Trailer choice before I make a mistake

[jjeff]

Good comp.

 

[jjeff]

Gooseneck vs bumper pull...

They each have their place and pros and cons to both.

I haul a 8000 pound mini and an 8000 pound tractor (not at the same time).
Sometimes it's on my 25' GN, sometimes it's on a 22' 12k bumper pull.

I can take the bumper pull anywhere I take the GN. But I cannot take the GN everywhere I can take the BP. Narrow driveway approaches and county roads with a GN = high probability of crushing customers culverts.

I park on the road ALOT with the GN because it just won't go in narrow drives.

Honestly don't notice a difference in how they tow, by the truck is a dually. Just have to pay more attention on turns with the GN though.

Maybe it's a SRW thing....but I have never understood why so many claim a GN is so much better. I just haven't noticed an extreme difference

Truck manufacturers will print you can tow more with a gooseneck.

 

[LD1]

Truck manufacturers will print you can tow more with a gooseneck.

Never said they didn't. And it doesn't change anything I said.

You can fit a BP in places a GN simply won't go. They track the truck better. They are lighter. Most people probably already have a Reese hitch...but not everyone has a GN in their truck. And bumper pulls are cheaper.

Those are all benefits of a BP. But they have cons too. Can't jackknife them, more sensitive to tongue weight and load placement, and usually cannot tow as much with the same vehicle.

Like I said, pros and cons to both. But this really isn't a GN vs BP debate. I'm simply saying after having towed both, with the same equipment....there is little to no difference in how they "handle" like so many claim. 8k mini on a 22' 12k or even my 7x12 12k dump with no WD hitch behind a dually tows just as nice as if it were on my GN.

Maybe SRW is the difference?

 

[nikerret]

Maybe SRW is the difference?

I don’t think you’re hauling enough weight to notice a big difference. Especially, since you have a dually. If you put 20k+ behind you, with both types, I think you would notice more difference.

I do agree with what you said, in regard to gooseneck versus bumper pull accessibility.
In general, a gooseneck is easier to back into tight spaces, as long as you have room to jackknife it. The bumper pull/tag is easier to get into tight areas, moving forward.

 

[rickyb01]

Do certain manufacturers put their axle’s more forward of the trailer. Most of the gooseneck trailers I have seen on line have them more to the back.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Do certain manufacturers put their axle’s more forward of the trailer. Most of the gooseneck trailers I have seen on line have them more to the back.

Gooseneck has placement for 20%-25% of the trailer load to be placed on the tow vehicle.

Bumper pulls typically are designed to have 10%-12% of the trailer load weight to be placed on the tow vehicle.

That gives a Gooseneck a nice advantage in payload, a 4500 lb bare and 14k goose that moves 22% to the truck rear axle can legally have more payload than a 4100 lb bumper pull that gets 12% of the load onto the truck rear axle.

The goose or fifth always wins that fight.

 

[Egon]

"tow rating" is just a manufacturer suggestion. It's not law, it's not enforceable.

Similar to tractor manufacturers suggesting implement size. They suggest a max of 5' for a rear blade, that doesn't mean it won't handle a 6' just fine.

The people suggesting adding a dozen steps to your load and unload by unhooking, taking forks, side loading, etc are just crazy. Unless this is only a once or twice a year thing to a second property, it just isn't practical.

You do need a longer trailer though. Measure your machine from bucket to tailwheel. I'm betting it's over 25'.

Get a heavy and long enough trailer. Don't overload any rated capacities of tires, axles, hitch, etc and you will be fine. Just don't try and drag race up a 15% grade. Understand your trucks power limitations towing at capacity.

Whatever is on the specifications sticker on the door that refer to weight are legal restrictions.

 

[LD1]

Whatever is on the specifications sticker on the door that refer to weight are legal restrictions.

Yup. And there is nothing on the door sticker referencing and "tow rating".

Just front GAWR, rear GAWR and the total GVWR.

No reference at all to anything regarding towing.

Don't exceed any individual axle rating of truck or trailer, don't exceed any tire rating, and don't exceed any hitch rating and you are legal.

Don't try and pull a 12k or 14k trailer with a 10k hitch....or a cheap parts store insert with a ball rated for 6k.

 

[jjeff]

Off topic sidenote, from experience, if you use a pintle hitch get a dedicated one, not a pintle ball combo, a dedicated pintle takes a lot of the slop out of stopping and starting side to side movement, plus is much easier to hook up than a standard coupler when using heavy trailers.

 

[Cataclysm]

Lots of good information here. I'll add my experience of 45 years of towing. Get a GN. In your case a 22' GN and your truck will haul that tractor all day with no issues. While some have luck with bumper pulls and so have I at times, stay away from them if you can.

I started small with an Chevy LUV and an 8' bumper pull utility trailer with no brakes. Up to an F550 with a 20+5 GN with 20k on the deck. I am towing something at least 50% of the time.

A buddy has just went through all this with RV's. He had traded 3 trucks and 3 RV's because the bumper pulls leave him swaying down the road. Myself and another friend with similar towing experience to mine have told him from the start to get a 5th wheel. Not listening to the experience has cost him a ton of money.

Somebody above mentioned about the dually maybe working better with the bumper pulls. Generally speaking they do handle bumper pulls better. Duallys are better at resisting the polar moment of inertia that is more prominent with a bumper pull.

The GN trailer has a much bigger widow of success towing. They are not as sensitive to load/mass placement.