Bumbles Bounce Don'tcha know..

[FJCRAWLER]

I will do a little research and see how much the frame changed from 97 to 06 and let you know.

Any good recommendations on where to look for a trailer? I haven't ever looked for something like this and want to make sure I get a good one. I am looking in the 20' flat + 5' dovetail range (25' +/-) deckover with a load range of 14k-17k. I have looked at one that SLE has and I also looked at the Kaufman website, but I really don't have any idea what I should or should not be looking for.

Want to be able to carry the rig and haul the tractor if I need to.

Anyway, thanks for the offer and I will let you know what I find about the frames.

B.J. Trailers
Phone: (615)444-8794 or Toll Free: (866)532-1176
5940 Highway 109 North, Lebanon, Tennessee 37087

I was getting ready to buy an enclosed goose neck trailer right before cancer came into our life. This was 3 years ago so at that time they had the best prices around. Anyway it's somewhere to start.

 

[tgreco]

Sounds like you have no excuses now! Bring the Zuk if the pig won’t fit on the trailer. Weather is perfect for wheeling!

 

[Elbert]

On the trailer thing

There are a couple of trailer places down near me (but thats in AL) so might not be in your shopping zone. Lone Wolf is one and the other is Lawrimore. Do a google search for "trailers, Falkville, AL" I have a bumper pull from Lawrimore. Falkville is just north of me...I'm in Cullman. What I have is a dual axle metal deck, capacity about 7.5K, tows great, I've never had an issue with it. I do plan to add two tie down points farther inboard from the rear of the trailer so I can get a better pull down angle on the rear of the truck. I've never had stuff move around but I think its better to have more direct pull strait down to the deck (as best as you can, to secure the truck riding on on the trailer, not that its a direct pull down to the deck, rather it could be, but trying to avoid having the truck rear axle sitting 6 feet from the tie down point which may be at the rear most end of the trailer.

For me, what I have rides good, I don't have to watch the trailer or feel the need to watch it, It tracks well and rides well. None of that shimmy BS or vibration etc and I run an adjustable "normal" hitch not WD. Something marginal becomes a royal pain in the rear on trips or towing because you never know what its going to do or act. I for one hate road repairs so I do what I can to avoid that.

A few things I would want....HD axles as large as you think you would ever need (weight capacity), better tires than the china stuff, marker lights on the fenders so you can tell where you are at night, tie down options on the deck that suit what you will haul or more than just 4...not just stake pockets, but d-rings on the deck or similar, a ramp setup that will not kill you in weight having to deal with it, good HD cable setup for the lights etc and LED lights everywhere, Ability to have two spares mounted on the trailer, Some simple way that works to have a small tool box mounted to hold straps / gear. Of course brakes on both axles. ensure safety chain setup is not a joke.

Drive the empty trailer to see how much noise it makes, and they can make a lot, depending on the ramps. I get tired of hearing that, understanding that somethings are just as they are, but might be worth to understand whats out there and if you want to listen to chains and metal parts rattle around on every bump.

 

[jynx]

Erin has kind of thrown a little kink in the mix. She is kicking around putting a small camper on the front. Likely a light pop-up style. But that does add to the overall length. I was looking at a 25 (20+5) in the 14k-17k range, but the addition of a camper is going to mean I need to add 6'-8' to the overall length. You get out there in the 30'+ range and you end up with 3 axles and a 22,500 # trailer. All good, except the damn trailer gets heavy. The rig is going to come in around 5,500 +/-, trailer at 6k or so and a small camper at 1,200 +/- puts the load at close to 13k#, truck weighs around 6,500 +/- and that puts me on the edge of what the Ford is rated for gcwr with 4.10 axles.

All that is assumed, but it still may be tight. I mean 3 people and a weekends worth of gear and your right there. I got to be mindful of all that. I'd like a 30' unit that was around 17k load range with single tandems and a 17.5 tire. Going to have to keep my eyes open and see what I can find out there. I like the camper idea, but for now a rtt on the tongue may be where we land. Well just have to see.

 

[Elbert]

you might exceed your towing capacity of the truck you have now...potentially. Anyway my trailer weights 3K empty as it sits now, based on crossing the scale with it. Many of the goose-neck or 5th wheel type trailers weight 5K or more as you noted, and thats empty. I like the red-neck setup where they take a pickup bed camper and mount that to the front deck of a goose-neck or 5th wheel style trailer and then use the remaining deck for hauling. I dont' recall for sure but I think my trailer is 20ft offhand.

My personal view is that you max out towing with a gas engine around 12k total trailer weight and I'm simply saying that from a weight to power ratio...kind of thing...purely on that. Truck might tow more than that technically but its going to be a slow painful run, also gas engine has no exhaust / turbo brake / compression brake... significant weight is going to be a problem on long descents. Downshifting an automatic only does so much in controlling down-hill speed when loaded heavy.

you might want to borrow a trailer that can haul rather heavy and see how your truck does (max the weight based on truck rating and see what happens) because weight is weight even though a goose neck rating is higher than a bumper pull, the truck is still pulling X in weight (stopping, handling, accelerating..etc). Find some long descents and curvey downhills and climbs and see how the upholstery does regarding the ability to control your speed climbing, controlling the speed descending and surprise stops in all situations. While running the posted speed limit, without coming down to a crawl.

I have a 2500 crew-cab with 4.10 GM pickup 6.0 gas engine. My ball park idea is that I want the truck / trailer combination in full max capacity to run the speed limit and be able to stop and handle and when the place gets hilly I want to be able to run the speed limit up and down the hills and control that speed (without being stupid). My trailer as an example weighs around 9K loaded +-. mated to my truck with other stuff....in it, I tend to believe I would want a diesel if I went past 12K in towed weight (without addressing tongue weight or bed capacity)....just looking at raw towed weight. I want to run within the rated capacity and be able as noted to stop safely and maintain adequate speed. I run the posted limit on the hwy or maybe a little faster. I slow down on the back roads. getting that sweet spot of adequate braking and ability to maintain speed either in descent or climbing appears to me to be for gas engines around 12K with respect to the loaded trailer, if within the rating capacity of the truck. I belive offhand my truck is rated for 13K on bumper pull and that might also mean the truck might need to be nearly empty to do that (I dont' recall the other weight capacity ratings offhand (bed capacity..etc). For what I do I'm within my capacity after running the loaded truck across the scales and checking the other elements and not exceeded the total capacty of the loaded truck + load trailer. things are relative...but my experience seems to point to 12K or less... loaded trailer weight to be an approx. magic number for gas powered trucks. Going heavier in my view equates to a slow painful experience (gas powered), and potentially might be a safety issue on the ablity to stop and overall control your speed.

I like to have a painless towing experience and not have a lot of stress in the game, wondering how I'm going to stop or even if I'll be able to stop, or can I keep up with normal traffic flow for the conditions relative to what I'm towing or control my speed on the downhill side.

test runs with a loaded heavy trailer might shine the light on the difference between ratings on paper and power-braking ability in reality. I would test first and see if you get surprised with max weighed trailer based on your trucks appropriate tow rating.

 

[FJCRAWLER]

@jynx the weight was my concern as well. That’s why I was looking at an enclosed goose neck. If you are only wanting to put a pop up on it I believe an enclosed will suite your needs and wants. You can add a roof top a/c unit and set up the inside the way you want with the things you need. The area over the hitch makes a very nice bedroom. Just make sure you get a trailer with (I think) seven foot opening. It been a couple of days sense I was looking at these. But for me it was the best option and you still can use it to haul other stuff as well. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[jynx]

@FJCRAWLER thanks Rocky. This PIG is soo wide, I will have to check to overall out-to-out on the front axle to see what it is, but I know I had to crawl over the fenders to get the front on and the rears were wedged perfectly in between them, so I am afraid that I am going to need the 102" that a deckover would afford to fit the WarPig's Fat A. I hadn't been too worried about it before because with just the trailer, rig and a tent I wouldn't be too bad, but when you add a camper, you have to add length and in addition to the weight of the camper, now your adding weight of the extra trailer length, so now it is something that I am having to look at more closely. We'll just have to see where it lands.

 

[oldredfj60]

What about putting the RTT on a bed rack on the truck? That's my set up and it works well for me.....

@FJCRAWLER thanks Rocky. This PIG is soo wide, I will have to check to overall out-to-out on the front axle to see what it is, but I know I had to crawl over the fenders to get the front on and the rears were wedged perfectly in between them, so I am afraid that I am going to need the 102" that a deckover would afford to fit the WarPig's Fat A. I hadn't been too worried about it before because with just the trailer, rig and a tent I wouldn't be too bad, but when you add a camper, you have to add length and in addition to the weight of the camper, now your adding weight of the extra trailer length, so now it is something that I am having to look at more closely. We'll just have to see where it lands.

 

[jynx]

What about putting the RTT on a bed rack on the truck? That's my set up and it works well for me.....

You talking about in the neck of the goose, or on the bed of the truck? I'm looking at going with a gooseneck because I want to be able to haul the tractor on it if need be. I have considered putting an rtt on the gooseneck and rolling with that. Who knows where I'll end up. Still real early in this process.

 

[oldredfj60]

Ahhh. I was thinking bumper pull. Gooseneck seems overkill with a gas V8, but understood.

You talking about in the neck of the goose, or on the bed of the truck? I'm looking at going with a gooseneck because I want to be able to haul the tractor on it if need be. I have considered putting an rtt on the gooseneck and rolling with that. Who knows where I'll end up. Still real early in this process.

 

[jynx]

I have confidence in the old f250 for what my purposes are. I don't tow heavy often enough to justify the cost of a diesel. But I would like the ability to tow the tractor on occasion.

 

[Hugh Heifer]

I have a trailer connection in Chatsworth, GA also.

 

[jynx]

I have a trailer connection in Chatsworth, GA also.

I'd welcome any input. Someone you think I could just talk to about what I'm looking for and would give me a honest answer, not just try to sell me? Cause I just might drive the 2.5 hours to buy from a guy who i feel is shooting me straight.

 

[Elbert]

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Pasted below from one of the FORD related web sites. F250 1997

GCWR
3.55 - 16,000
4.10 - 20,000

TRAILER

The maximum loaded trailer weight for all F-250 HD cab/drive system configurations is 10,000.

FIFTH WHEEL

The maximum loaded trailer weight for all F-250 HDs with 4.10 axle ratio is 12,500.

The maximum loaded trailer weight for F-250 HDs with 3.55 axle ratio depends on the cab/drive system configuration.

Regular Cab
F-250 HD 4x2 - 10,500
F-250 HD 4x4 - 10,100

SuperCab
F-250 HD 4x2 - 10,200
F-250 HD 4x4 - 9,800

*All numbers are for automatic transmission.

 

[Hugh Heifer]

I'd welcome any input. Someone you think I could just talk to about what I'm looking for and would give me a honest answer, not just try to sell me? Cause I just might drive the 2.5 hours to buy from a guy who i feel is shooting me straight.

Absolutely. I will PM his info. He sold trailers for a while but found something that made more money so now he will get trailers for folks on referal to make a few bucks but can usually undercut anyone because he does not need the profits for his business model.

 

[jynx]

22+5 deckover being built by BJs on 109. 7k dexter axles, chain box, Max ramps, dual jacks, deck on neck for mounting the RTT and it will be Kioti orange because they are apparently making trailers for the local dealerships and I wanted something other than black.

Basically this one with a 2' longer flat and dark orange.

Should be ready for pickup in late January.

 

[FJCRAWLER]

I’m glad they met your needs. Really good people. Have any trouble on SR109?

 

[jynx]

I’m glad they met your needs. Really good people. Have any trouble on SR109?

Yeah, I looked at a few and even though there is a little lead, im not in a huge hurry and we were able to get it exactly the way we wanted. And yeah, they seem like nice folks, I've bought a few misc parts from them in the past.

And 109 wasn't too bad, they've got a lot of it open on a 3 lane section now and looks like they are close to being ready to do the final lifts, which you probably already know. But things were moving pretty good.

 

[jynx]

B&W hitch shipped today. ARP header studs shipped today. Bumble is headed to Mill Creek for header install this week, then hitch installation. Trailer should be ready end of January. About to order springs and some other assorted D60 swap parts.

Doing prep, because we are hoping to show the WarPig off as often as we can this year.

 

[jynx]

Finally ordered a set of stock v-code superduty springs to use with my Sky RSK D60 swap.

I've got almost all the big parts that will be needed for the swap. Now I need to drill down on the axle rebuild parts. Thinking this will be a project for spring/summer if I can get everything in place.

Bumble is at the shop currently getting the headers installed. When I get'im back, I'll be ready to install my B&W hitch out back. Hopefully that will go down next weekend.