bumper pull or gooseneck

[mooch]

I have a ram 3500 DRW. I want to get a trailer to tow my excavtor (7k lbs) and other friends equip. I would like to be able to tow a 10k lb machine. I was looking at 14k trailers, tilt bed bumper pull and deck over gooseneck. I may eventually get a srw truck. I know the gooseneck will tow better but I dont currently have a ball installed and the low deck height of the tilt bed is attractive to me. I am leaning towards the bumper pull but have never towed that much weight. Any concerns with 14k bumper pull trailer?

 

[sd455dan]

Are you not interested in a gooseneck tilt bed utility trailer?? my set up is similar to what you are talking about.

An 03 Ram 3500 srw and a Wilson 10k (payload ) tilt 16'+ 4' trailer set up for fifth wheel pull It pulls nicer than my 17 ' boat /trailer- bumper pull

I load the trailer sometimes with the 55hp 4x4 Rhino with loader & grapple, /6' brush cutter and 18 hp riding mower, estimate the loaded trailer weight at around 12000lbs pulls very nicely.. and the tilt is nice to have.

Maybe you could try a loaded version of each hooked to your Dodge - gooseneck + 5 th wheels don't seem to (wag the tail) like some bumper pulls... I'm sure many won't agree with this , but it is just what I have experienced... good luck on your search:thumbsup:

one more thing what year of Ram , my HD 03s stock receiver hitch is only rated to 10k total- with a weight distribution hitch. My understanding is they uprated/upgraded the receivers on later years just something to check...

 

[Deere Dude]

What is your truck rated to pull from the bumper? It may say it on the hitch. If you want to pull a 10k machine then your trailer will weigh probably 6000# empty and that would be 16000# total.

I have a 3500 DRW GMC and I would have a hard time wanting to pull 12-14000# behind me in traffic with a bumper pull. It would be more than the truck could handle safely.

I just bought a 16,000# GN and that may haul a 10,000# load but I think that would be about the limit because I think the trailer weighs in at 5600#.

 

[RobertN]

I have been thinking I need to sell my 7klb trailer and get a bigger one; my NH is heavier, and much longer than my old Kubota. It barely fits on the trailer, and has it maxxing out. I have to take the mower or scraper off to get it on the trailer.

I'm set up for my 5th wheel. I have wondered about a gooseneck, and use one of the gooseneck ball plates that fit the 5th wheel rail bed mounts.
Curt Spyder Gooseneck Trailer Hitch for Fifth Wheel Rails, 25,000 lbs GTW Curt Gooseneck 16085

I've only towed 7k on the bumper/reciever. I definitely like the way my 5th wheel tows much better. Guessin a gooseneck tows pretty similar.

Only thing about a hitch in the bed, it does limit what you can put in the bed while towing.

 

[handirifle]

In my fairly limited experience, I have towed boats, bumper pull trailers with and without equalizers, about 5 different length weight combo's, and now my 29ft 5th wheel. The difference is night and day in control, and manuevering. The maneuvering is DIFFERENT with a bed hitch, be it goose neck or 5th wheel, compared to a bumper pull. Especially a goose neck, since you can jack knofe those a lot more than a bumper pull, and prob a 5th wheel too.

I've had NONE of the sway issues I had pulling a 27ft bumper trailer. My 29ft 5th wheel makes turns in traffic as though I were pulling a much shorter trailer, so there is that to consider. On a utility trailer, it might not makes as much difference, if the two trailers have the same bed length.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

GEt a GN with a b&W flip over ball. IT mounts under the bed and only the ball sticks up. You can use your bed for other things and not have that stupid truss sticking upin your bed taking up space.

As for towing 10k payload plus trailer. Get a GN. you will not regret it. Some members on here brag about what they tow behind their pickups and thats fine. But there is a reason why OTR tractors pull with the weight over the axles and not hanging off the butt end. The other advantage of a GN is the articulation over a 5'er. If your planning on staying in the road, a fifth wheel is fine. For farm work or construction sites, its hard to beat a gn.

 

[foreman Etexas]

I would go with the GN also,depending on you width of what need to haul they have the lowboys and other flatdecks that are lower to ground if the height is an issue.

 

[LD1]

For towing 10k, I would go GN for sure.

IF the 7k excavator was the only thing you would be towing, I would say you could get by fine with a 10 or 12k bumper pull, but I wouldnt want to go over 7k with a bumper pull, especially if you plan on downgrading to a SRW in the future.

The turn-over-balls are nice indeed.:thumbsup:

 

[hosspuller]

I have a 3500 DRW with a B+W GN hitch. I haul a 24 foot long, 14,000 # flatbed trailer. If you decide on a BP trailer be aware that load balancing is critical. Too much load behind the wheels will unweight the tongue, leading to sway issues. Loading a GN is much. much less critical.

Installing a B+W hitch is straight forward. The hardest part was going at a brand new truck bed with a 4 inch hole saw ! Measure 4 x or more ... cut once!

 

[handirifle]

GEt a GN with a b&W flip over ball. IT mounts under the bed and only the ball sticks up. You can use your bed for other things and not have that stupid truss sticking upin your bed taking up space.

I agree, and a lot of 5th wheel trailer guys I know are swapping over to GN for their travel trailers. Although they have to get the hitch that softens the ride, not sure what it's called. Getting my hitch in and out of my truck is a winch affair. Mine is a Curt slider, since I have a 6 1/2' bed. The whole unit weighs about 100lbs and is a PITA to move.

 

[sandman2234]

My 2000 Ford F350 drw is rated for 20K pull, from a fifth wheel (assume a goose neck is the same??). It stipulates that max bumper pull is 10K, so that would leave me out of pulling your load with a bumper hitch trailer. Check and double check the spec's on your truck. The ratings have risen over the last few years, but you didn't mention the year of your Dodge.
David from jax

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have a ram 3500 DRW. I want to get a trailer to tow my excavtor (7k lbs) and other friends equip. I would like to be able to tow a 10k lb machine. I was looking at 14k trailers, tilt bed bumper pull and deck over gooseneck. I may eventually get a srw truck. I know the gooseneck will tow better but I dont currently have a ball installed and the low deck height of the tilt bed is attractive to me. I am leaning towards the bumper pull but have never towed that much weight. Any concerns with 14k bumper pull trailer?

I tow 16,000# all over the place, 2,500 miles per year or more, with a bumper pull and a SRW F350. No issues at all.

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

My 2000 Ford F350 drw is rated for 20K pull, from a fifth wheel (assume a goose neck is the same??). It stipulates that max bumper pull is 10K, so that would leave me out of pulling your load with a bumper hitch trailer. Check and double check the spec's on your truck. The ratings have risen over the last few years, but you didn't mention the year of your Dodge.
David from jax

No way your truck has a 20,000# tow limit. That's the max GCWR and your truck is about 7,500# leaving you about 12,500#

Chris

 

[Loadstar]

I spend a little time on the road. I watch what people haul and I would say majority are doing it with a gn when it comes to equipment.

 

[mooch]

thanks for the replies. I was already thinking that I would stick to 10k or less on the bumper and anything over to go GN. I think I need to get a ball installed. Plus they look cooler.

 

[LindenBruce]

Can anyone answer this for me. Given equal trail bed length, lets say 20', which is shorter in trailing length from tow vehicle rear bumper to end of trailer, A BP or GN? I can go either way on my truck, an 06 F250 SRW CC PSD with 10,000# spring pack and rear sway bar. Thanks, Bruce

 

[hosspuller]

Can anyone answer this for me. Given equal trail bed length, lets say 20', which is shorter in trailing length from tow vehicle rear bumper to end of trailer, A BP or GN? I can go either way on my truck, an 06 F250 SRW CC PSD with 10,000# spring pack and rear sway bar. Thanks, Bruce

I would say the GN will be shorter because the BP tongue will add length. The GN neck over is over the truck bed.

Still, the BP trailer will track closer to the tow vehicle tracks since the BP hitch & trailer tongue steers more. A GN will track inside of the TV's wheel tracks in a curve.

 

[joshuabardwell]

I think you will have a hard time finding a bumper-pull hitch that is rated to tow the kind of weight you're talking about. I know they exist--I can find them on eTrailer.com--but they're usually aftermarket. Bear in mind that, when bumper-pulling heavy, you absolutely want a load-balancing hitch (and often, you need one in order to stay compliant with specs).

When you're doing the math, bear in mind that a nominal 15% of a bumper-pull's weight, and 25% of a gooseneck's weight, should be over the pin or ball. If you are marginal on your payload rating, this might end up being a deal-breaker. I only point this out because I've seen trucks that have extravagant tow ratings, but surprisingly small payload capacity, especially when you subtract out the weight of passenger(s) and misc junk that is riding in the cab. To be fair, all of my shopping has been in the 1/2 and 3/4 ton category, and none of the trucks I've looked at actually would tow 16k, so it may be that by the time you get up into that range, the numbers even out a bit. Your 3500 dually certainly has a lot of payload capacity.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Gooseneck over bumper, 5th wheel over all..

 

[schmism]

your trailer will weigh probably 6000# empty and that would be 16000# total.

your weights are WAY off.

big tex 14K 18' equipment trailer #2710 several other large name equipment trailers in the 12-14K range are all just under 3000lbs.

one of the above 14K trailer with 10% TW (1400lbs) will give a trailer cargo capacity of over 12,000lbs. Course youll likely want a 1 ton or better with a class V WD hitch.

but its very doable for much less than the GN.

a BP is nice when you want to consider going to a F450 or 550 with a dump bed and can no longer put a GN in the back of the truck. They also open up other options for tow vehicals such as 1 ton vans, or box trucks, NPR or the like.