Goose neck/5th wheel trailers

[Gus]

I've been looking around for something in the 24 to 28' range, preferably dovetail, around 10K + capacity, something loosly like the one in the pic. What are those of you with similar set ups using, length, load capacity, name brand, etc? Any advise is much appreciated.

 

[Wolfman]

Check out auto rv .com you can buy a trailer in indiana from the mfg at almost cost. I have a f350 crew cab 4x4,powerstroke,dually,lariat, I pull a 30 ft fifth wheel camper with it the ease of the fifth wheel will pay for itself in convience, for the hitch check out jcwhitney.com, if you install the fifth wheel you can get the adaptor for the gooseneck for about 180.00. My truck has a removeable ball gooseneck hitch it was in there when I bought it, I installed a reese 18k fifth wheel hitch also. Dont be cheap when you buy the brake controller either. The fifty dollar ones are useless. When looking into a fifth wheel hitch get a dual pivioting one so off camber hook ups are a breeze. Every gooseneck I have ever towed was a pain in the ass to hitch and un hitch. When I want to haul something I pull 4 pins and out the hitch comes. Send me a pm and ill send some pics. We had a mishap recently on the way back from wisconsion dells a guy sideswiped me with the trailer at 65mph we went off the side of the road and recovered the munchkins in the carseats slept thru it , It scares me to think what would have happened with a straight trailer.

 

[Niner]

If your lookig for a open deck trailer, try to get a drop deck. The extra wind of a over the wheel trailer will kill your gas, and make it pull much harder.

 

[Gus]

Thanks for the input guys, you braught up a few issues I hadn't completely thaught of yet; a lot of good stuff.

 

[sleeoffroad]

I just had a 30ft low boy car hauler made. Three 7k axles (8 lug) with brakes on each. It has a open center with steel runners where the tires go. Dove tail with stow away ramps.

I am really happy. It weighs about 4200 lbs. Before I had a all steel deck 36ft trailer that weighed about 6500 lbs. It was a lot of trailer to lug around. The weight savings on the new one was well worth it.

I would get a low boy with drive over fenders. The lower center of gravity makes a big difference.

I had the trailer custom built in OK and had the whole think powdercoated. I will takes pics tomorrow.

Here is a picture of the old setup. The POS Ford is gone too.

 

[haystax]

The trade-off for the open fender vs deck over wheels is deck width. What are you planning to haul? That should be where you start, if you just want to haul vehicles, Christo's setup seems ideal.

I personally don't care for those trailers because most equipment I haul won't fit between the wheelwells of the trailer. What about dual tandems vs straight axles? I would prefer a triple 7k torsion axle trailer to a dual tandem setup just for ease of maintenance and tire costs. 10K isn't much weight for a goosneck trailer, dual single wheel 7K torsion axles sound like the ideal setup to look for.

We have an older dual tandem Goosneck brand trailer with wood deck and full foldout beavertail. It is a heavy bastard that is too heavy for almost everything and too light to haul our Cat V180 forklifts, really was designed to be pulled by a class 7 truck but out 1 ton Fords handle it okay.

Other trailer is a 24' Featherlite STL 3 axle. That is a great trailer, pulls like a dream and is very handy for almost all hauling. Will handle a Case 580 backhoe or smaller tractor w/o calcium filled tires. Don't know the exact weight specs but I think it is like 20K. It has the convertible beavertail and stowable ramps, much lighter than the ramp setup on our other trailer. Also lets you load on the slant deck since the beavertail doesn't fold up.

Donahue, Featherlite, Wilson$$$$, or Big Tex are brands I have been around - I like the Featherlite or Donahue, Wilson aluminum is pretty sweet but pricey and big tex is cheap but pulls like crap. I have had very good luck with B&W Turnover ball hitches - simple to install and nice if want the bed of your truck to be smooth for hauling lumber. Wouldn't bother with the RV style if i were you, I think B&W makes an RV insert that works with the goosneck hitch if you want to go that way later. What is your tow rig?

 

[sleeoffroad]

The trade-off for the open fender vs deck over wheels is deck width. What are you planning to haul? That should be where you start, if you just want to haul vehicles, Christo's setup seems ideal.

That is true. Between fender clearance is 83". With the new trailer (will post pics tomorrow) the fenders are made from 1/8" diamond plate and re-inforced, so you can drive or park on them if need be.

2nd the opinion on B&W Turn-Over ball. Pretty slick setup, just don't forget to insert the hitch pin when you hitch the trialer. Not pretty when you start loading the trailer.

My trailer was built to carry 12k lbs load and with the trailer weight I am still in the weight limits for my Chevy Duramax for towing a gooseneck. On a 30ft trailer I prefer the 3 axles, just because it gives me two extra tires to carry the weight. I two axles might have been ok, but I would rather have overkill than change tires on the road.

The 30ft is small enough that if I only had to tow one truck, I am not really lugging that much extra trailer around. I would rather pull the 30ft gooseneck with a 6k lbs truck on it that a bumper pull. That was the main reason I had the trailer built to around 4k lbs.

 

[Poser]

Been using a 40ft Felling this year...a lot.

Seems to work really well.

http://www.mindcrater.com/Galleries-2004/Gallery_SD2004/Camp/pages/Camp-01.htm


Good luck!


-Steve

 

[Gus]

Thanks for all the info guys:
Poser, that's a hell of a tow rig. What's the length on the 5th wheel trailer with the maroon FJ40 and rock buggy on it, being towed by the Dodge 2500, something a good 6-10' longer would be great, I'd think.
Christo, I like the sound of this new trailer of yours, low deck but you can stil fit a wider rig if need be; sounds like something that'd work very well for me. I would definently like to see pics, BTW, that FJ80 kicks a$$
Haystax, I appreciate all of the advice, there's a lot I need to consider apparently.
I'm towing with an 04 Dodge Ram HD 2500 , Cummins 600, 6-speed, 3:73 diffs pretty much stock. I've heard a ton of good stuff about the B&W, plus I can get one very easily, so that's what I'll likely go with. I'll mostly be towing Cruisers and a few other rigs (predominantly trucks and the like), I want to be able to sqeeze an FJ40 and a FJ60 on the trailer, but don't want some super long thing (don't really want to go any longerr than 30' max). Most of the time, I'll only be towing one vehicle but I'd rather get something a little bigger than something too small for the job; it's very likey I'll be hauling the occasional piece of farm or construction equipment. I like the idea of deck over due to the whole width limit thing, but don't like the higher center gravity thing, I 'll clearly have to compromise a bit. I'd like somthing that won't tax the hell out my truck, so something light weightish is in order.
Christo, Haystax, Poser, if you don't mind me asking what kind of $$$ did you guys drop (roughly) on the trailers your using, the one in the pic above was pretty cheap, or so I thaught (about $4700)
Thnaks agian for all the info.

 

[haystax]

It sounds like you have a more than capable tow rig, the new Cummins 600 is quite a motor. You will definitely be able to go faster than you can slow down. Make sure that your trailer brakes and controller wiring is good from the moment you buy your trailer. I have never pulled a trailer like Christo's, I bet they are nice for hauling vehicles. I am usuall concerned with ground clearance (always need more not less) and deck width (always need more not less) so I prefer the full deck style. I have hauled a mid-size Case tractor MX120 around 100hp on our trailer and never felt that the center of gravity was a problem. I tow with an '02 Ford Powerstroke 3/4 ton and single rear wheels and have never thought I was gonna tip over. With lighter cargo, speed may creep up higher than the slow truck and heavy stuff i haul will allow. I still don't see the trailer tipping over at normal highway speeds. I used to drive I-80 to get to school and I know normal Wyo hwy speeds.

I think our Featherlite was around $3500, been a couple years and that was before steel went up. Ft Collins and Longmont Colorado seem to have good deals on trailers - I would drive down there and check them out.

 

[Gus]

Haystax, thanks again, I've seen a few places in Ft. Collins with large selections of 24 - 30+ foot full deck 5th wheels, I'll have to go and take a look.

 

[sleeoffroad]

Here are two pictures of mine. Cost was about $5500 couple of months ago (read high steel prices). The whole trailer is powdercoated instead of painted. Last a lot longer. Build to spec exactly the way I wanted it. I goofed some of the positions of the tie-downs on the rails, but I can fix that. I also had them add those receivers in the front that accepts a cradle mounted winch for towing dead trucks onto the trailer. With 3 x 7k (8 lug) axles, and a weight of $4200 lbs, it can carry way more than what I need to put on it. I speced the axles like that so in a pinch I can swap wheels with my tow truck. Runs the same size tires (245/75/16) in a E rating.

I bought it from Terry's trailers in OK. They are much cheaper than anyhting I have been able to locate here in Denver. Not much of a website, but really good to deal with. I have bought about 6 different trailers from them.

http://www.terrystrailers.com/

I have no requirements to load equipment and such. Just 4x4's so that I why I had it built this way. It is very stable. I tow with a 04 Chevy DMax Crew Cab short box and have no problems. Brakes on all three axles.

 

[Gus]

Christo, very cool, going for the powdercoating was a smart choice.

 

[MATCHBOX]

If you have the cash featherlite will make you anything. They are making me a 40' enclosed trailer with all power hookup. It can fit 2 drag cars and will have a gen,4 snap-on boxs, sleeping quarters.This trailer is a shop/house on wheels.The tow rig is a 2005 International CXT. The trailer is a goose neck. Buy Big and buy once if you can.

 

[Gus]

Matchbox, the International CXT's are sweet rigs, got any pics? I'm leaning towards a 30' dovetail or low boy, it all depends upon what I can find, my trucks towing limitations, and the price (I can't afford anything too jazzy, yet I certainly am not going to be a cheep-skate about it). I like your motto, "buy big and buy once if you can", I have to agree completely with that.

 

[MATCHBOX]

We pick the color of red with all the opt's. The bad thing is is we can't pick it up for 6-7 months. We got to take the demo for the weekend and I'll tell you what that thing cruises down the hiway. It will be a 100% tax right off cause they are my companys cars. Don't think I won't be towing the cruiser to go wheeln. I wasn't gonna get it but we decide that nothing else would tow the cars.As soon as we get it pick up I'll post pics. The waiting list now is anywhere from 12-24 months.

 

[Gus]

6-7 months, holy sh!t, you're much more patient than I am, none the less the CXT's are very cool. A buddy recently baught a GMC Top Kick(GM's version of the CXT), 4x4 with the Duramax/Allison combo for his lanscaping business, pretty cool rig, I unfortunatly didn't get to test drive it.

 

[MATCHBOX]

The top kick is a cool tow rig. I was looking at one but the CXT won me over. The thing is big and bad! At 9' tall and 21' long all air ride and air ride seat's. The 466 DT motor is a great motor. I order it with the 12spd tranny, Duel 10" stacks, DVD player,no leather though. Didn't like the feeling. I saved up for 18 mounths to put my down on it. I had to have 1/3 for a bank to lone on it.

 

[Gus]

Matchbox, I'm sure you'll be very, very happy with the CXT, definently post a few pics when you do take delivery.