Gooseneck or bumper pull?
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Fordman1981
Platinum Member
I find that BP and gooseneck back easy. Backing a trailer takes practice. For anything over 10k you couldn't give me a BP. Length of the trailer makes little difference I think. I have a 24' enclosed BP and a 24' flatbed 14k the BP does fine at less then 10k but I much prefer a gooseneck for stability and better handling of the weight if over 10K.
LD1
Epic Contributor
And do the same thing with the same length BP and you can do it in a narrower area.
Out in the sticks where i live, roads arent always very wide, neither are peoples driveways. I park on the road alot with the GN when doing jobs that I would back in or pull in if still using my BP
Old Junk Man
Silver Member
When pulling any trailer you have to do whatever is necessary to get properly set up to make turns into tight places. if a driveway is iffy I wont try to turn in one on the blind side. I will go down the road and turn around hit it from the opposite direction. I drove a long Peterbuilt with a 48 ft end dump and most places aren't build for that combo. After driving that rig a half million miles. a Small truck and gooseneck is nothing.
RedNeckRacin
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I don't have a stoplight within 10 miles of me. The roads make no difference to me. If it's a two lane road, I'll stop and make someone go around me or make them pull off for me to get by. My international will out turn any pickup except a regular cab short bed truck I think. You still couldn't give me a BP for over 10k though. The more you practice backing up instead of saying it can't be done the more places it will fit.
schmism
Super Member
I think you have vastly underestimated the extra weight the GN will weigh.
from the PJ website.
a 24' bumper pull 6" channel 14K equipment trailer curb weight =3400lbs
a 22' "classic" GN 14K GN weighs 4720.
a 25' is 5100lbs
Thats 1300lbs more for a GN with the same dual 7K axles under it.
my personal .02 is always for bumper pull.
I will add some more. From 2008 to 2014 I had three bumper pull 14k trailers. All three weighed over 10k pounds and we towed them all across the U.S. Made trips from Texas to Michigan, Wyoming, Arizona, etc. probably a combined 100k miles on three of them. At the time our trucks (three f-250's) had stuff mounted in the beds that prohibited goosenecks. They work and will get the job done but I hated pulling them.
You have to be really careful loading them or they will sway badly if not balanced correctly. Too light in the front and look out. At the same time you have to be careful not to put too much weight on the hitch as it is at the very back of the truck and will make the front end light which is also unsafe. Most bumper pull hitches are not rated over 1000 lbs tongue weight and it is easy to go over that on a 14k trailer.
Since we changed our setup and went to goosenecks pulling the trailers is a dream. They don't road walk and are much more forgiving on how you load them. Just this past week I loaded my 16' dump trailer with about 12k pounds of dirt all the way at the back. If you put it too far forward the lift struggles so loading the back makes it easier to dump. Anyway I quite possibly had a negative tongue weight and I pulled it about five miles and it didn't whip around at all. I don't recommend loading a trailer this way but the point is they are much more forgiving.
I don't find them hard to back at all. They are different to back than a bumper pull but not hard once you get used to them. Maybe you can't back them in as tight of a spot as a bumper pull but it has never been an issue for me. They make all different kinds of trailers and different people like different ones. I have owned most of them over the years probably over 25 trailers in my life and I have found gooseneck to be superior.
It is kind of funny as I write this I am considering purchasing a Belshe pintle hitch trailer for my dump truck to be able to pull my backhoe. I guess you could call that a bumper pull but it is in a whole different class with a 20k rating and is specifically built for a backhoe.
You have to be really careful loading them or they will sway badly if not balanced correctly. Too light in the front and look out. At the same time you have to be careful not to put too much weight on the hitch as it is at the very back of the truck and will make the front end light which is also unsafe. Most bumper pull hitches are not rated over 1000 lbs tongue weight and it is easy to go over that on a 14k trailer.
Since we changed our setup and went to goosenecks pulling the trailers is a dream. They don't road walk and are much more forgiving on how you load them. Just this past week I loaded my 16' dump trailer with about 12k pounds of dirt all the way at the back. If you put it too far forward the lift struggles so loading the back makes it easier to dump. Anyway I quite possibly had a negative tongue weight and I pulled it about five miles and it didn't whip around at all. I don't recommend loading a trailer this way but the point is they are much more forgiving.
I don't find them hard to back at all. They are different to back than a bumper pull but not hard once you get used to them. Maybe you can't back them in as tight of a spot as a bumper pull but it has never been an issue for me. They make all different kinds of trailers and different people like different ones. I have owned most of them over the years probably over 25 trailers in my life and I have found gooseneck to be superior.
It is kind of funny as I write this I am considering purchasing a Belshe pintle hitch trailer for my dump truck to be able to pull my backhoe. I guess you could call that a bumper pull but it is in a whole different class with a 20k rating and is specifically built for a backhoe.
KevT
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This is an interesting thread. I have always had BP trailers, but looking at having a 20' stock trailer made and was going to go with GN. My reasoning was that everyone I see around here is and there must be a reason... :confused3: Everyone I talk to says GN's are easier to back and with my 4 door/8' bed F-250 being close to 20' having a 20' trailer puts 44' on the road. Presently I own a 6x10 utility, 7x18 FB (for hauling hay & tractor), a 6x? kayak hauler (18' kayaks), 7x24 camping and they are all BPs in which I have never had a problem backing anywhere. I also have a shell on my truck that I would have to lose if I go GN which would be okay if I had to. Now I am wondering if I want to stick with BP? Was also looking at buying a 25' transport which was going to be GN as well. Now I m really confused
I have only owned or hauled BP trailers, because they've been deals too good to pass up. I have messed the weight distribution up on the 18' dovetail, and got lucky to get out intact. The nice thing about GN is that they always are planting a share of the weight between the truck axles. In application they should be much more forgiving for varied loads and load configurations. I don't know that you can load a GN to lever up the rear truck axle the same way a BP can and start getting driven by the load (?).
If you're buying anyway, and keeping the car hauler, my .02 would be to listen to whatever got you thinking GN, and give yourself a different option. Heavy loads and bad roads can create some pretty dynamic weight moments when the load seriously outweighs the tow vehicle, which I'm guessing yours does.
I still shudder when I recall seeing the tractor darting in and out of each side of the rear view mirror after hitting a huge pothole on a steep sweeping corner. I'm lucky I live in the sticks, no one was on the road, and a friend had described his Dad's crash when the same thing happened some time earlier. I punched it, and was able to get enough pull to tug the tongue back down. The first instinct was to go for the truck brakes (didn't have one set up for the trailer--then!), which would have been a quick wreck. Very fortunate to get the education without incident.
If you're buying anyway, and keeping the car hauler, my .02 would be to listen to whatever got you thinking GN, and give yourself a different option. Heavy loads and bad roads can create some pretty dynamic weight moments when the load seriously outweighs the tow vehicle, which I'm guessing yours does.
I still shudder when I recall seeing the tractor darting in and out of each side of the rear view mirror after hitting a huge pothole on a steep sweeping corner. I'm lucky I live in the sticks, no one was on the road, and a friend had described his Dad's crash when the same thing happened some time earlier. I punched it, and was able to get enough pull to tug the tongue back down. The first instinct was to go for the truck brakes (didn't have one set up for the trailer--then!), which would have been a quick wreck. Very fortunate to get the education without incident.
Must vary by manufacturer a lot.
3100# BP
3400# GN
Page 04-01: 14K GN Top Tube Railing Tandem Axle Low Boy Equipment Trailer
