Advice on bad truck and trailer turning radius

[DJ54]

What about a Super Hitch, and a set of Timbrens?
I've copied the design of the Super Hitch for a friend, because his camper hangs over the bumper too far for his horse trailer.

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WOW..!! I like that hitch..!! Any certain reason you used the round tubing, versus square..?? A single tube version would look great on my Dodge Dually..!!

 

[Soundguy]

Yes, but is your F350 a pickup body? He has a flatbed that is almost 8ft wide and who knows how long. Goosenecks don't work well on long flatbed truck bodies with a lot of span from the axle to the end of the body unless you have them built with a special neck.

can't have yer cake and eat it too. it's all a trade off.

if you need a loooooon flatbed, then you need a special neck GN.. or you are STUCK with the cruddy maneuverability of a bumper pull / tag... unless you fab up an extended hitch mount or tounge.. at which point.. you have a pretty long lever there, and loading on the trailer becomes MUCH more important than normal.

soundguy

 

[Shield Arc]

Any certain reason you used the round tubing, versus square..??

That's what was in the scrap pile:laughing:. Been so long now, but I think the pipe is 4-inch sch 80.

The bottom square tube is for telescoping tie downs for his camper.

 

[Case485Guy]

I recently bought a 97' F-350 dually for hauling trailers (all of them ball type) with and although I love driving the truck I have a problem when it comes to backing up trailers.

The truck is a flat deck and when I back up and have to turn the trailer to park in a stall the turning radius is so small that unless I can back up straight or at very very slight angles the trailer will hit the deck of the truck.

Is there anything I can do to make it so I can make tighter turns with the truck and trailer?

I use the Reese straight line dual cam sway control and weight distribution on all my trailers, I have tried a 24" receiver extension and although it solves the problem it puts way too much weight on the back of the truck and affects handling drastically.

I had the same trouble back when I was hotshotting, alot of the trailers I hauled for customers would hit the flatbed corners in a sharp turn. I bought a hitch like pictured in the link. It was well worth the money and have used it for 6 plus years now. Being fully adjustable is a nice feature that I have gotten spoiled too.
Adjustable Tri-Ball Hitch

 

[crazyal]

If I'm not mistaken you said that you use a weight distribution hitch, if so I would just get an extension for the receiver. I would make sure that the bumper/ hitch is a nice heavy duty one, it looks it. If you can weld it would be real easy to pick up some 2" square solid bar and then a couple of 1/4" wall tubes one slid over the bar then the second slid over the first tube.

 

[DJ54]

That's what was in the scrap pile:laughing:. Been so long now, but I think the pipe is 4-inch sch 80.

The bottom square tube is for telescoping tie downs for his camper.

Understand the scrap pile piece :thumbsup:

Checked out those superhitches, and kinda' disappointed they are only good for 1700 lb tongue weight.

 

[corey9212]

Is your hitch welded to the flatbed or is it bolted to the frame? I was wondering if there was a welding shop, or if your handy with a welder, build a custom hitch. The downside to that may be the hitch sticking out too far giving you a nice place to bang up your legs. I'm at a loss on this one...

It is welded to the flatbed.

You seem to have analyzed the problem pretty well here. The flatbed is much wider than a regular pickup. The only solutions I see are to narrow the back corners of the flatbed by cutting them on a 45 (this will take some fabrication work). Your taillights look like standard lights which could be easily remounted to a new bracket under the bed or move the hitch further back. Any good welder could cut out your hitch and weld in a new one say a foot or so longer. I don't see how that would put more that much down pressure on the back end of the truck thereby taking weight off the front. Just readjust the WD bar tension accordingly.
Another solution would be to lose the flatbed and install a narrower dually pickup bed.

I have been doing a ton of research pulling my hair out before I posted on here. I took it to a hitch specialty place and they said the same thing, that I have to cut the edges off and they even said 45 degrees. I measured the back of that truck and the back of a regular box and there would be 12.5" taken off of each corner to make it the same width. Tomorrow I'm going in to get a quote on what it would cost cause I am absolutely horrible with a torch and make huge messes, lol. They thought about a new/ longer hitch but upon further inspection found out the frame was extended 1' and they didn't want to risk welding a hitch onto that extension and putting more stress on the frame's extension.

I've been looking for a regular dually pickup bed but couldn't find one anywhere around here that would fit on this truck.

 

[corey9212]

You really have two interrelated problems here, the interference with the trailer and the weight distribution on the truck. The interference issue can only be solved by narrowing the body or extending the hitch. If extending the hitch causes a weight shift problem it may be that the body is just too long for the truck's wheelbase and cab-to-axle dimensions. If it can't be corrected by adjusting or changing the WD bars, then you really have no choice but to either narrow the body and don't extend the hitch, or shorten the body and use a hitch extension. Even if you could crank up the WD bars you may then end up with less than 10% on the hitch and the trailer may not tow properly.

It's hard to tell from the pics if it's a regular cab or extra/crew cab truck, but any extra cab length will make the situation worse since the hitch weight is getting further away from the front axle. Most of these 1-ton duallys work best with at most a 12 ft body, and then only in the long wheelbase version. I have a feeling this truck has significant overhang beyond the end of the factory frame. My 1-ton flatbeds have about 18" overhang and in my opinion that's about the limit unless you have the option of loading the truck light in the rear.

The truck is a crew cab and the whole truck is 21' 2" long, the deck is 8' 11" long and 7' 10" wide. (and yes I prefer to drive this truck than my newer an fancier 2500, lol)

that's why I don't use bumper pulls unless I have to.. GN turn much better. I have no problem backing my gn and 99 f350 drw vehicle.. etc. ( as far as maneuvering..e tc.. .. truck turn radius is what it is.. etc.. )

I always said next trailer will be fifth wheel or goose neck.

Yes, but is your F350 a pickup body? He has a flatbed that is almost 8ft wide and who knows how long. Goosenecks don't work well on long flatbed truck bodies with a lot of span from the axle to the end of the body unless you have them built with a special neck.

Yes my F350 is a pickup body, I checked the VIN and it did come out of the factory with a long box.

 

[corey9212]

What about a Super Hitch, and a set of Timbrens?
I've copied the design of the Super Hitch for a friend, because his camper hangs over the bumper too far for his horse trailer.

Torklift.com | Home of Torklift International

Timbren's Lifetime Product Guarantee

That is a sweet looking hitch forsure

can't have yer cake and eat it too. it's all a trade off.

if you need a loooooon flatbed, then you need a special neck GN.. or you are STUCK with the cruddy maneuverability of a bumper pull / tag... unless you fab up an extended hitch mount or tounge.. at which point.. you have a pretty long lever there, and loading on the trailer becomes MUCH more important than normal.

soundguy

I didn't need a long flatbed it's what came with the truck (was the only truck I could afford at the time and the price was right) I knew the guy I bought it from and he used it to haul MASSIVE farm equipment (discs, seeders, rollers, ground movers, ect.) he had no problems with it so I jumped at it when it was for sale, I'd throw a long box on it if I could find one that fit (1997 F350 5.8 with dual tanks.)

If I'm not mistaken you said that you use a weight distribution hitch, if so I would just get an extension for the receiver. I would make sure that the bumper/ hitch is a nice heavy duty one, it looks it. If you can weld it would be real easy to pick up some 2" square solid bar and then a couple of 1/4" wall tubes one slid over the bar then the second slid over the first tube.

Yes I use the Reese straight line for the big trailer and another kind for the other trailers. I tried the receiver extension which would work but they are rated for max 3500lb trailers and when used reduces your main receiver by 50% which for me means my 10,000lb receiver is now a 5000lb receiver pulling 8000lbs+ The hitch place is concerned cause the back of the deck acts as a pivot point for the receiver and it might not handle the extra receiver length (even though it's welded up pretty securely behind it.)

 

[Shield Arc]

Checked out those superhitches, and kinda' disappointed they are only good for 1700 lb tongue weight.

I've never read their information, all I needed was to see the picture to be able to copy the design. Who knows what kind of safety factor they use, 3 to 1, 5 to 1? My buddy tested his soon as he got home, hooked up his flatbed bumper pull, backed his L3200 tractor with 1.200 pound counterweight on the 3-point to the front of the trailer, and bounced the counterweight! Been going strong for 6 or 7 years now.