Gooseneck for 150/1500 truck

[dodge man]

A lot of it depends on payload. My F150 has a payload of about 1960 pounds. By the time I get in it and my toolbox it is down to about 1500 pounds. Working backwards assuming 20% tongue weight, that puts me at a 7500 pound gooseneck trailer loaded. It might put me over on my rear axle though.

 

[Flogger]

It’s all on the placard. If the trailer falls int the pickups placard rating and can be loaded in a properly balanced fashion it will work. The type of trailer makes a difference. Equipment trailers usually have the axles positioned more to the rear than utility trailers do. If the tractor is a snug fit on an equipment trailer it will often place to much hitch weight on the tow vehicle when a 60/40 utility trailer may be fine. Any trailer you buy should be long enough to allow movement of the load fore and aft in order to get the hitch weight adjusted properly.

 

[NUTTERDW]

Just wondering if there is a concern from truck manufacturers about frame strength on 1/2 ton after drilling mounting holes for goose neck connection point?

Are the frame rails strengthened on 3/4 ton where the attachment connection is mounted?

Reason for asking is that I know 40 years ago certain truck models this was the case not sure about today.

After reading your post I went camping this week and noticed that about one third of the fifth wheel trailers were pulled by a half ton pickup. I have pulled bumper pull campers with a half ton and in my experience a fifth wheel is twice as stable as a bumper pull. I went from a bumper pull 8000# trailer pulled by an F250 to a 8000# fifth wheel pulled by an F350 and I will take the fifth wheel trailer any time. I know this is not comparing the same size trucks but I have a 12000 # bumper pull trailer for my farm tractors and both trucks pull it about the same. Hope this helps.

 

[S854]

…I went camping this week and noticed that about one third of the fifth wheel trailers were pulled by a half ton epickup…. I went from a bumper pull 8000# trailer pulled by an F250 to a 8000# fifth wheel pulled by an F350...

What I took away from this is: you’re smarter than 1/3 of the campers there…

We recently purchased a SXS… I called the dealer 90 miles away asked for the footprint dimensions… wanted to make sure the new ride would fit on our 5 x 8 flatbed… he kinda chuckled and said “hook up your trailer… a good salesman will fit three of them on it…”

Not so different from RV sales… “sure you’re truck can pull any one of these…”

 

[sandman2234]

What I took away from this is: you’re smarter than 1/3 of the campers there…

We recently purchased a SXS… I called the dealer 90 miles away asked for the footprint dimensions… wanted to make sure the new ride would fit on our 5 x 8 flatbed… he kinda chuckled and said “hook up your trailer… a good salesman will fit three of them on it…”

Not so different from RV sales… “sure you’re truck can pull any one of these…”

30 years ago we purchased a Chevy p/u with a heavy duty towing package. It was rated to haul a LOT! I looked at 5th wheel campers and the one we started to buy (b4 my company cut our hours significantly) was about the size of the current one we have now. (in weight and size) I pull it with an F350 with a 7.3 and it knows it back there! Stopping it is the biggest issue, but that is probably due to my driving traits. If I drove it like some of the people I see driving, it would be unsafe as big as it is! Salesmen just want to sell you one they make the most money off of!
David from jax

 

[sandman2234]

If it wasn't a dually, I would change the emblems on my truck to F150 just to make people wonder!
David from jax

 

[hodge]

When we bought a new, 24' gooseneck deckover from Kaufman Trailers, they delivered it (about 200 miles) with an F150. We live in the Blue Ridge Mtns, with some hard pulls, and the driver had no problems.
My father has an 18 F150, and it has a gooseneck hitch. He's pulled a 16' stock trailer with it, taking steers to butcher. It had (2) 1000+ pound steers in it, plus trailer weight, and it pulled it easy. No extravagant squatting, no steering or braking issues.
Planned right, it'll do it.

 

[Torvy]

The previous owner of my Tundra pulled a gooseneck with it. He had it for 6-7 years. I don't know much about his trailer, but definitely possible in that class of truck.

 

[Flogger]

I grew up pulling everything on the farm with a half ton. I also grew up learning quite well how to pull and install automatic transmissions. Install a trans temp gauge and watch close.

 

[D&D]

I grew up pulling everything on the farm with a half ton. I also grew up learning quite well how to pull and install automatic transmissions. Install a trans temp gauge and watch close.

Any correlation between the towing and tranny R&R ?

 

[Flogger]

Any correlation between the towing and tranny R&R ?

We put all kinds of coolers on them but never occurred to us to install a temp gauge so we could witness the slaughter!

 

[D&D]

We put all kinds of coolers on them but never occurred to us to install a temp gauge so we could witness the slaughter!

Yep, that is a pretty important number

 

[deezler]

Im gonna vote for, it depends....
see page 7

https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/content/dam/brand_ford/en_us/brand/cpo/pdf/2023_Ford_F-150_Towing_Info_Dec16.pdf

Good call, we have all the manufacturer data available here.

For my configuration of F150 (crew cab, 6.5' bed = 157"wb, 3.31 gears = not max-tow) my conventional bumper tow is 11.2k but the 5th wheel tow rating is 10.1k, interesting.

But for the 3.73 gears (max tow) the rating is the same at 13.7k for either bumper-pull or 5th wheel.

 

[not2old]

I've never towed with a goose neck. Are there any differences to a 5th wheel other than the side to side flexibility?

 

[dodge man]

Keep in mind that when looking at tow charts they often don’t apply to your truck. Often in fine print it says when properly equipped. You can tow about anything with a half ton. Is it safe and legal is another question? To make a gooseneck or 5th wheel practical you need a payload approaching 3000 pounds.

 

[Hay Dude]

I've never towed with a goose neck. Are there any differences to a 5th wheel other than the side to side flexibility?

You mean between a 5th wheel and a GN?

A GN has a ball which can be mounted below the trucks bed, allowing more open cargo space when towing. It also allows more while towing because the 5th wheel apparatus is pretty large.

I would actually like a 5th wheel for a change someday, but I don’t think I can sacrifice the bed space.

 

[4570Man]

You mean between a 5th wheel and a GN?

A GN has a ball which can be mounted below the trucks bed, allowing more open cargo space when towing. It also allows more while towing because the 5th wheel apparatus is pretty large.

I would actually like a 5th wheel for a change someday, but I don’t think I can sacrifice the bed space.

I don’t like giving up the bed space even for a gooseneck. I have a 30ft gooseneck but I can haul nearly the same load using the flat bed and the bumper pull trailer.

 

[Hay Dude]

I don’t like giving up the bed space even for a gooseneck. I have a 30ft gooseneck but I can haul nearly the same load using the flat bed and the bumper pull trailer. View attachment 3941856

I couldn’t match this GN load of hay with a bumper pull and loading the bed.

If I shifted 2 bales of the 16 onto the bed, that would leave 14 bales. There’s no 20,000lb GVWR trailer that will carry 14 large bales without being overweight. Heck, the 14 bales weigh 12 tons alone. Even if I put 4 on the truck, and 12 on the trailer, the bales would weigh over 10 tons.
A 20,000lb GVWR trailer usually has a payload max of about 8 tons.

I hate the way a fully loaded BP feels compared to a fully loaded GN. The GN’s ride & handle nicer, putting more weight on the trucks front axle than a BP.

 

[nisaacs]

My baby load (about 5k) on my bumper pull.

 

[4570Man]

I couldn’t match this GN load of hay with a bumper pull and loading the bed.

View attachment 3941857

If I shifted 2 bales of the 16 onto the bed, that would leave 14 bales. There’s no 20,000lb GVWR trailer that will carry 14 large bales without being overweight. Heck, the 14 bales weigh 12 tons alone. Even if I put 4 on the truck, and 12 on the trailer, the bales would weigh over 10 tons.
A 20,000lb GVWR trailer usually has a payload max of about 8 tons.

I hate the way a fully loaded BP feels compared to a fully loaded GN. The GN’s ride & handle nicer, putting more weight on the trucks front axle than a BP.

If I had a 15 ton trailer it would be a different outcome but the weight capacity of the bed and bumper pull trailer combined is about the same as my 22k gooseneck trailer. This is not my truck but I really want to do the same thing with my Volvo. The Volvo is head and shoulders apart from the F-550.