When to go gooseneck

[vsteel]

If you need the bed then go bumper pull.

Other than that I have been told if you tow occasionally go ahead and get a bumper pull, if you tow a lot then you should go gooseneck. I have a 12K trailer bumper pull and never had any issues towing with it. I have gone up to 10K (trailer and load combined) and pulled it from SD to ID and it did great. Though I only pull that far once a year or once every couple of years. So I don't do a lot of pulling and when I do most of it is local 20 mile type runs. I also normally am towing more about 6K total combined weight.

I would buy the trailer based on what you are going to do 90% of the time and just go slow and careful if you do haul your friends heavy tractor.

 

[fried1765]

Like civilian I need a cap which makes a gooseneck not practical.
I pull a 14k dump on a somewhat regular basis and have a large dually tandem equipment trailer that gets used less regularly. I'm not sure why people say 10k is the max they'd bumper pull, I prefer gooseneck for heavier loads as they are more tolerant of less then ideal weight distribution but I wouldn't shy away from a properly connected and loaded BP even at close to 20k on a pickup.

I have a 14K bumper pull equipment trailer that I tow with my K2500 4x4 Suburban (454-V-8).
I added the Air Lift suspension system to the Suburban, and use a 14K Equal-i-zer hitch.
The max receiver hitch available for the Suburban is 12K, so I limit my trailer gross to 12K.
It tows just great. Stopping is my only concern, and I do not tailgate.
I tow my (12K) loaded equipment trailer (Ford 3400 TLB), at highway speeds, up to 800 miles each year.

 

[Btown]

I have a 14K bumper pull equipment trailer that I tow with my K2500 4x4 Suburban (454-V-8).
I added the Air Lift suspension system to the Suburban, and use a 14K Equal-i-zer hitch.
The max receiver hitch available for the Suburban is 12K, so I limit my trailer gross to 12K.
It tows just great. Stopping is my only concern, and I do not tailgate.
I tow my (12K) loaded equipment trailer (Ford 3400 TLB), at highway speeds, up to 800 miles each year.

Just because the receiver is rated for 12K. Your Suburban is not rated to pull that. It is probably rated to pull 8K or so, so be careful. I'm not saying it is not capable of towing it. But if you get in an accident even if it's not your fault and the insurance companies get involved watch out. My 2001 F-250 super duty even the F-350's and dually super per the Ford manual sets max bumper pull at 10K.

 

[fried1765]

Just because the receiver is rated for 12K. Your Suburban is not rated to pull that. It is probably rated to pull 8K or so, so be careful. I'm not saying it is not capable of towing it. But if you get in an accident even if it's not your fault and the insurance companies get involved watch out. My 2001 F-250 super duty even the F-350's and dually super per the Ford manual sets max bumper pull at 10K. View attachment 518420View attachment 518421

I do understand that my Suburban may is not rated for towing 12K.
The trailer is not licensed commercially, and I only tow my personal play equipment.
I keep the brakes on both the K2500 Suburban, and trailer in first class condition.
My towing is usually limited to 500 miles per year, (or less), though as mentioned, I have actually done 800.
This year I expect to tow about 550 miles.
I am almost 77 years old, and at my age, am solidly in the category of: "I ain't gonna worry about it".

 

[bdog]

Here is a simple explanation. With a bumper pull trailer every pound on tongue weight reduces the weight on the front tires. If you pushed down hard enough on a bumper pull ball you could lift the front tires off the ground. Practically speaking that would not happen but you get the point. Heavy bumper pull trailers can make your front tires so light you can't maintain control. With a gooseneck the ball is ever so slightly in front of the rear axle. The bulk of the tongue weight goes on the rear axle but it also adds slightly to the front axle as well. This lets the vehicle maintain control. The more weight you have directly on the truck the more control the truck has over the trailer. The problem with bumper pull is you can't put much tongue weight or you exceed the hitch vertical load limit or make your front axle too light.

I have towed Pintle hitch trailers behind a pickup that weighed nearly 20k. It is doable but not safe. I think 10k is a pretty good rule of thumb to where you want to switch to a gooseneck though I have pulled bumper pull trailers weighing 12-14k thousands of miles. Had some close calls and feel much safer with a gooseneck. All my trailers now are gooseneck except my boat and BBQ pit.

Another huge plus to a gooseneck is the borrowing factor as already mentioned. I have a lot of trailers and anytime anyone I know needs to move, or move a car, or haul building materials they call me asking to borrow one. Everybody has a bumper hitch. None of them have had a gooseneck hitch. I can easily tell them sorry don't have one.

 

[Monster5601]

Another huge plus to a gooseneck is the borrowing factor as already mentioned. I have a lot of trailers and anytime anyone I know needs to move, or move a car, or haul building materials they call me asking to borrow one. Everybody has a bumper hitch. None of them have had a gooseneck hitch. I can easily tell them sorry don't have one.

Amen!

I recently added a dump trailer to my collection and when I was on the trailer dealer's lot, they had both the GN and BP in a 16-foot dump. I didn't really have a preference based on usage and I am equipped to pull either, tractor included. Even though the GN was about $1,700 more, the wife and I decided to get the GN because no one is going to ask to borrow it. Don't get me wrong, I'm a friendly neighbor willing to help anyone with anything but it just seems I get burned sometimes when I lend equipment and that includes immediate family.

The addition storage on the top of the goose neck frame is a bonus too.

 

[fried1765]

Here is a simple explanation. With a bumper pull trailer every pound on tongue weight reduces the weight on the front tires. If you pushed down hard enough on a bumper pull ball you could lift the front tires off the ground. Practically speaking that would not happen but you get the point. Heavy bumper pull trailers can make your front tires so light you can't maintain control. With a gooseneck the ball is ever so slightly in front of the rear axle. The bulk of the tongue weight goes on the rear axle but it also adds slightly to the front axle as well. This lets the vehicle maintain control. The more weight you have directly on the truck the more control the truck has over the trailer. The problem with bumper pull is you can't put much tongue weight or you exceed the hitch vertical load limit or make your front axle too light.

I have towed Pintle hitch trailers behind a pickup that weighed nearly 20k. It is doable but not safe. I think 10k is a pretty good rule of thumb to where you want to switch to a gooseneck though I have pulled bumper pull trailers weighing 12-14k thousands of miles. Had some close calls and feel much safer with a gooseneck. All my trailers now are gooseneck except my boat and BBQ pit.

Another huge plus to a gooseneck is the borrowing factor as already mentioned. I have a lot of trailers and anytime anyone I know needs to move, or move a car, or haul building materials they call me asking to borrow one. Everybody has a bumper hitch. None of them have had a gooseneck hitch. I can easily tell them sorry don't have one.

I have had a GN in the past and totally agree that they are the best/safest.
I no longer have a pickup, so I must use a bumper pull.
If anyone can explain how I could use a GN with my K2500 Suburban.....I am listening.

 

[bdog]

I have had a GN in the past and totally agree that they are the best/safest.
I no longer have a pickup, so I must use a bumper pull.
If anyone can explain how I could use a GN with my K2500 Suburban.....I am listening.

Do you have a cutting torch?

 

[Btown]

You don't need a torch, just a 12" drop hitch. Turn it up and put a 2 5/16" ball on it.

 

[ovrszd]

Air brakes have nothing to do with safety chains on semi's. As mentioned before, it is the strength of the kingpin and properly adjusted fifth wheel jaws. If you ever watched Highway from **** when they were trying to disconnect a tractor and trailer in a bad way, that connection can be tough to seperate. Real life and not some TV show, that is exactly how it is.

If you saw a trailer seperate it was because as I said the fifth wheel jaws were not properly adjusted and/or the driver never crawled under the trailer and looked to see if it was properly secured. In addition to that, the driver still needs to test that connection.

FWIW, the tow dollys or jiffster's on a set of doubles do have safety chains that need to be connected to the lead pup. That is in addition to really heavy duty pintle hitches. The tow dolly of course has a fifth wheel so now the driver needs to crawl under two trailers. When I ran doubles, I did see them dropped on occasion. Some of the dolly configurations were shall we say seemed to be more prone (the ones with a high saddle for those of you whom have had the pleasure) so you had to be extra careful. I always did a figure eight in the lot before I ever pulled onto the main road. Trust me, making and breaking four sets a night gets old.

There are a couple of negatives with goosenecks. Though more of an issue with an older tow vehicle as in a lot less torque is that they do pull a little heavier. If you can, before you pull the trigger, hook the trailer up and see how it handles. Some combinations will cause "cab slap". That is a motion where as the seat back seems to be nudging you sometimes pretty roughly. On a dovetail or a beaver tail, watch the clearance between the rear frame and the road. Depending on your area of operation, you could be dragging a bit. Lastly, don't be jacking that trailer around anymore or faster than necessary. You can roll the tires right off of the rims.

The GN world tries to duplicate the Air Brake scenario by having a battery powered brake lock that is activated if the trailer separates from the tow vehicle. That's the best solution to a separation.

Doubles tow dollies use safety chains because the pintle hitch simply isn't as strong as the fifth wheel pin. An attempt to contain the "crash" is as small area as possible.

"cab slap" on a GN is caused by not having the weight centered properly on the trailer. Even something so simple as changing the tow vehicle can require a load adjustment as well to avoid this. A few inches of weight change fore/aft on a GN trailer can change the quality of the pull dramatically.

Properly inflated tires will not roll off the rims. On single tire tandem axle trailers you may bend or destroy the spindles/axles.

Everyone's scenario is different and requires different loading methods. Practice makes perfect.