And hopefully in the future, everyone else whoe doesnt find what they're looking for in the search engine.
Thinking of going from bumper pull to gooseneck. Trailer I'm having priced is about 28' total (including neck).
Discovered theres a variety of styles of hitch, and lots of words and explanations I'm not up to speed on.
So, what I'm trying to do . . . enclosed cargo hauler. 14K cap. F350 pull truck. Someones going to punch a hole in the bed and I'm going to hook up and go forward. Simple enough?
So, ANYONE who wants to throw their two cents in on goosenecks, hitch styles, pros, cons, things to do or not to do, or to look for, or jokes about a penguin who walked into a bar . . . drinks on me.
Cheers

 

Don't know any jokes about penguins, but I am happy with the B&W turnover ball that I put in mine. Install was pretty straight forward, took me about 3 hours because I usuallyl get side tracked with all sorts of things.

 

A penguin walked into a bar, the second one ducked.

A priest, a nun, and a rabbi walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and says "What is this, a joke???"

Oh, and I have a B&W turnover ball as well and love it.

Tim

 

I also have the B&W turnover ball and like it very much. Easy straight forward install and looks clean.

 

B&W is whats offered here, its about 6 bills installed was the quote I got
I measured my tailgate. Open its 40.5" off the deck. H&H says their stems fully retracted are 38.5". Thats 2" difference, and so I do wonder if thats really significant or not. I mean, ok, you have a trailer thats from pin to tail maybe 26', are you even going to notice the 2"?

The other thing is making sure the top actually clears the bed sufficiently. This falls under the towing with a lift scenario that comes up from time to time. Its not a huge lift, but its making a difference.

I'm having my contact check with the Clarinda plant manager about stretching the deck up a few inches, which resolves both of my quandries. The neck would sit higher, the upper deck likewise. And I dont think with a 7' sidewall you'd ever notice the difference.

Now if I can get them to put Rickson wheels and commercial treads on it :-)

 

Wow! That is expensive, you can buy the B&W turnover ball for $325 install is not much. Heck drive down to B&W in Kansas and have them install it at the factory IIRC install is like $75.

www.turnoverball.com/index.htm

They are located in Humbolt KS, that should only be about 250 mile drive for you.

 

You know I started wondering about that too, turns out he was assuming I was adding a brake controller as well, so that was part of the package deal. (Already have that)
And I talked to the plant manager this morning, I'm going to be able to have the trailer made the way I want, so we're blocking the axles up and changing the gooseneck a little. A trailer with a lift! Its gonna be a tall one.

 

The two inches isn't for the length of the trailer, it's to help with a short bed truck to give a little extra clearance between the trailer and cab of the truck when turning. Mostly on a enclosed trailer or one with a deck on the neck. Also one some two wheel drive models you have to use that so the ball when in the stored position doesn't interfere with the rear end.

 

You can get an offset with the B&W and still have the hitch over the axles. I have a B&W also an like the fact that you can change t 5th wheel without drilling more holes. Check out there web site and give them a call.

 

That is the setup that I have and really like it.

 

F350, LB, SRW, CC, 2003.

I don't know about your F350. I tow a 32' 5th wheel RV with flipped axles. The axles allow the 5er to sit about 6" higher than stock height.

I used to have a goosneck and gooseneck adapter connected to my 5er kingpin. This gave me a huge back and forward motion. It is due to the

1. F350 stiff springs
2. LB
3. CC
4. Gooseneck adapter
5. flipped axles

I got rid of the gooseneck adapter and switched to a full 5th wheel setup. We could not stand the scary feeling of the surging.

Bottom line to you is if you are having a Gooseneck Trailer made then this is probably ok since it will be gooseneck from the ground up. However make sure it is beefed up to stiffen the frame so that you will not get the flex from the trailer. Also might look into having shocks installed on the trailer.

 

Why lift the trailer? It's already going to be pretty tall, just seems to me like it's just going to pull that much harder, plus less convenient to get in and out of. Unless you really need the extra ground clearance, I'd just have 'em make up the difference in the neck. I have a 30' flatbed that was custom built - I told 'em to give me plenty of clearance because I always drive 3/4 or 1 ton 4x4's - now I've got plenty of room for lift and big tires, but the deck's a pretty standard height and it pulls great...

David

 

Lifted trailers give more ground clearance for uneven terrain as well as clearance for lifted trucks. My new gooseneck trailer's "goose" compartment is about 4" shorter than my friend's. That allows mine 4" more clearance of the truck's bed. His is older, a 2000 I think, which was before all the trucks were as tall as they are now, straight from the factory. Mine's designed for the new higher bed walls of the newer generation trucks. Of course, lifting the whole trailer lifts the center of gravity too, and that can be problematic. I like Featherlite's solution of the slightly smaller goose compartment... the rest of the trailer stays the same hight with the same 6" step-up for the horses. If you lifted the whole trailer they horses would have to jump 18"!