Trailer warning, this could happen to you

[Too many Kubotas]

I like my bumper pull trailers way more than a gooseneck. They’re way easier to hook up for the main reason. I can’t load the bed for the second reason.

Not sure how a bumper pull would be easier to hook up.

Between the mirrors and the seam in the middle of my flatbed I can see if I'm correctly positioned side to side. Then it's guesswork for the last two feet or so, and the auxiliary tank doesn't help, but I rarely miss by more than one or two inches lengthwise.

To me it's much harder to hook up a bumper pull, partially because I'm almost completely out of practice doing that. Maybe once a month on average, and that's with smaller tow vehicles.

Also, for me the ability to have anything on the bed is irrelevant. Never had anything on it in eight years and that's not likely to change. What will change is that I'll make a minimalistic bed for the 3500, basically a gooseneck hitch, fenders, taillights, and a couple of toolboxes. That's all I need and want.

 

[4570Man]

Not sure how a bumper pull would be easier to hook up.

Between the mirrors and the seam in the middle of my flatbed I can see if I'm correctly positioned side to side. Then it's guesswork for the last two feet or so, and the auxiliary tank doesn't help, but I rarely miss by more than one or two inches lengthwise.

To me it's much harder to hook up a bumper pull, partially because I'm almost completely out of practice doing that. Maybe once a month on average, and that's with smaller tow vehicles.

Also, for me the ability to have anything on the bed is irrelevant. Never had anything on it in eight years and that's not likely to change. What will change is that I'll make a minimalistic bed for the 3500, basically a gooseneck hitch, fenders, taillights, and a couple of toolboxes. That's all I need and want.

I have a backup camera for the bumper hitch ball. If I pulled the GN very often I’d add a second camera but for now I’m backing blind when I hook it up. I only have to run the jacks on the BP trailer the bare minimum to get it to clear the ball. With the GN I have to lift it another 6 inches or so since the ball is recessed in the bed. I also have to get on the bed to latch the ball and hook the chains where the BP doesn’t require that. I also have to get out of the truck before even starting and open the cover in the bed.

 

[RayIN]

Many "silicone's" will cause corrosion, they have an acetic acid base that citrus smell that you smell while working with it. A latex caulk will not cause corrosion

Yep, a "neutral-cure" silicone is best for most applications, vs the cheap stuff.

 

[nisaacs]

Okay, I give up. After thinking about it for days I still can't see how those two trailers would somehow be less useful if they were goosenecks.

I have a little bumper pull flatbed similar to yours, never use it. Okay, three times in 15 years, but the gooseneck version gets lots of miles on it.

My point wasn't about how useful a gooseneck trailer is. They have there place too.

My point was, they didn't have to be, to be desirable/useful.

Just about any reasonable tow vehicle will have a receiver from the factory. Not so with a gooseneck hitch. Dump trucks, SUV's, pickup with a camper or ladder racks, tractor, even ATV can tow a bumper hitch trailer. Gooseneck, not so much.

 

[QRTRHRS]

It is possible to pull a gooseneck with a dump depending on the application. I regularly see a grain dump pulling a gooseneck dump here in KY. They are hauling sawdust which of course weighs light but is bulky. I have never looked at the hitch but it comes off of the rear of the frame. There may be more than one setup like that as I regularly notice the rig.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I only ever pulled a goosenecks with a flatbed. With my Ram, I could secure it by leaning over. My FL70, I still had to climb up. When I sold a gooseneck horse trailer to a man who's dually had a box, I watched him climb/crawl in to secure it. Not for me.

 

[jwmorris]

I believe that randomly, that wire anchoring screw would jump into the right spot where the brake connection wire is and ground out with the terminal next to it and cause the brakes to lock. Could this have been the reason the brakes locked?

All of my electric brakes are activated by positive voltage. If your wiring is like these the reverse lights and right turn signal could be a source for voltage due to a short by a fastener large enough to bridge the gap between the two.

If you are actually providing the ground to the brakes to activate them, I might rewire both ends so the brake is not right beside the ground terminal.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I only have to run the jacks on the BP trailer the bare minimum to get it to clear the ball. With the GN I have to lift it another 6 inches or so since the ball is recessed in the bed. I also have to get on the bed to latch the ball and hook the chains where the BP doesn’t require that. I also have to get out of the truck before even starting and open the cover in the bed.

It took me a while to want to get them, but now I really appreciate hydraulic jacks on trailers. Especially the Diamond C's which has a wireless remote for its jacks.

I removed the lid over the trailer ball on my bed, saving me that step, and the minimalistic bed I want to make would make everything as accessible as on a bumper pull.

 

[Hay Dude]

I only ever pulled a goosenecks with a flatbed. With my Ram, I could secure it by leaning over. My FL70, I still had to climb up. When I sold a gooseneck horse trailer to a man who's dually had a box, I watched him climb/crawl in to secure it. Not for me.

I’m beginning to despise hooking/unhooking my GN from my Ram. Crawling across diamondplate in the hot sun is painful.
A tandem axle flatbed truck is definitely in my future

 

[Too many Kubotas]

My point wasn't about how useful a gooseneck trailer is. They have there place too.

My point was, they didn't have to be, to be desirable/useful.

Just about any reasonable tow vehicle will have a receiver from the factory. Not so with a gooseneck hitch. Dump trucks, SUV's, pickup with a camper or ladder racks, tractor, even ATV can tow a bumper hitch trailer. Gooseneck, not so much.

Having towed a lot with either a camper shell or a camper in the bed I had no choice but using bumper pulls. But times changed and I got a tow vehicle with a 5th wheel, which introduced me to all the advantages of having the trailer's weight and pivot point applied to the tow vehicle where it rightfully should be.

When later stepping back down to a pickup for a tow vehicle there was no doubt in my mind that goosenecks were the way to go. And yes, I tow bumper pulls quite a bit, such as my little 10' dump trailer and towable implements, just not on public roads.