Duramax/gooseneck trailer

Hey guys, according to my owners manual, my 3/4 ton duramax is rated to tow 6 ton, I will probably be hauling about 9 ton, how heavy to you guys tow with yours?

I also am searching for a gooseneck deckover dual tandem axle trailer to haul a 6 ton tractor on. Any ideas where to find a good used one without breaking the bank? I have done a little searching on craigslist.

Thanks.

1T dually-34ft dual tandem trailer tagged for 36000lbs.Have had more on it,but try and stay close to that.

My rant for the month about overloaded small trucks.
In my career of over 40 years on the road, I have seen way too many "little trucks" with "big loads" have Gigantic Problems.
Book on my GMC rates 3500 series ( 1 ton) at 15000 gross trailer weight. Must be 5th wheel or gooseneck hitch, 2500 series (3/4 ton) rated at 12000 trailer. That's gross, trailer plus load. Trailer strong enough to carry a 12000 load will weigh approx 3000 empty.
If you have money to throw away, you can pay license fee for any weight you want, but that doesn't make the little truck any stronger.
Might not get checked by Diesel Bears, but in case anyone does something stupid, you are all done. Being overloaded, you are 100% at fault as it is illegal for you to be there with that load.
Insurance might cover that incident, but they will cancel coverage immediately. Insurance companies talk to each other, so no one will volunteer to write new coverage, get assigned to risk pool, premiums will be more than double what you have been paying.
If involved in an accident, no matter who caused it, or get inspected, you will be put "Out of Service" on the spot. Then you don't move unless you do either of 2 choices. Hire someone with a strong enough truck to carry the weight, or hire someone with a trailer to take enough weight off to make your rig legal.
For the ocassional heavy move, borrow, rent, steal, or hire someone with a strong enough truck. If hiring someone, make sure the operator has cargo insurance to cover your property. Will be way ahead moneywise in the long run. If a regular event, buy a stronger truck.
End of rant.
Willie, diesel pilot-retired.

Went on a buying tour in '04 with my new 2500 HD and 30' gooseneck from TN to IA. Came back home to TN at 31,000. I set the rings good on first trip out!

DOT is starting to frown on single rear wheel trucks pulling big tandem axle dual wheel trailers.Its done all the time around here but those days may be ending.Just something to think about.

I've got an old IH Transtar tandem axle semi that I bought for the engine.The tag on the door says maximum GVW is 35,000 so how can it legally weigh and pull 80,000 which it used to do all the time.It pulled a hopper bottom and cattle pot for years.

My Ford dually has a GVW of 10,000 and my 25 ft gooseneck has a GVW of 14,000.The two together weigh close to 12,000 empty so that leaves 12,000 I can haul.I'm sure thats more than its rated to tow but it has the axles and tires to do it.Is there anything on the road thats actually 100% legal?

I've got a heavy 2 ton farm truck that has a GVW of 17,820.It routinely weighs near 30,000 loaded which isnt over on the axles or tires.If I went to the elevator weighing 18,000 I would only have less than 140 bushels of grain in a 16 ft bed that can haul 370 bushels.

F-350
Take another look at the tag on the door. There should be another rating, GCVW.
GVW is the rating for gross weight of the truck itself, with a load, but no trailer.
GCVW is gross combination rating, truck with trailer.
Your F-350 should be rated strong enough to pull 14000, or maybe a bit heavier, trailer
About filling the box to cubic capacity. I have hauled lead shot to an amunition factory. 53 ft long, 13 ft 6 in high trailer, 10 tubs each 30x30x18 in, grossed out at 79000 with only half full fuel. Covering the floor only 1 high would have been about 70 of those 4000# tubs, stack 6 high to reach the roof would have been over 400 tubs. Have hauled that many empties back to lead smelter.
Willie

Just went and looked and the Transtars MAX GCW doesnt have a thing stamped beside it on the plate but I"ll almost bet that back in its day it wasnt rated for 80,000.

The point I"m making can DOT really do anything about a single rear wheel pickup with a GVW of 9000 pulling a gooseneck trailer with triple axles and a GVW of 21,000.As long as he has the liscense,the tires,the brakes,and isnt over on an axle what are their grounds to stop him? I know a guy that runs such a setup with an F-250 Ford and hes done it for years with no problems.Most of the time he only has 6-7000 lbs on the trailer but once in awhile he pushes the limit.

I also looked at my F-350 and it says the maximum GCWR with a manual tranny and 4.10 gears is 14,000 so by using that I could only haul 2000 lbs on my trailer.Whats funny is a 7.5 gasser with 4.10 gears is rated for 16,000 and with 5.13 gears its rated for 26,000.

F350, in Missouri, anything rated at 10,000 and higher is classified as a commercial vehicle. Any dual wheel pickup pulling a loaded trailer and not showing a DOT number is going to have a bad day...

They sure arent enforcing it much because I go all over MO, KS,OK,NE and other midwestern states and seldom ever see a DOT number on any pickup pulling a trailer.I've even driven right by the DOT several times and they never even looked.

I'd say the day is fastly approaching when the DOT numbers will be enforced.

F-350
Since neither of us knows the exact history of the trucks in question, there are several possibilities.
A tandem Transtar can be rated for 80k. It would be a 400 or 4000 series in the model number.
It is possible that the truck was delivered from the factory as a long wheelbase model set up for use as a dump or transit mixer, Norwegian Winnebago(trash packer) etc. If that is the case, it would not have the GCVW tag. If a dealer or aftermarket supplier sometime later modified it for tractor use, a second tag SHOULD have been added next to the original. Possibly the second tag wasn't added, or came off. It is just a sticker that dealer fills out on typewriter.
By modifying with the heavier frame, axles, etc, a Fleetstar, 190/1900-220/2200 could be beefed up enough to rate GCVW at 80k. Theoretically a Loadstar 160/1600-180/1800 could be too, but would be cheaper to just start with a heavier series.
About the different ratings on 4.10/5.13 gears, the higher number/slower speed gears put less strain on clutch, trans, driveshaft etc.
Willie

Well said, Willie. I've been guilty of overloading my '08 F350 in recent years, regularly pulling 12 tons to the antique pulls all summer. This year the loaded trailer will weigh 17 tons, and I wouldn't be safe or legal. Tonight I just finished shortening the wheelbase on a Freightliner FL70, and am putting a hauler bed on it for trailer duties. May not be as comfortable as the Ford, but I'll be able to stop, and haul the weight legally. Wheelbase ended up at 218 with a 60" sleeper, and RV plates only cost $108/year,(tractor shows/pulls only), cheap insurance, too. Older single axle trucks (or even a semi) can be bought real cheap right now, so it's a good time to solve my problem.

How did you pull the RV plates deal off? I have been trying to figure out how to do this for a long time. Any Secrets? Most states require for it to be an RV it has to have living quarters.

In Illinois, there has to be at least 4 of the 6 qualifications set by the D.O.T. to be considered an RV, which are sink, toilet, stove, heater, sleeping area, and power supply. BUT there is another rule that says a pickup with a topper that is used primarily for recreational travel or temporary camping can also be tagged as an RV. My truck has a 5 foot sleeper. It's a bit of a grey area, but I've seen a number of DAY CAB tractors pulling race trailers with RV plates on the tractor. I spoke with the local DMV, and there is no inspection involved, just come and get your plates. Insurance company said it's a class "C" RV, full coverage is $271/year. The nice thing is, no CDL, no weight restrictions, no scales, and nationwide travel. Now if I get caught hauling for hire, we got a problem, but my truck will be parked unless I'm heading to a tractor event. It will be recreational use only, which is the defination of an RV.

I have the same situation, I only use mine to pull a gooseneck to go to tractor pulls. Right now I have Farm tags and a CDL exemption for 150 miles, but if I cross a state line that is where it gets iffy.I have been looking at this RV deal, just haven't been able to make it work yet. Thanks for the info. I'm going to do a little checking with my local DMV.

I am in the same boat. I was needing a heavier tow vehicle than my 1/2 ton pickup that was way overloaded. I thought the cheapest route would be a day cab tractor with a low boy type trailer. Seemed simple until I found out (in KY) that if it has air brakes, it is still treated as over the road. Therefore, it was going to require a $1 million dollar insurance policy. I could put farm plates on it to eliminate the CDL problem.

Long story short, I bought a F-250 and a 14K gooseneck trailer. The day cab truck was going to cost way too much after insurance, tire replacement, and general maintanence. My friend has this setup and he says it cost him about $3000 a year. Just not worth that to me to go to 10 or so tractor events a year.

Class A motor homes have air brakes but still get the exemption. That is the reason for the RV tag. RVs don't come under DOT rules as commercial vehicles. Doesn't matter how much they weigh or what kind of brakes they have.

I agree with johndeerefan and toolz. Its not as easy as it sounds. Hauling my tractor to pulls with a $5000 single axle road tractor and a good $5000 12 ton gooseneck/pintle hitch equipment trailer would be great, but how do you license it as non commercial? Its over 26000GVW so its cdl and trailer is over in Ohio so its automatically a commercial trailer. You have to pay for regristration, which goes by gvw, but in my case I"d be looking a gcvwr, because I"d be towing. Then if I want to slip into west virginia or pennsylvania then I"d have to hope I was legal for their state and ifta. More worried about the cost of regristration for a year and insurance, which I"ve heard will be a couple of thousand dollars a year, so I"m going to buy a good trailer and try the 3/4ton duramax. Max weight behind truck should be 18,500 or less, with a dual tandem axle trailer.

F350, if you haven't been stopped yet, the day is coming. There was a lot of talk about this on external_link. Someone got stopped and had no idea they fell under commercial regs. Someone else posted a link to the MODOT web site and it clearly states that anything with a GVW above 10K is considered a CMV in MO. Funny thing is according to Federal regs, I'm private. Crossing a state line, Federal applies. MODOT says that too, but still tries to slip that 10k limit in there. I think sooner or later someone with deep enough pockets is going to call them on the carpet in court and point out some of the conflicting rules.

When and if you ever get stopped, the box that says "exceeding manufactures recommended weight limit" will most likely be checked, along with the appropriate fine for the overage.BTDT
I'm on the east cost and the states are in such a financial bind they and the DOT are starting to enforce things that they used to look the other way on as a source of revenue.

You are right.It's all about money. Not a thing to do with Safety as they try to tell you.All these people are on the payroll and now they have to figure out how to pay them.