I dont own a goose neck trailer but I would think it would turn shorter in a tight area than a regular trailer. Plus I think it would make it more balanced to have the weight of the tongue over the rear axle verses on the rear bumper or the end of the frame

 

Pawnshop I've got a 6 ton gooseneck and really like it. Because the weight distrabution more towards the middle of the truck you get less herk and jerk out of the trailer. Alot of times on a standard trailer if you have it weighed down fairly well you'll get alot of back and forth motion. The only thing is is that it takes a little getting used to. I've always pulled tag a longs, so it was definatley different. Goosenecks are more expensive though. If your not going to be trailering it that often and your skidloader will sit on jobsite than maybe save yourself a few bucks and go with standard, but if you'll be hauling skidloader quite a bit then maybe gooseneck. About $350-400 for hitch installed.

 

Pawnshop I just went through the same thing, go with the bumper pull type. The main reason is if go with the goose neck type and you break down you have to have another goose neck equipped truck to pull it.

 

I dont own a goose neck trailer but I would think it would turn shorter in a tight area than a regular trailer. Plus I think it would make it more balanced to have the weight of the tongue over the rear axle verses on the rear bumper or the end of the frame

Could not have said it better.

 

I too prefer the gooseneck for heavier weights, especially over 10,000 lbs. You do get a shorter turning radius, and can back it into places the bumper pull wont go. They ride much better and are a lot more stable. But you got to really watch those trailer tires when turning around an object, they cut several feet off of your turn. They have a different feel and require a little practice to get used to.

I spend more time double checking my hook up on a gooseneck. If you forget to latch the ball or pin a hideaway hitch, and go to load a tractor, it will lift the hitch off of the ball and potentially move into the cab, as opposed to the tailgate with a bumper pull. It has also been responsible for many a customized tailgate when forgetting to drop the tailgate when unhooking. Just a couple of things to keep in mind.

Bryan

 

love my gooseneck, although mine is has 2 10k axles, it rides well, distrubtes weight better, turns better, and IMO is safer.

 

I pondered the same question before purchasing our skid-steer trailer. Then decided on the tag trailer. We got a 24 foot Felling, no dove tail, but extended ramps to 6 feet,yeah 6 foot ramps. This way we can get on the trailer with no attachments if need be. The reason for the longer ramps rather than the dovetail is that we don't loose that dovetail area for loading. With a dovetail, you cannot put any materials at that last 4 feet of trailer. We haul 5 to 6 pallets of sod, salt, or fertilizer at times.

We can get our skid-steer, two buckets, forks, power-rake and auger all on the trailer at one time. The trailer is rated for 17,500 lbs. It was probably our best investment. Of course the price of $10 grand seemed mental for a trailer, but well worth it.

No experience, but loosing the tailgate access and some storage area in the pickup box, with a goose-neck, turned me away from them. We usually fill the box up with rakes, shovels, plate compactor, etc.., and I just think it would be a little more of a hassle with the neck in the way. Our pickups hold the weight of the tag trailer quite well, and when properly loaded, pulls perfect. I know, from guys who have them, that the goose-necks pull a little more stable, but for our use, freeway driving up to an hour max, or the local work (mostly)our tag hauls sweet at 70 MPH fully loaded.

Our next trailer will be a flat deck with intent of only going behind our International and a future dozer purchase.

 

You do lose some storage in the bed with the gooseneck, but still have quite a bit. But you gain a quite a bit of potential storage on the top of the trailer beams connecting the deck to the hitch.

Bryan

 

It'll come down to personal preference, obviously.

I've got a 8.5'x26' flatbed, 14k, bumper pull.

Biggest trailer I could find while still being a bumper pull. I haul a 4330 Kubota with an 11' Bush Hog Tri-Deck mower behind it.

The problem I have with it, is that the frame on the trailer, the tongue, it too big.

When you turn sharp, the "A-frame" tongue WILL catch the bumper and fold it into the bottom of the rear corner panel.

Anyways, I've got to get a new bumper and fix both rear 1/4's now.

It's not the fault of the trailer, I want a stiff frame. It's a 12" "I" channel all the way down the trailer, and then the "A-Frame" in the front, with the deck of the trailer built on the top of the I channel.

My next trailer will probably be about a 30' gooseneck, so I can pull the tractor, along with a couple of ZTRs as well.



Going back to Randy Scott's comment about not having a dove tail, my trailer has 22' of flat deck space, and then the last 4', you can pull a pin, and there are 2 sections side by side that pop up and lock into place, so the dovetail part becomes flat and you've got 26' of flat deck space. It's an ABU trailer out of North Dakota.

 

The difference between a goose neck and tag along trailer is like night and day. Ride, handling and turnign radious blows a tag trailer out of the water. Where you get killed in the hook up eliminate bed usage when pulling the trailer. Also, you will need a class A CDL to legally drive a gooseneck/pickup combo in most states. Check out the law first, don't just listen to the trailer salesman.

Before purchase, I would weigh you usage. If loosing your bed is not a big deal, I would go gooseneck.

 

A CDL to pull a gooseneck, wow, thats pretty strict. Definately not like that in Tx., from reading on this and other forums, we have pretty loose trailer laws, ridiculously loose in some cases.

Bryan

 

It depends on the weights
Class A
Any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 pounds or more if the vehicle(s) being towed has a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of more than 10,000 pounds. Vehicles in this class include:

Tractor-trailer
Truck and trailer combinations
Tractor-trailer buses
so if the gvwr of the trailer is 10,000 or more the way i see it you need a cdl.
CDL liscense far as i know are standard across the 48 states, the same laws in Va as in california

 

You dont need a CDL in Tx unless the GCWR is more than 26,000 lbs. The GVWR rating of 10,000 doesnt apply here. What I find really strange in TX, is that the restrictions on your trailer have nothing to do with the axles or hitch, you are only limited by the weight you registered it, and the tires on it. As a trooper at a weigh station told me, I could register a trailer for more weight than my truck could get moving and be legal. Thats nuts.

Bryan

 

Grass Cuttin Fool, i have a question you may be able to answer based on your reply to this post.... What about an F-250 with a GVWR of 8800 (according to the sticker) pulling a trailer with a GVWR of 12000? My question comes up due to the fact that i have heard the rule of thumb is if the trailer has a GVWR of 10001 lbs or more, you need the CDL, but when I looked into it, I found the same requirements as you posted. So...wouldn't I be OK with 8800 + 12000 = 20800? My combined GVWR of the truck and trailer doesn't add up to 26000. After researching this, and asking around, I myself and those who I asked about this restriction agreed that based on the combined GVWR's having to be 26000 or more AND the trailer GVWR having to be in excess of 10000, that my setup didn't quite meet the requirements for needing a CDL to pull it. What do you (and others) think? Do I need to look into this further?

 

bnl-Rather than asking here (where you will get a variety of answers), you probably need to call your state DOT office. They should be able to fill you in.

But, to answer your question, you probably won't need a CDL if it is on the books as grass cuttin fool posted. It is on the books that way here in IN, and as *I* read it, you'd be fine. There's a thread somewhere in the commercial landscaping forum about trucks and trailers, do a search, there was a lot of good info there.

I am legal with our F-350 at work (GVWR of 9900 lbs) pulling our 12k trailer. Now, hook that same trailer up to an F-450 (GVWR ~16000 lbs), and I wouldn't be legal. IIRC, an F-550 is somewhere along the lines of 19k GVWR, you can pull a 10k trailer all day long and be fine. Add another pound to the GVWR of the trailer and you are in trouble though!

AFAIK, it's what the truck/trailer is rated at, not what they are plated for. But I'm not certain on that.

Another consideration that no one has brought up: Any COMMERCIAL vechicle/combination of vehicles with a GVWR/combined GVWR of 10,000 (or maybe it's 10,001) pounds or more MUST have a US DOT number. I believe that is a national requirement. Those vehicles must be annually inspected, trailers included!

HTH.


Dan

 

Another consideration that no one has brought up: Any COMMERCIAL vechicle/combination of vehicles with a GVWR/combined GVWR of 10,000 (or maybe it's 10,001) pounds or more MUST have a US DOT number. I believe that is a national requirement. Those vehicles must be annually inspected, trailers included!

HTH.

Dan

Those federal inspections are jokes--here you can do a Federal Self Inspection. They give you the sticker and you just fill it out--its cheaper than a state inspection and much quicker.

In NC if you are overweight, it is $1 per pound you are over.

 

The whole towing/legal issue has driven me nuts. Tx makes it darn near impossible to find the laws. I did searches, emailed and called the highway patrol and DOT, even stopped at one of those weigh stations. None of them could tell me anything or answer any questions, and these are the people responsible for the enforcement. I wondered how the heck we are supposed to stay legal when you dont know and cant find the rules. I finally got the best response by posting this question on a diesel truck website. Someone sent me a link to a web site with the laws, just havent read it yet. It would require a very long rainy day.

One of my biggest questions is what Dan brought up, about DOT numbers. I still havent gotten a for sure answer, but it looks like he's right, most landscapers legally need them, but, they tell me, "pickups pulling small trailers are not what we are after". Uh, yeah, can I get that in writing.

Can you imagine any of us running our businesses the way government depts do?

Bryan

 

Supposedly, here in IN, the DOT was going to be cracking down on the landscaper's starting sometime last year.... Though, in our area, we haven't been bothered. Closer to Indianapolis, I know they've been hitting them harder though.

One thing to keep in mind: 99-100% of city/county cops will not know the laws pertaining to smaller commercial vehicles. If they do, they likely will not enforce them unless they give a warning. My guess is that 90-95% of state cops are the same way. The ones you need to watch out for are the motor carrier cops. Their sole purpose is to enforce commercial truck laws. From what I understand, they do not have to have a reason to pull you over...

Saw one the other day that had a loaded log truck pulled over. The cop was dragging a set of portable scales out of the trunk. Looked like the driver was going to be there for a while!

Good luck finding the info for each state... I think there may have been a link to a page that detailed every state that was posted in that "trucks and trailers" thread in the commercial landscaping forum, though I could be wrong and probably am....


Dan

 

I appreciate the replies to my questios on this. I did go to the DMV office today to get the Drivers License Office to guide me in the right direction. As it turns out, no CDL is needed because of the combined weight ratio being under 26,000. BUT, i do have to have a "Class A Classified" license, so...they sat me at the computer to take the "truck test". I asked them if maybe I should wait until later so I could study for it, they said that it was up to me, but it would not cost me anything if I wanted to try at it right then, so I did. Passed with no problem, and now I just have to go back by there with the trailer on my truck to do the road test. So, I will be legal just as soon as I go do the driving part. Thanks for the help guys...

 

also remember that a trip to the doctors office to get a medical card certifying you are in good health, with out a medical card the cdl is invalid

 

bnl-Rather than asking here (where you will get a variety of answers), you probably need to call your state DOT office. They should be able to fill you in.

But, to answer your question, you probably won't need a CDL if it is on the books as grass cuttin fool posted. It is on the books that way here in IN, and as *I* read it, you'd be fine. There's a thread somewhere in the commercial landscaping forum about trucks and trailers, do a search, there was a lot of good info there.

I am legal with our F-350 at work (GVWR of 9900 lbs) pulling our 12k trailer. Now, hook that same trailer up to an F-450 (GVWR ~16000 lbs), and I wouldn't be legal. IIRC, an F-550 is somewhere along the lines of 19k GVWR, you can pull a 10k trailer all day long and be fine. Add another pound to the GVWR of the trailer and you are in trouble though!

AFAIK, it's what the truck/trailer is rated at, not what they are plated for. But I'm not certain on that.

Another consideration that no one has brought up: Any COMMERCIAL vechicle/combination of vehicles with a GVWR/combined GVWR of 10,000 (or maybe it's 10,001) pounds or more MUST have a US DOT number. I believe that is a national requirement. Those vehicles must be annually inspected, trailers included!

This part is not true in MN, you only need your name and city on the tow vehicle. If you cross more that 30 miles into either Iowa, WI, South Dakota, or North Dakota, then you need a US DOT number. As long as you're inTRAstate, not inTERstate, you only need your business name and city.

All vehicles and trailers must be annually inspected regardless of their GVW here in MN, IF they're used in any commercial business.

 

permits and laws for trailer pulling? wow... i had no idea...

i have a 28' 3 axle gooseneck and a 16' 2 axle goose neck. i have never been stopped for anything... for a while there, i should have been... i have pulled the 28' with 12,000lbs of hay on it all over the place with my gmc 3/4ton and it always pulls fine.. the f-350 does a better job with the pulling though.

me, i have a bumper pull with a tilt bed and i hate it.. i would much rather go with a gooseneck.. i am going to KCmo to get another truck later this month and will tow it back on a goose neck because it rides better and it easier to get around with...i would not pull anything substantial on a bumper pull type hitch unless i just had NO choice...

 

Goosenecks can handle more weight because you're putting that weight right over the axle of your truck. Plus, with so much weight over the axle, you get a little more traction when the going gets rough and the ride is so much better, less back and forth lurch of the trailer that a bumper pull would do. We have a 16 foot flatbed with a 5 foot dovetail that can be raised to offer 21 feet of flatbed. We only raise the dovetail to haul fruit with in the fall and since we haul fruit, our trailer is beefy. It's rated for 24K, 2 12K axles and 8 tires We tow it with an F-350 Powerstroke and have loaded that trailer to the max, no complaints against the Ford. If you're going to get a gooseneck, get a big truck (if you don't already have one) because by the time you add the trailer, the skid steer and a couple attachments, you'll have around 12K rolling down the road. Nothing worse than an underpowered truck. The goosenecks are really heavy, to say the least. Ours was custom built and it weighs around 4500#.

 

Thanks, Scag. I have decided on the Gooseneck, but my truck is underpowered so I'm going to have to wait till I take care of that situation. I have started a thread looking for a good work truck in the 10k price range. Right now I have a 1500 HD which claims to pull 10,000, but I seriously doubt it. Plus this truck was never purchased to be a work truck so I need to get one without breaking the bank. If you get a chance, scoot over to that post and share your vehicle opinions with me over there. I would appreciate it more than you know!