Gooseneck Trailer Choices

Well the time has finally arrived for me to bring home my Grandpas Farmall 706 (more on that another time). Pretty quickly Ive decided that a 10k lb tractor on my 14k bumper pull for 350 miles wont be a good time. Ive also been needing a gooseneck for a while now before the hire it hauled comments come.

So I have a gooseneck hitch ordered. My bumper pull is just about sold and will have $8,000 to play with. My options are looking like a new golden for just over budget or a used Golden, Cornpro or Load Trail. Also have the option of trading even up for a 22k Big Tex but Im thinking that is just too big for what I haul typically and will put me into CDL territory

Besides the bells and whistles and some construction differences is there any reason not to buy a cheaper brand flatbed for the monthly load? Coming from a PJ deckover tilt.
 
Is your current trailer already in CDL territory I know years ago when I got my CDL it was. I also got rid of my CDL several years ago so not up to date.
 
What is the rating on the trailers your looking at? I have a 14k gooseneck but when the weight of the trailer is subtracted I only have about 9k left for the load.
 
Looking at 14k trailers. The trick Im seeing with the
goosenecks is 14k on the axles, 2k on tongue. Giving a
12k payload.
 
CDL comes into play at 26000 combined weight with a trailer over 10000. And those are nameplate weight ratings.
 
You do not say where you are located. Appalachian Trailer makes a good product, you can buy factory direct or from a dealer. Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
Should have added, not sure what state you are in. Some states now have non commercial class A licenses. That would cover you if everything is personal use and not for business purposes.
 
Buy one that you can build a headache rack,to hold you chains and binders up, you wont be sorry , i put one on mine, you can see them hanging from the rear view mirrow of the pickup, and built a cover with a padlock so i dont worry about anybody stealing my dunnage when at a show or anytime for that matter, just look at a 18 wheeler some time hows theirs is made, and copy theirs!
 


Try to find one that is painted instead of powder coated. Powder coat falls off a trailer very quickly.
 
CornPro is top of the line or at least it's sold as such. Local dealer sells Load Trail, they're priced toward the high end of the range.

Never heard of Golden. They are built by CornPro according to google. So a cheaper model?

If given the option I would go for a new trailer every time even if it was a little over budget. My budget has never been even close to the price of a new trailer. With used trailers you end up with someone else's junk. They're getting rid of it for a reason. Sure there's the odd creampuff that only hauled the little old lady's car to church on Sundays, but they want so close to new for them you may as well buy new.
 
I thought I was the only one that hated powder coating. It's TRUE. It peels and falls off in big chunks. Not durable as paint. Even with paint it seems no trailer company primes them first.
 
Keep in mind that a 14k gooseneck weighs in a 5000 lbs and a 20k gooseneck weighs in at 7k to 9k.. so you have to add the trailer weight to your tractor to figure if your within the 14k or 20k total. My big goose is rated 25K, which is not enough quite often. Then there are the ramps and dove tail. a dovetail is great with ramps for loading.. but if you have a tricycle tractor, you may need ramps all the way across.. AND.. Ramps are heavy and hard to flip in a lot of cases. ALSO a dove tail drags everytime I come out or go into a drive way with a slope or low spot. Also there are the older narrow trailers and the newer wide trailers. The wide ones are easier to drive on, and FANTASTIC for hauling 6x5 roundbales, where on my narrow goosenecks, the round bales really hang out there. Also.. pay a bit extra and run G rated tires or 14ply to eliminate all the typical tires problems with the E rated tires. ( I run over weight with a full load of hay). then there are brakes... on a 14k trailer the electric brakes work well. On the 25k trailer the electric brakes are marginal and almost useless. To do over, I would electric over hydraulic on a 25k trailer for safety's sake. Then there is length. For single tractor and maybe an implement my 26' 14k is a breeze to pull. For hay and multiple tractors the 40' is needed and its a monster in tight places and pulls much harder... Then there is a torque tube for the long trailers to keep it from twisting but adding a lot more weight to the empty trailer. Then there are the steps and tool boxes on the sides if your really filling rich.. And having two speed double crank jacks on the front for handling heavy loads... Hope some of this helps... BIll
 
Going bigger might be better. Larger axles have larger brakes.

Have you ever heard someone complain that their trailer just has too much stopping power ? I haven't .

A non-CDL class A is not a difficult test in Illinois. Might want to check it out.

Several years ago I ordered a new Donahue gooseneck to haul grain. I ordered it with two 14k axles. Dealer said I was nuts. So be it. With the overkill axles came larger brakes. Just what I wanted ! I've never slid a tire when loaded, but it stops pretty well.
 
I guess I'm one of the few that is happy with my powder coated trailer. So far my 8 year old PJ flat bed has held up good. It lives outside but I will not use it in the salt and it is not a everyday user so that probably helps allot. My last flatbed I was painting it about every 3 years it seems like. Just like my dump trailer.

My son has the same trailer PJ trailer and uses it in his business in the salt and mud and what have you, probably overloads it half the time and probably has never washed it. It doesn't look as good as mine but still looks pretty good for what he puts his trailers through.
 
(quoted from post at 09:07:43 01/23/23) Looking at 14k trailers. The trick Im seeing with the
goosenecks is 14k on the axles, 2k on tongue. Giving a
12k payload.

With that math you are saying the tare weight of the trailer is only 4K. Better re think that tare weight.
 
My trailer is short. 16+5. Tare weight is around 4500. I pulled my 4020 1,000 miles to home. 9200 GVW truck and 14K trailer. This load was 1K over gross. 700 heavy on the trailer and 300 heavy on the truck.
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