Goose neck Hitches??

Tamper84

New User
Hello All,

I am in the process of fixing up an 1974 International 200 one ton 4x4 pickup. And I know I want a gooseneck for the stock trailer and flat bed. I have looked and no one makes one for the truck. (Goes with the course for it lol) Anyway, I have seen some cobbled up jobs at the sale barn, and I honestly dont want that. How would you guys go about putting a gooseneck in? Make your own from scratch? Or would you modify an exisiting hitch?

Thanks,
Chris
 
I would make my own since all they are is a simple 2-5/16 ball and a heavy piece of iron to hold it. My 1980 Chev has a goose neck hitch and it is a ball welded to a 6 inch piece of channel iron that is welded to the bed which is a flat bed by the way. I also have a 5th wheel hitch on it and a ball hitch and a pindle hitch for it
 

I just put one in my pickup and I bought a B&W hitch. You can buy cheaper ones but with the turnaball you can use your bed to haul things in the bottom just like a pickup with out a hitch in it.

Bob
 
I have been fabricating and installing gooseneck hitches fo over 30 years.I also sell several brands of factory hitches including the B and W hitches. It kindly depends if you want the ball to be removable and how much money you want to spend,as to what you do. A 3/4 or 1 in. thick plate 12 in. wide with a hole drilled in the center and BOLTED ,not welded to the frame makes a good hitch. You can Weld the Nut to the plate on the botton side, grind a set of flats on the high rise ball, put the lock washer between the plate and ball and screw it out when not in use.There are several universal hitches that can be adjusted to different frame widths,if you want a fold down ball.
 
If you're looking for something simple, the local farm store here sells a heavy reinforced plate with the ball welded to it. No mounting brackets. About a hundred bucks. Here's an example from an internet source.
Gooseneck plate
 
Thanks guys. It is a flatbed, and I was wanting it to sit lower then the bed so I can make a door to hide it when I want to haul something. I will post a pic of where I am wanting to put it when I get home from work. Welding man, would you just bolt down thru the frame and not put any side pieces on it? And would you put the bolts completely thru both frame flanges or just thru the top?

Thanks,
Chris
 
I bolt angles to the side of the frame with 3 -5/8 in bolts. Usually 3/8 x 3 or 4 in. angle and weld the plate to the angles.I don't like bolting to the top flange. I have seen the top flange break out around the plate.You can also attach the plate to the stringers on the flatbed if the bed is bolted down properly.
 
On my brothers "84 GMC 2500 I took a piece of 5" c-channel, gusseted it with a 4" wide, 1" thick piece of solid steel and then welded it straight to the frame rails. I am a toolmaker so have access to a mill so I drilled and tapped the center hole for a threaded ball but you could just drill a hole or blow one out with a torch and weld in solid if you dont care about removeability of the ball...
 
I have two of them. The older truck I bought the top part of a "Turnover Ball". I built the side flats for the outside of the frame rails. The newer one I bought a B & W complete with the side flats. Both of these, the balls release and you put them back in upside down making the truck bed flat.
 
I've seen flatbeds just like what you're talking about.

Usually the flatbed sits up high enough off the frame that there's plenty of space underneath the deck for a simple flat plate welded/bolted to the frame rails. Weld a ball and two loops for safety chains to the plate.

I'd use at least 3/4" plate for a flat plate.
 
Again thanks guys. Here is a picture of the truck and a picture of where the goose neck will go. And the bed is just secured with big u-bolts, so idk if I would trust welding a plate in there. Thanks again!!!!
3249.jpg
3250.jpg


And sorry if they are big, I dont have any clue on how to resize my pictrues

Thanks,
Chris
 
whatever you do, make sure it is removeable.. ie.. pop up ball, flip over ball, flip over plate.. etc.

don't want it killing your bed space when not in use.

soundguy
 
Hi Tamper, just a point for your consideration: if the ball sits in a pocket below the bed you will have to do a lot of jacking to get the trailer coupled/uncoupled; have seen this eliminated by installing a "channel" in the bed that extends from the ball mount area to the rear of the bed at ball base level. This channel is then covered by a door when flat bed is desired. Bed cross members would require reinforcing!! May not be worth the work for you depending on your trailer use, or could be a good justification for an electric tounge jack.
 
Nice truck! What engine, 345? The bed would either need strengthened and rigidly secured to the frame, or leave as is and use channel iron UNDER the bed to the frame like Welding Man said.

Proper placement is 4" ahead of the rear axle center line.

CT
 
Charles as I have said before, I have installed dozens and dozens of gooseneck hitches in the last 35 years and I won't argue with you on the 4in but that is a matter of opinion. The factory hitches like B and W have no adjustment as where to set them. They run anywhere fron 2in to 8 in in front of the axle. I have put lots of them on at 2 in. in front of the centerline with no problems. I have actually set a few behind the axle on heavier trucks with long bed to have enough turning radius for the bed to clear the tongue.If you get them too far foreward, it makes them turn too quick when backing up.
 
(quoted from post at 11:57:22 10/07/11) Charles as I have said before, I have installed dozens and dozens of gooseneck hitches in the last 35 years and I won't argue with you on the 4in but that is a matter of opinion. The factory hitches like B and W have no adjustment as where to set them. They run anywhere fron 2in to 8 in in front of the axle. I have put lots of them on at 2 in. in front of the centerline with no problems. I have actually set a few behind the axle on heavier trucks with long bed to have enough turning radius for the bed to clear the tongue.If you get them too far foreward, it makes them turn too quick when backing up.

I just got the 4" number from the instructions in my B&W hitch packet. Sounds like a good number. The hitch was for a 6 1/2' bed. I agree it would have to possibly be further back on a 8' or 9' bed. Or if you have a short neck trailer. Did not mean to miss-lead anyone that 4" was a magic number, I just knew that is what B&W set my hitch at..

CT
 
(quoted from post at 09:08:51 10/07/11) Nice truck! What engine, 345? The bed would either need strengthened and rigidly secured to the frame, or leave as is and use channel iron UNDER the bed to the frame like Welding Man said.

Proper placement is 4" ahead of the rear axle center line.

CT

Thanks Charles. But I dont think I will have an option of putting the ball infront of the rear axle. Because of the quick drop in the frame. And the motor is a 392! And I do have a 75 3/4 ton 4x4 with 392 for sale.... :roll: lol
 
Seeing the pictures now, I wouldn't attach it to the bed.

I'd do as I suggested before: Attach to the frame UNDER the bed, then build an access through the top of the bed for the hitch to drop into.
 
I towed a wrecked F-350 flatbed several years ago that had a cattle trailer on a ball in the middle of the bed. A pickup ran a stop sign in front of him and the bed crushed the back of the cab in the crash. The u-bolts didn't hold the bed in place and the driver was nearly killed in the seat by the steering wheel and the crushed in back wall of the cab. I would never install a ball only to the bed. My.02.
 
You better go back and read what I said since I did not say to put a simple ball in the bed of any thing.
 

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