 30' gooseneck which is 3k heavier.

 

[Sockwell]

Thanks for all the replies, guys. In most cases, you've confirmed what I was thinking. I pretty much coming to the conclusion that the two best answers, if I want to take the larger tractor, are to either:
A. Buy a used brush cutter and leave it at the property, hauling the tractor when needed, or
B. Make two trips at the start and end of the planting season; one trip to take/bring back the cutter and one trip to take/bring back the tractor.

Either of these options is cheaper than buying another trailer and hitch and will allow the shell to be left on the truck.

I will have to look at the 20' trailer again, but I had already thought about letting the cutter hang off the back. However, the trailer has ramps and I don't think they are removable. I think I would have to make longer bars to keep the ramps up when traveling and probably remove the cutter tail wheels. Even then, it's questionable whether the cutter would fit without hitting the ramps.

Again, thanks for the help.

 

[Soundguy]

I have both gooseneck and bumper pull trailers and like pulling the gooseneck. It is 30' and is almost effortless to pull other than its a little long. But down open road its great. In tight spots it takes a little more time but it ussualy fits. I pull a 23' bumper trailer behind my f450 and it pulls fine but just feels like more work to pull than my 30' gooseneck which is 3k heavier.

i know if i pull bumperpull.. i have to be way more carefull with load ballancing.

on my gn.. i can get sloppy and part just about anywhere and have a good ride

 

[powerstroke444e]

i know if i pull bumperpull.. i have to be way more carefull with load ballancing.

on my gn.. i can get sloppy and part just about anywhere and have a good ride

That is the big difference, as I usually haul my trencher and backhoe at same time, but many times if I unload one I leave the other on and it don't affect the handling at all.

 

[Rara Avis]

i know if i pull bumperpull.. i have to be way more carefull with load ballancing.

on my gn.. i can get sloppy and part just about anywhere and have a good ride

And a 5th wheel allows for an even more stable ride with an unbalanced load than a GN...

 

[Soundguy]

how so? given an equal geometry trailer.

say I'm heading down the interstate with a load on my bumper, gn, and 5th wheel.

load is too forward onthe bumper pull making front light and squirely.

ont he gn, likely fine / unnoticeable.

how would the 5th wheel improve upon 'fine' ?

just curious... as the mount location is identical.. and thus you have the trailer deck load suspended between rear tires and the samel length hitch point on the tow vehicle ??

 

[B Hoofed]

I just bought a 25' gooseneck trailer to haul my Kubota M6040. The trailer has a 20' deck plus a 5' dovetail section. My trailer has flipover ramps that lie flat on the dovetail. If I have the loader and a 7' rotary cutter on the tractor I have to raise the loader and pull forward so that the loader is over the gooseneck, in order to have enough room to lay the ramps on the dovetail. I then back up and put the cutter down on top of the ramps. It all fits, but just barely. The trailer is maxed out at it's 14k capacity with that load. I would be happier if I had some weight capacity left, because I don't like how the tires bulge with the weight. I think the L5740 is a bit lighter than the M6040, but make sure the trailer will have enough capacity for the weight of the tractor plus loader and cutter. You may need airbags on the F-250 to handle the pin weight of the trailer (will probably be at least 20% of the loaded trailer weight, which may be over what the 250 can handle without excessive sagging).

One thing I don't like about my trailer is that the dovetail really drags when you go in or out of a driveway with a steep hill. It's worse because I have an F-350 SRW, which is a couple of inches higher than your F-250. Because of our hilly driveway I have to have the gooseneck sleeve adjusted pretty high so the trailer doesn't pinch on the tailgate or bed rails, which makes the dovetail drag even more. You'll be fine if it's flat where you live, but you may be unhappy if you have steep driveways to negotiate. I think different trailers have different clearances both at the back of the dovetail and also under the gooseneck section, so it pays to investigate more carefully than I did. Some trailers have the axles further apart, which puts the second axle closer to the dovetail, which may help with dragging.

Stability towing the tractor is great with the gooseneck. I towed it 150 miles a couple of weeks ago and couldn't complain at all how it handled.

 

[saltbranch]

I am with Soundguy on the 5th wheel vs. G/N. there is no difference . The only difference is in side loads or off camber situations like going through a ditch at angle etc. A strong side wind with a top heavy load that has a lot of weight to the front will lean with a gooseneck. Example I was hauling a 35' class A RV on a my 40' G/N from Florida to Mississippi, hit a storm in Ms with 60 plus MPH winds. Now that's an experience that will stripe your boxers for sure. I hit the first exit, parked dropped my landing gear and waited that one out. Thats why most of your RV pullers run the 5th wheel setup for the most part. Now to the off camber part, most of us are hauling tractors and ag related stuff on this forum so side wind loads are not really an issue. Ever seen a 18 wheeler that made a bad turn and dropped his trailer off in a ditch and the caused the truck to lay over? Thats the 5th wheel, no give side to side like a G/N on the flip side a G/N could be easier to just lay the trailer /load over in an off/camber situation..common sense and experience is the key . Good or bad its up to you. Both hitches have learning curves on how and what you can/cant do. The 5th wheels are easier to hook up, dont have jack it above the ball and be pretty much dead on when hooking up. The 5th wheel has a lot more moving parts to check/replace when worn out vs. the G/N. The G/N is a cost effective coupler VS the 5th Wheel, meaning you get more capacity for your $$ in the initial install and maintenance. Another option is the inverted 5th whee setupl, but no real advantage, unless you have a flatbed on the truck.

 

[AGRIMAN]

I agree but will also add this. I have a 36' 5th wheel RV with 4 slides. I have no idea what it tops out at fully loaded (probably don't want to know). It will squat my 250 a little over 2'' when loaded.

Since I also have two other GN trailers there's no way I was going to mess with a 5th wheel hitch. I had a adapter built that converse the 5th wheel back to a GN. Even with the 7'' offset it pulls and handles very good.

Its wider than the truck so you do have to watch it close if you are crossing uneven ground as it will hit the bed.