Gooseneck ball/hitch

[bgilbert]

Alright, I'm fixing to get a gooseneck trailer to haul the dyno queen around . The 85 crew cab will be the hauler. A previous owner has welded a nice sized piece of channel iron to the frame and there's a hole in the bed for the ball. After myself and Matt the welder/fabricator looked it over real good it looks like it's been welded in there good. Matt's convinced me it's ok to run. I'll entertain comments about the use of such a gooseneck hitch. But my main question about this thread concerns the size of gooseneck balls. Didn't even know gooses had balls .

Inside the channel a 2 1/4" long piece of pipe has been welded in where the ball would slide through and tighten with the nut at the bottom. It has an ID of 2 1/4" as well. Do I need to find a ball that has a shank size of 2"- 2 1/4"? Obviously need one longer than 2 1/4" to have room for the nut on the bottom. My local farm supply store only had shank sizes of 1 1/8", up to 3" long and 10k weight rating. Is that weight rating ok? Any help/comments are welcome to this city boy .

[SChandler]

Bill, the balls I've seen rated for goosenecks have a 25-30k rating on them. I wouldn't trust a 10k rated, made in India ball with a gooseneck trailer/load combo that will easily be 10k. The dyno queen weighs what, 6500lbs-ish? Plus, gooseneck trailer at 4k-ish puts you at capacity on the ball. Lots of trailer supply places have gooseneck-rated balls. I personally wouldn't trust the farm store stuff. I don't have personal experience with goosenecks, but from what I've seen, they are heavy.

Edit: With some searching, I found this: http://www.etrailer.com/pc-GB~5973.htm. Maybe the previous owner was using something like this with the custom hitch he built.

[Philip]

Well now your going to turn old gray from a hanger queen to a trailer queen. Whats the world coming to.

[redneckroot]

I personally would be skeptical on towing with a hitch that is welded in. I would personally throw some bolts in it to be safe. Welds can break when the frame flexs. Breaking a weld or tearing the small section of frame out where it is welded is much easier then trying to break a good sized bolt or ripping it through the frame.

[PToombs]

What is it with Bill and queens?

Bill, I agree, get a ball with at least 15k capacity. 10 or 11 isn't going to cut it, and it's dangerous.

[bgilbert]

Edit: With some searching, I found this: http://www.etrailer.com/pc-GB~5973.htm. Maybe the previous owner was using something like this with the custom hitch he built.

I like that. Now only if I could find one with a 2 1/4" shank that's threaded. Or might have to weld one in... I'm gonna hit up some of the trailer dealers we have in the area and see what they've got. Thanks for the comments and keep em coming.

[GO OVRIT]

I wouldn't weld it in. Its nice having the ball removable like that one in the link. A hitch pin will hold it in fine. Your forces are horizontal not vertical, so as long as the 2 1/4" shank fits snugly in the pipe then you'll be good.

[bgilbert]

Oh so the 2 1/4" pipe acts like a bushing it seems. I think the hitch pin idea might work good. I hope the local trailer dealers have some good inventory . Thanks.

[MMiller]

Find a 2 5/16" ball with the large diameter shank on it, try and find a tall one, there is taller ones and shorter ones. Now have your welder buddy weld on a 2" wide plate that is about 3/8" thick, and about 8" long on to the ball, horizantal and flat, just so it will clear the floor of your bed. Then have him crawl under the truck and hold the nut. Install the ball and hit the bar repeatidly until the ball is tight. I prefer to have the bar on the ball pointed directly at the cab. Now weld the nut to the bottom of the channel or plate. Now, you can use your large hammer to un thread the ball whenever you need a flat bed floor, and then also install it the same way, by yourself. After that explaination, do you need pictures?

Also, I figure my max pin weight as the load rating of the rear tires on my pickup(3/4 ton single wheel), take this into account when looking at your current hitch(and buying tires for your truck). You may also choose to buy some new tires for the rear of you tow pig, that lessens your chances of blowing a tread off and ruining your dually fenders.

Also get a better ball then you have found. Even if you buy a 20-25' gooseneck with 7000# axles, it will likely weigh 5-6000# empty, then have a 6500# truck on it. You are already at 12,500, and the ability to haul up to 14,000# easily. You know my trailer weighs in at @ 7000# empty, and I can end up with over 20,000# real easy. You don't want a loose trailer bouncing around in the bed of your truck.

I know you are very money conscious, but spend extra money on good ball hitch, good brake controller, and good hardware to tie the load down on. If you buy right the first time, then you won't have to buy again, or replace the load lost.

If you still have my number Bill, give me a call, I broke my last phone and lost your number.

Michael

[bgilbert]

Ok I've talked myself out of using this homemade hitch. Gonna cut this one out and install an aftermarket hitch. Only now, what to get, who makes them for our dinosaur trucks?

[lincoln]

Most of your trailer, or farm supply stores can get or carry them. I no there is a place around Indianapolis (sorry if I spelled wrong). I helped my friends uncle put one in up there about 4 years ago. He said he purchased it localy. I think he lived in Monroeville or something like that. He had a 91 3/4ton 4x4.

[MMiller]

I could not find an aftermarket one for my truck a couple years ago. I ended up taking my truck to a local welding shop and they built me one. Its under the bed, and with the ball out, there is only a 3" hole in the sheetmetal, otherwise smooth. It is welded to the frame of my truck, and I ain't scared of it. There are tons of weld shop, or homemade hitches running around. If your buddy that welds/builds is convinced it will work, I'd run it. I'm sure that you won't be hauling the loads that I do.

Michael

[Richie O]

I agree. There is nothing wrong with a welded or custom hitch. As long as it is done correctly. I have built my own recievers before. I usually find a custom home made hitch is stronger than any boughten one. I am not an engineer so I over build things.

[bgilbert]

Michael, Richie, it's funny you two say that. After doing a search , I found that the B&W hitch made for our trucks is not as nice as their hitches made for new models. That said, guess I'm gonna pull the bed, inspect and possibly beef up or add some weld to the homemade hitch. I still need to get my hands on the ball that SChandler linked to. It's from a Draw-Tite brand model 6300. Now just need to find a local Draw-Tite dealer. I'll have to drill the short piece of 2 1/4" pipe to accept a hitch pin to hold the above ball.

If this hitch is no good, then we're gonna build one. Or a local machine shop will. Seems Matt is popular having his twin build work in Diesel Power . He's booked up on work lol.