Gooseneck Trailer for m7040

[carlhwv]

That would be a hard reputation to live up to!!!!

There are a Gazillion manufacturers of trailers. Many, many small town welding shops putting them out. My GN is a Neal brand, ever heard of them??? Central Kansas company.

Here's a thread link to an individual that might be truly building the "best" trailer out there.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/371932-gooseneck-trailer-build.html

Man, he has real skills.

 

[ovrszd]

Man, he has real skills.

Doesn't he!!!! And he does it all with minimal equipment and shop space!!!! I'm anxious to see the finished trailer. Individual ideas like his might change the trailer industry. I can see a need for a trailer of this design. He puts a whole new meaning to "low deck" trailers.

 

[Fxfymn]

There are many, many trailer builders out there. Buy some steel, get a welder, boom you are in business.

Go with a well known builder that has a dealer network you can rely on. My low-boy was a Kaufman with no dealer support. I paid less at the beginning, but regretted it later. My present rig is a PJ. Well built with a good dealer network to support the product after delivery.

Some of the replies have confused GVW with net carrying capacity of the trailer. The GVW includes the weight of the trailer whereas the net weight is what you can carry. A 14K trailer that weighs 3K can only carry 11K.

You should know the weight of what you are carrying and make your choice based on that.

One other consideration is to make sure you have at least 16" tires. It easy to upgrade 16" rubber, not so much with 15". I know that the tires do not determine the axle capacity, but trailer tires are always a PIA and most builders put "just enough" tire on to meet the weight carrying requirement. In the end you may want to upgrade to a heavier tire to increase reliability and peace of mind.

Another consideration is 17.5" tires are much more expensive than 16" tires and may be hard to find if you need one on the road. Been there done that and that is why the new trailer has 16" rubber.

 

[ovrszd]

There are many, many trailer builders out there. Buy some steel, get a welder, boom you are in business.

Not even close. Probably not more than 3 or 4 posters on this thread that could build a useable trailer.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I thought PJ trailers were great when I lived in NC. Up here in NH the "paint" starts to come off in massive sheets after a few years. Moisture gets under these sheets and rust becomes a real problem. Spent about a year shopping for a used GN equipment trailer and eventually stopped even looking at PJs. :confused3:

 

[LD1]

A 14K trailer that weighs 3K can only carry 11K.

Unless you put 2k on the pin and now your at a net carrying capacity of 13k

 

[ovrszd]

Unless you put 2k on the pin and now your at a net carrying capacity of 13k

Yep. And I believe for most of us TBNers, we'll exceed our trucks capacity pretty quick.

Not picking on him, but I'd wonder if xfaxman's pics hauling his Telehandler didn't do that??

 

[LD1]

Yep. And I believe for most of us TBNers, we'll exceed our trucks capacity pretty quick.

Not picking on him, but I'd wonder if xfaxman's pics hauling his Telehandler didn't do that??

The way he shows it loaded with the big one, in post 54 i think, where he says 3440# pin weight.

Looks like a ~00-05 ish model year 3/4-ton chevy. I could be wrong, but I didnt think they had that kind of payload capacity? If so, its right on the edge.

My truck has a payload cap of ~4500#. I know from hauling a few loads of sand and stone that it takes 4k to "just touch" the helpers. So the few times I have moved (short distances) my 18k backhoe or a buddies 17k D3 cat......I position the load so that I am "just touching" the helpers. And that puts right about 4k pin weight. With the 18k hoe and 6500# trailer.....that gives me ~20,500# over the pair of 11.2k axles. So I know I am good all around with a little margin for safety. Bout a 500# safety margin on the truck, and about 1000# safety over each rear.

 

[Xfaxman]

Yep. And I believe for most of us TBNers, we'll exceed our trucks capacity pretty quick.

Not picking on him, but I'd wonder if xfaxman's pics hauling his Telehandler didn't do that??

Yep, just a little over on the trailer axles, The truck is a Diesel, it handled it just fine.

I wondered if anyone would notice and comment.

 

[Xfaxman]

The way he shows it loaded with the big one, in post 54 i think, where he says 3440# pin weight.

Looks like a ~00-05 ish model year 3/4-ton chevy. I could be wrong, but I didnt think they had that kind of payload capacity? If so, its right on the edge.

-------------------------.

It is a 06 GMC 2500HD, empty, the scale showed 3200 pounds on the rear axle, so was about 600 pounds over the axle rating, but still within the tire's rating.

 

[LD1]

Wow. Little over on the truck axle, little over on the trailer axle, 430miles and across state lines.......more balls than I got. Curious to know how you would have "Explained" youself had you been stopped and weighed?

 

[Xfaxman]

Wow. Little over on the truck axle, little over on the trailer axle, 430miles and across state lines.......more balls than I got. Curious to know how you would have "Explained" youself had you been stopped and weighed?

Truck has a Farm Tag (licence plate in the rest of the world) and no trailer tag required in Oklahoma.

Never have been stopped in 60 years of pulling trailers, so I wouldn't know what to say.

 

[LD1]

Truck has a Farm Tag (licence plate in the rest of the world) and no trailer tag required in Oklahoma.

Never have been stopped in 60 years of pulling trailers, so I wouldn't know what to say.

Farm tag makes a big difference.

No way would I want to cross state lines with both trailer axles and a truck axle overloaded up here. And heck, where I live up here, 430 miles is likely you will cross 2-3 state lines.

 

[ovrszd]

It is a 06 GMC 2500HD, empty, the scale showed 3200 pounds on the rear axle, so was about 600 pounds over the axle rating, but still within the tire's rating.

I wasn't referring to the weight on the truck. I was referring to the truck's rated capacity + the truck's towing capacity. My 2000 F250 for example has a max truck capacity of 8,800 + max towing capacity of 14,500 = 23,300 GCVWR. Not sure what your truck's capacity is? Also, can't remember if you stated what your GCW was with that load?

 

[confused8122]

Farm tag makes a big difference.

No way would I want to cross state lines with both trailer axles and a truck axle overloaded up here. And heck, where I live up here, 430 miles is likely you will cross 2-3 state lines.

Farm tags?
Not to change the subject, but state laws are different in every state. It's interesting to hear other people's ideas and warnings.
Here, as long as there is no commerce involved, (ie, Joe's paying my gas to help him move) I can drive anything I want. I could drive a big semi, and huge flatbed to move my tractor, with just a standard license. As soon as money is involved, I need a cdl.

Farm tags here, all say log farm. You get cheaper registration fees, in exchange you are only allowed to use the vehicle for farm business. And must be within 150 miles of the farm. Can't legally drive the truck to church Sundays, pick kids up from school, etc. And it automatically puts me in the money exchange limit ( see above)
Lots of people abuse this, but some don't. My neighbor did for years, then after to many stops, decided it was better to pay full for registration, and be able to say he is just hauling his personal tractor to his property...
Note:I am in Michigan, and not an expert on the law, but this is my understanding, after talking and researching.

 

[carlhwv]

In MD I can go to 26,000 GCVW on standard class c license. 26001 I would need a class a. Any trailer over 10000 used for commercial purposes requires cdl.

 

[LD1]

Farm tags?
Not to change the subject, but state laws are different in every state. It's interesting to hear other people's ideas and warnings.
Here, as long as there is no commerce involved, (ie, Joe's paying my gas to help him move) I can drive anything I want. I could drive a big semi, and huge flatbed to move my tractor, with just a standard license. As soon as money is involved, I need a cdl.

Farm tags here, all say log farm. You get cheaper registration fees, in exchange you are only allowed to use the vehicle for farm business. And must be within 150 miles of the farm. Can't legally drive the truck to church Sundays, pick kids up from school, etc. And it automatically puts me in the money exchange limit ( see above)
Lots of people abuse this, but some don't. My neighbor did for years, then after to many stops, decided it was better to pay full for registration, and be able to say he is just hauling his personal tractor to his property...
Note:I am in Michigan, and not an expert on the law, but this is my understanding, after talking and researching.

I dont know MI's law, but I highly doubt you can drive a 80k tractor trailer on a standard license, for personal use or not.

While personal use dont require a Commercial Drivers License.....in most states, they have non-commercial class A, B and C licenses.

While I dont know all of the laws and exemptions because they dont apply to me, there are several types of exemptions for Farm use in OH. It allows farmers to operate certain heavy equipment, OTR, without needing special licenses. But there are restrictions as to how far from the farm you can drive, and that whatever you are doing must be farm-type work. Like hauling farm equipment, or hauling grain to the mill, etc.

 

[Xfaxman]

I wasn't referring to the weight on the truck. I was referring to the truck's rated capacity + the truck's towing capacity. My 2000 F250 for example has a max truck capacity of 8,800 + max towing capacity of 14,500 = 23,300 GCVWR. Not sure what your truck's capacity is? Also, can't remember if you stated what your GCW was with that load?

Yep, it is in post #54 GCVW was 24,940. Online search shows max truck capacity of 9200, max towing capacity of 14,200 = 23,400, so I was over that by 1,540 pounds. The total trailer weight was 17,640 on a 14K trailer, if I did all the math right.

 

[confused8122]

In Michigan...
SOS - Who Needs a CDL?

At bottom of the page
............
Exemptions

*

The following*people do not need a CDL:

Active Duty Military*(including National Guard): With military licenses operating military vehicles.

*

Police Officers and Firefighters: Meeting approved training standards and operating authorized emergency vehicles.

*

Farmers: Operating vehicles within a 150 mile radius of their farm.

An F-endorsement is needed by farmers operating combination vehicles whose towing vehicle has a GVWR of 26,001 pounds or more. A knowledge test, but no skills test, is required to obtain the F-endorsement.

However, farmers who carry hazardous materials in amounts requiring placarding while operating combination vehicles whose towing vehicle has a GVWR of 26,001 pounds or more, or a single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 pounds or more, need a CDL with a hazardous materials endorsement.

*

Individuals: Operating motor homes or other vehicles used exclusively to transport personal possessions or family members, for non-business purposes.
..............
For personal use, I can drive anything. But we don't have non commercial class license here. (some people talk about non cdl class a)
We have operator, chauffer, and cdl. I believe cdl has different classes.

 

[LD1]

Do you have an F-endorsement and using equipment for farm purposes?

If not, I would not be driving a 18-wheeler for personal use just-because. If you have one for personal use and no farm exemption......it is possible that you need a class A license.

Earlier you said nothing about farm use. Just that if you wanted to tow your tractor with a big semi and flat bed, that you dont need a CDL if you arent working for hire.

That may very well be correct. But it also doesnt mean that a standard class D license is all you need either.