Gooseneck v. Bumper trailer for me?

[George2615]

A gooseneck will tie up your truck bed unless you get a hidden hitch that flips down.
Not many of your friends probably have a hitch for a gooseneck so you won't have to worry about loaning it out.
All the previously mentioned pros' and cons.
Bumper pull will weigh less and be less expensive.
Just make sure whatever you get is long enough and has the capacity to haul your tractor and attachments.

 

[boggen]

if it is a one time move. and alot of miles between mass and virgina. figure out your millage / gas costs ((google map it)). food costs. for multi trips vs hiring a semi trailer come out. and putting all the implements, tractor, etc... right on the trailer. and having it all hauled to the new place. plus wear and tear on your truck.

then look at perhaps a smaller size trailer for general around home things and going to local hardware stores for lumber, plywood, etc... and moving things.

not sure difference between bumper and goose neck hitchs.

if you mean a hole in the back bumper of your truck. i would walk away. over years seen more bent bumpers than anything. i have seen more re-enforced bumpers after they have been dented. or cracked.

if ya talking about a goose neck hitch. that fits up underneath of your truck and bolts to the frame. and then you have a reciever that sticks out just below the bumper. were you can change out different height hitchs for different trailers that set higher or lower than other trailers. then this is what i would get. due to abilty to pick up a cheap hitch pretty much any were to deal with the different trailer heights. what i am getting at is. ya you might have a trailer, but may have to pull say a boat trailer or a U-haul trailer, or someone's else trailer to go do something. or decied to get a smaller or bigger trailer later on. and this will let ya do so fairly easily without much effort. if you live in a bad area of things being stolen. or like. you can also get hitchs that slide right into the recieving hitch that bolts to underside frame of your tuck, that have some sort of paddle lock or key. so folks can't unhook trailer from your truck and take off with it.

though i tend to see folks serious in towing stuff, or really heavy stuff. go with a 5th wheel. were there is something mounted directly in middle of your bed. and when hooked up to a trailer. it kinda reminds you of truck become a semi, with a trailer attached. due to the trailer. hovering over a good portion of the back of the pickup truck bed. though with these setups. i tend to see some sort of brakes and like for the trailers. which results in extra cash spent on wiring your truck. to handle lights and brakes without blowing fuses or killing relays for blinkers / flashers.

5th wheel trailers is a completely different monster. and result in folks getting tool boxes that set clear down into the bed of the truck and do not stick up over the sides of the bed of the truck. pending on the 5th wheel attachment you put in the bed of truck. some can be removed with bolts. to free the back of your pickup truck when not in use. others are basicly permenat ((other words more hassle to undo to free up back of the truck. so you can haul something in the back of it.))

EDIT FORGET MY POST was thinking goose neck being something competely different. (googled it... *ughs*)

 

[gwjd]

i like the idea of calling in the big trucks and move all the equipment in one move maybe if it wont fit all in one trip then you can move box blades ect on your smaller trailer

also make sure the trailer is long enough to properly distribute weight over the trailer axles you are going to really aproch max toung weight on a half ton

i would find the best hitch / trailer shops in the area and talk to all of them.


you will need 3 trips min to get the 3030 and 59 down ........ thats a lot of miles loaded heavy

how will you get the hoe off the trailer when you get to VA ?

 

[Charlesaf3]

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the really great advice above. I've learned a lot (Again) something which seems to happen everytime I log in here.

After processing what you guys have said, (and the literally hundreds of threads I've read!) here are my thoughts:

Get a bumper pull rated for 14k, with weight distributing and sway control. Get it as long as is reasonable - seems like a trailer can't be too long, within reason? Try to get the same size hubs as my truck, for spare swapping. Get a good brake controller. Shift the b3030 myself, which will be well within the capabilities of the rig. Get a guy with a dually to pull the m59 down to VA on the trailer when the time comes - or maybe even a semi if I can get a good price.

Does that make sense? And if so - which controller, sway, and weight distributing? I'm not looking to save money on trailer safety, strikes me as cheap insurance. Tundra's hitch is built in, as many of you know, how does that affect putting on a weight distributing hitch?

Any thoughts on other reasonable trailer manufacturers? Pequea seems very high quality, with price to match.

(If I have to split stuff, I'm fine as long as the m59 ends up in VA first to offload - friend in MA owns lumberyard and has forklifts bobcats cranes etc, so I'm good on loading)

 

[wvpolekat]

Get a bumper pull rated for 14k, with weight distributing and sway control. Get it as long as is reasonable - seems like a trailer can't be too long, within reason?

I wouldn't go less than 20'. More than that is a waste in the future.

Try to get the same size hubs as my truck, for spare swapping.

Meh, just get a spare for the trailer.

Get a good brake controller.

I have a prodigy and am happy with it, I feel safe. But, you can go higher end like maxbrake. Chris will weigh in with good advice here.

Shift the b3030 myself, which will be well within the capabilities of the rig.

Agreed.

Get a guy with a dually to pull the m59 down to VA on the trailer when the time comes - or maybe even a semi if I can get a good price.

I would just contact equipment shippers and let them decide what kind of rig they want to use. Just check reputation, insurance and such. Maybe check your local dealer for a name.

 

[wvpolekat]

Here is what I would do myself.

Find someone to haul the M. That is just about a given.

Pick up a decent 25' gooseneck, B&W hitch and a prodigy controller. Load it up as much as I could with the 3030 and other implements. Go to a local scale, make sure I didn't grossly misjudge the weight or have too much pin weight.

Then take a leisurely trip to get it down there. Depending on how you load it, shouldn't be too hard to use the tractor to unload things.

Here is my reasoning. While there is such a thing as too much trailer, most people never find that point. I don't care for bumper pull over 10k if I can avoid it. Not saying it can't be done, or shouldn't be done. Just isn't the way I would do it. GN tows smoother, backs better carries more. At the same time, you can't hook to to your buddies truck and load up the ATVs on it and go somewhere.

I have a 16' bumper pull now, and it works for what I need. But, when I bought my N and a passle of implements, it was not real happy with the weight and didn't pull that well. You just never know what you may want to pile on a trailer later. Hay? Another tractor? Pickup truck? There is saying in the RV world "Buy your last RV first". Be realistic about what future use and plans you may have for this trailer and buy based on that. That will save you from having to sell the one you get now, take the hit and get a bigger one later. As long as you are comfortable pulling it, have someplace to park it, going bigger isn't that much more expensive. Even if it is capable of more weight than your truck, there will be times you will run out of space before you run out of weight capacity.

Sorry for the ramble, but I am looking at maybe moving out West, the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming and I have sat around thinking about the logistics of moving all my largish stuff.

 

[Diamondpilot]

First off you will kill your payload with a 14K trailer. They weigh way too much. You would be at 4,000#. Get a 12K trailer, about 3,000#.

Forget the same hub BS. That has not worked in 20 years. 6K axles are 6/8 lug at 5.5" spacing. 7K axles are 8 lug at 5.5" spacing. Tundra's are 5 lug on 150mm spacing.

The brake controller is all what you want to spend. On my Titan I have the Prodigy P3. On my diesels I have better ones. The P3 is good for 90% of the guys out there. If towing once a month or so its the way to go. Towing more than that get a pressure activated one like Max Brake.

As for your hitch it will have ratings stamped on it. There is a good deal posted on here for OEM Nissan WD hitches. I have used these in the past. They will work on any truck, just marketed by Nissan.

Chris

 

[ManAtArms]

I used to have a 28' PJ GN and now have a PJ 20' 14k bumperpull. I frequently pull the M59 with my dually using the 20' bumperpull. Trailer and M59 probably weigh in at a combined 12-13k. I wouldn't recommend trying to pull that much weight with a 1/2 ton truck. Even with a weight distribution hitch, I think it's just too much weight...not to mention being able to stop!

HOWEVER, I personally like having options...so I would get a trailer capable of pulling the M in case you upgrade your truck one day! That would probably put you at something capable of a 9k-10k payload, so I think you will need a 14K trailer. My PJ weighs in at about 3500lbs...leaves me with about 10.5K payload capacity. If you go to a 12K trailer, your payload will drop down to 8-9K, so it might be pushing it with the M.

just my .02.

-mark

 

[boggen]

check your yellow pages for local trucking companies.

when i had the 555c loader backhoe ship from Missouri to Illinois. i think i paid 150 or 175. the dealer ship set everything up for me. the guy brought it out on a semi. talking to the driver, he said he is use to delivering tractors all over the place. and half the time has to unload the stuff himself. do to contractors not being at job site yet.

if ya just having tractors and implements hauled for ya. and if ya contacted a given trucking company, they might make a better deal for ya, if it required a couple trucks or trailers. to get everything to other place in one haul and allowing the drivers, to unload / load things up. without much hassle. or without you even being at either location.

it depends on what trucking companies have. some companies have ramps on front of the trailers, while others just the rear. meaning possibilty to load equipment on the rear, of a trailer, and then drive tractor up on trailer. hook up semi and take off. allowing the drivers to unload / load the stuff.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

I think in VA it is illegal to tow a trailer that had a GVWR bigger than the tow rating of your truck. Even if it's empty...