2003 Supercrew and Gooseneck
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2003 Supercrew and Gooseneck
Hi guys, I have a friend with a 2003 F150 Supercrew 5'6" box 4x4 5.4l and 3.55 and 16" tires. He is looking at selling his bumper pull horse trailer and upgrading to a gooseneck. I warned him that even though he will be within weight he probably can't put a gooseneck hitch in that truck without possibly damaging the cab of the truck when turning. The Ford manual doesn't say anything regarding this and aside from a Superglide sliding hitch I can't see this being good. Does anyone have any insight?
Thanks
Wayne
Thanks
Wayne
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2009
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The hitch isn't any problem. The weight may be borderline depending on the size and type of GN horse trailer he has in mind.
The issue is the ability to spin the trailer around by jack knifing it while backing. The ability to do this will be limited by the proximity of the trailer to the cab, but should not be much worse than the turning radius he had with the bumper hitch trailer. The degree of limitation will vary with the specific trailer he gets and how much that bothers him will depend quite a bit on how he is used to backing his trailer now.
I'd be leary of having a GN on a short bed truck, especially if he uses it in situations that require sharp turns while backing.
He can get some idea of what it would be like by simply backing the truck into place under a GN as if he were hooking up to the hitch he doesn't have yet. Try backing into position at about a 45 degree angle and see if he can even get far enough under to reach the point where the hitch would be.
The issue is the ability to spin the trailer around by jack knifing it while backing. The ability to do this will be limited by the proximity of the trailer to the cab, but should not be much worse than the turning radius he had with the bumper hitch trailer. The degree of limitation will vary with the specific trailer he gets and how much that bothers him will depend quite a bit on how he is used to backing his trailer now.
I'd be leary of having a GN on a short bed truck, especially if he uses it in situations that require sharp turns while backing.
He can get some idea of what it would be like by simply backing the truck into place under a GN as if he were hooking up to the hitch he doesn't have yet. Try backing into position at about a 45 degree angle and see if he can even get far enough under to reach the point where the hitch would be.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,496
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From: Simpsonville, KY
A short bed truck is fine... but a SuperCrew is a super short bed.... I don't think you can do it safely. You CAN get 6" spacers, which shift the weight back towards the tailgate, but you really don't want to do that since it negates a lot of the effects of having a gooseneck.
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