Gooseneck hitches

[Puddin_Pie]

I have always had a bumper pull trailer, but am toying with the idea of adding a gooseneck hitch to my F-250 to have a little more flexibility if needing to pull a friend’s trailer with my bigger truck (full crew cab). What are the pros and cons to a turn over ball (I think I am calling it right)?

What do I need to look for in terms of a gooseneck hitch? Are they rated the way a tag a long hitch is? The truck came with a Class 4 hitch standard on it.

Do you have an extra plug in the bed for the trailer, or do they have long enough cords to reach the plug next to the license plate?

Thanks in advance.

[Guilherme]

The Gold Standard of gooseneck hitches is the B&W line. Look no further!!!

A standard gooseneck hitch will have a cable long enough to ensure correct hookup,

An in bed plug is a nice idea. Any good shop or dealer can install one.

G.

[Hannahsmom]

B&W turnover ball. Electrical in the bed. You’ll be doing a lot tighter turns with a GN. Electric plugs need to be IN the bed.

[Blume_Farm]

I just have the standard B&W turn over ball in my bed. I have had three gooseneck trailers and two different trucks. Never had the electric plug in in the bed of the truck and it has never been a problem. Cords were well long enough to plug in in the back.

Also, full crew cab does not necessarily mean a bigger truck, as in pulling power. Bigger truck is determined by the engine size (i.e.; F-150, F-250, etc.). You can have a full crew cab F-150 that I would not recommend pulling much bigger than a small 2 horse. Should have a F-250 (or similar Dodge, Chevy, etc) to pull anything larger.

[besttwtbever]

[QUOTE=Blume Farm;7818017]
I just have the standard B&W turn over ball in my bed. I have had three gooseneck trailers and two different trucks. Never had the electric plug in in the bed of the truck and it has never been a problem. Cords were well long enough to plug in in the back. [/QUOTE]

Same here except I’ve always had the same GN trailer.

For some reason the dealer I bought my trailer from wanted to put in one of those big plates where they cut a 12 x 12 square in your bed. I had done a lot of research and thank god I listened to COTH and went to another dealer to get the B&W turnover hitch! I love it and have no regrets whatsoever.

As far as I know, GN hitches are all rated for up to a 25,000 pound trailer. This is what the dealer that installed mine told me.

[hosspuller]

Bed length and height are key issues. Crew cabs are usually equiped with a short bed. You just can’t pull any GN trailer. The short bed trucks combined with a square or wide nose trailer means a smashed window when making a very tight turn. Similarly, a tall truck and a short neck-over traveling over a hump or dip in the roadway means a smashed tailgate or bed rail.

Other than that, the B+W turnover ball hitch has served me well for 13 years.

[Puddin_Pie]

Thanks to those who answered. Yes, it is a 250 Ford, so has a lot of pulling power. I am guessing short bed, but have to go outside to measure. It is a step up from our F 150 that had the crew cab and the tiny bed, so the bed seems huge, but in reality probably is not. It is a 4 by 4, so it sits up pretty high.

Next question, what about the bed liner? Can it still be used or should I have them yank it and do a spray liner? The shop in town listed on the B and W hitch site also does spray liners. I have not called them yet to see if they actually install hitches.

[moving_to_dc]

B&W Turnover fan here, too. First one installed in '99 and we’ve had one in every truck since then (five so far). Love that it has a Companion Fifth Wheel hitch that drops in the same hole, so we can haul goosenecks or 5th wheels.

We’ve always had a plug in the bed, and always prefer that location. Eliminates the worry about the cord catching on something and pulling out. Which DOES happen.

You do need to watch the distance between the trailer and the bed rails, as you can crunch them like others have mentioned.

We’ve owned long beds and short beds, and V-nose and flat fronted trailers. Never once have we hit the cab. You just have to remember what you are hauling and pay attention when backing. Generally, we avoid getting kinked to the degree that the cab/trailer are that close, as it torques the trailer tires pretty good, too. Especially on a triple axle trailer.

[moving_to_dc]

Regarding the bed liner - if it is a mat - you may have to put a screw and washer in the corner near the in-bed plug to hold it down. Some trailers create enough wind in the bed that the mat will actually “flop” in the corners, which will kick the plug out. Putting a screw in fixes the problem.

Bed mats are easy to cut holes in for the ball and chain hooks. You don’t have to have a spray in liner.

[Trakehner]

Here’s another consideration…how high are the walls of your bed? Trucks keep getting higher and higher sidewalls and when you have a gooseneck trailer, you might not be able to use the trailer unless there is enough clearance. I had a 4 horse head-to-head Trail-Et I couldn’t use with my 1 ton Dodge…I had 4" of clearance and would have dented the bed if I ever drove them hitched on anything by a flat road.

Big consideration.

[Blume_Farm]

My current truck is a dodge megacab with a short bed. I was worried about my new trailer hitting the cab when turning. Even with the regular gooseneck ball it worked but was close so I bought a special ball that sits back an extra 4". That extra clearance was perfect and I have had no issues, even when turning some pretty tight corners and backing up.

[Guilherme]

Regarding bedliners, you can cut a hole in the bed liner for a turnover ball without issue. A “hard” liner won’t notice, as pointed out a “soft” mat type might “flap” due to wind. My only concern is moisture getting under the liner causing corrosion that won’t be seen until it causes real problems.

As far as sidewall height is concerned, that should be accounted for. Most gooseneck hitches are adjustable in length so that if you have a higher side wall you can raise the nose of the trailer some. That won’t guarantee you won’t have contact where the trailer is both rolling and turning (as it can on uneven ground). It will reduce the risk, however.

Our crew cab is a long bed and I can (and have) done some “jackknife” turns to get and in and out of places I had to be. If you’ve got a short bed 250 there is an “extender” from B&W that will move the pivot point of the trailer back some distance and greatly reduce the risk of breaking a window.

G.

[Tom_King]

I love my PopUP, but recommend most others get a B&W. I do have other plugs in the bed, as well as the one beside the bumper hitch.

[katarine]

You will need to see if the trailer can ride level if the truck is ‘jacked up’. Our dually is 4WD but it’s not ‘jacked up’ …and it’s a flat bed so there’s nothing to hit anyway.

I don’t have the plug in the bed, just on the back. One less thing to get filthy or torn up (we USE that flat bed sometimes). The plug on the back of the bed works just fine .

I’d ditch the liner and do a spray in liner, we had Rhino liner on the last truck, it was super nice to have.

[airhorse]

Line-X is the way to go on the spray in, just no comparison from what I have experienced. Ditto the issues with any type of soft liner, it will flop.

[beau159]

[QUOTE=Blume Farm;7818333]
My current truck is a dodge megacab with a short bed. I was worried about my new trailer hitting the cab when turning. Even with the regular gooseneck ball it worked but was close so I bought a special ball that sits back an extra 4". That extra clearance was perfect and I have had no issues, even when turning some pretty tight corners and backing up.[/QUOTE]

I did the exact same thing with hubby’s shortbed pickup. Those 4 inches really make a big difference!

[ChocoMare]

Had my 2nd B & W Turnoverball hitch installed in my Chevy 3500 with a full bed liner without issue. Since the safety chain pull-up bolts wind up sitting flush with the bed liner and are hard to grab, I just slipped in large/thick cable ties as tugs. Pull up, clip in the hook

Best price anywhere on a B&W is from Tweety’s.

[Blume_Farm]

What a great idea! Simple, yet smart. Gonna do the same thing as that is always a pet peeve of mine!!

[QUOTE=ChocoMare;7819023]
Had my 2nd B & W Turnoverball hitch installed in my Chevy 3500 with a full bed liner without issue. Since the safety chain pull-up bolts wind up sitting flush with the bed liner and are hard to grab, I just slipped in large/thick cable ties as tugs. Pull up, clip in the hook

Best price anywhere on a B&W is from Tweety’s.[/QUOTE]

[DHCarrotfeeder]

[QUOTE=Puddin Pie;7818274]
Thanks to those who answered. Yes, it is a 250 Ford, so has a lot of pulling power. I am guessing short bed, but have to go outside to measure. It is a step up from our F 150 that had the crew cab and the tiny bed, so the bed seems huge, but in reality probably is not. It is a 4 by 4, so it sits up pretty high.

Next question, what about the bed liner? Can it still be used or should I have them yank it and do a spray liner? The shop in town listed on the B and W hitch site also does spray liners. I have not called them yet to see if they actually install hitches.[/QUOTE]

I just cut through the plastic bedliner when I installed the B&W on our F-250. A single hole saw and careful measurements put it right on the mark.

When I’m hauling loose material I just grab duct tape and cover over the 3 holes in the bedliner. I just try to peel off the duct tape before it gets too dry and nasty. If you don’t do anything you’ll end up with dirt rubbing between the bedliner and bed which probably won’t matter in the life of the truck but it bothers me.

The B&W is a DIY install if you’re reasonably handy. The only tip I’ll offer is your bed is probably pushed down slightly in the middle from use. Use a 2x4 to gently pry up enough space between the bed bottom and truck frame to insert the B&W frame. Just about any shop should be able to install the hitch, but using a shop that does it often will help ensure it’s done professionally and securely.

There are other perfectly good turnover ball options but frankly for the money it’s hard to beat B&W.

David

[Tom_King]

I like 8 inches of clearance for the neckover over the sides of the truck, and the trailer level when hitched and loaded. 6 inches up at the front is not level to me, but seems to be for the vast majority of horse trailers you see going down the road.