Which Gooseneck Trailer?

[RedNeckRacin]

Charlie, how long of a trailer are you looking at? The dealer I bought my trailer from didn't think I needed it for a 20+5 trailer and for the most part I agree, If I was going over 25' of main deck (minus the tail), I'd seriously consider it. IF you ever get into a situation where you would be hauling off balanced loads, I'd def opt for it.

 

[Xfaxman]

Apparently no one has any knowledge or opinions on a torque tube, I was hoping for some info as I am probably going to order a trailer tomorrow, and I know very little about them, anyhow thank's for all the replies. Charlie.

Right, no experience with the center tube construction.

My trailer is just over 9 years old, 18' plus the 4' dovetail, faded but not twisted. :thumbsup:

 

[bdog]

Unless your trailer is over 25' long I don't think a torque tube does anything but add weight. I have never has a trailer with one and I have had a lot of trailers in the 20-30' range.

If you look at big Tex for example which is arguably one of the nations largest trailer manufacturers they build trailers under 28' without the tube and over 28' have it. When you look at these 40' long 10 ton trailers there has to be some crazy twisting forces at work.

If you are getting a 20+5 or a 25+5 I wouldn't worry about the tube.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I'm probably going to order a Gatormade trailer, they have a Workhorse series that is not quite as fancy as their top of the line but still well built with the main frame being built out of 14" I beam and it does not come standard with a torque tube, I am also going with the tandem 10k super single axles with 17.5 tires and the length will be 25 plus 5 for a total of 30' of deck with the mega ramps layed down flat, so if something doesn't change my mind I'm ordering in the morning, thank you all for the advice and opinions. Charlie.

 

[bdog]

I know you said you have a CDL but what are you going to be hauling on it?

Are you a carrier or do you have the CDL for your work? Reason I ask is unless you qualify for some type of ag exemption you will need to go all the way with the DOT stuff on that trailer. Really in the eyes of the law it is no different than an 18 wheeler meaning unless you fall into a loophole you are going to have a ton of red tape to go through.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I know you said you have a CDL but what are you going to be hauling on it?

Are you a carrier or do you have the CDL for your work? Reason I ask is unless you qualify for some type of ag exemption you will need to go all the way with the DOT stuff on that trailer. Really in the eyes of the law it is no different than an 18 wheeler meaning unless you fall into a loophole you are going to have a ton of red tape to go through.

Apparently none of that goes on down here, everybody and there brother has big gooseneck trailers and most don't even have a CDL, but I do have a farm and will be using it on the farm some, it is probably more trailer than I need tonnage wise but I think the length will be just right, and it should be stout enough to haul anything I ever need to.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

I know you said you have a CDL but what are you going to be hauling on it?

Are you a carrier or do you have the CDL for your work? Reason I ask is unless you qualify for some type of ag exemption you will need to go all the way with the DOT stuff on that trailer. Really in the eyes of the law it is no different than an 18 wheeler meaning unless you fall into a loophole you are going to have a ton of red tape to go through.

I think that is only true if you are not hauling your own stuff....IE for "profit" which could mean ANY compensation.

 

[ovrszd]

While I don't have a trailer with duel tires right now, I've pulled quite a few of them and can say the difference is significant in how well they pull. Just like going from a single axle to a double, going to duel tires is even more stable. There is nothing I hate more when pulling a trailer then having it wobble, or move from side to side from wind, or bad roads.

I agree. And an extra plus is a blowout, since everyone is talking about that. I've blown a tire on my dual trailer. I drove an additional 6 miles to the next exit and then stopped to put on the spare. You are not going to do that with singles.

 

[bdog]

Oh I agree 100% you can never have too much trailer as long as you are good to haul it legally which is pretty easy to accomplish with ag exemptions. I was at a trailer dealership a few weeks ago and they had a one week old used trailer for sale. It was a tandem dual gooseneck a guy bought to haul his skid steer and construction materials on. Evidently the second day he had it the dot popped him and he found it easier and less costly to trade it in at a loss and get something smaller than do everything required to be compliant. I just didn't want you to be that guy.

I have a CDL, dot number, mc number, interstate operating authority, etc. We have two pickups hauling goosenecks, a peterbilt tractor trailer, and a tandem dump truck. I probably spend close to 10k a year on the required insurance, various fees, registrations, inspections, drug testing programs, etc. It also takes a ton of time dealing with it all.

As to the 17.5's I love them. I have not replaced tandem duals with them as singles but I put them on my 14k trailers just as an added safety margin. They seem to last forever and blowouts are a thing of the past.

Keep in mind with a 3/4 ton tow vehicle you are going to be pretty limited on what you can haul on a tandem dual without overloading the rear axle and tires on the pickup. Every time the DOT has stopped me they weigh each axle and make sure we are under each axle rating and tire ratings. I don't know exactly what your truck is rated at but I am guessing the rear axle rating is somewhere around 6500lb and it probably has over 4000 on it empty which doesn't leave you much room for pin weight on a heavy duty trailer.

Just last week I ran up to Missouri from Texas and back. I saw five DOT guys with people pulled over during my trip. One had a 18 wheeler the other four had pickups pulling tandem duals. The dot knows that most semis are legal and that the vast majority of gooseneck guys just hook on and go and it is an easy revenue stream for them.

 

[Dieseljeeper]

I have a Gatormade GN 20' + 5' deck over. It weighs 5700# and grosses at 16000#. I have a Ferguson To-35 with a Howse 5' bush hog, front end loader, and loaded tires. I tow with a 2012 Ford F-350 ccsb 4x4 6.7l diesel srw. The total combined weight full of fuel is 21750#. You won't win any drag races but it handles it easily. The reason I went with Gatormade was the ramp design. I previously owned another brand with a torque tube and fixed positioned ridged ramps. The ramps were 8' long and hinged at the outside edges of the trailer. They were super heavy, and half the time were in the wrong place to load what we were hauling. The other thing that presented itself was the ramps chasing me across any kind surface other than concrete or pavement. Why did we buy that rig in the first place? It was the cheapest one we could find. The suck age lasted WAY past the savings