I’m looking at a Chevy Silverado 2500 with a short bed. I currently have a bumper pull, but hope to get a gooseneck in the near future. I have friends who haul 2-3 horse goosenecks with shortbed trucks who say its fine, but the dealer mentioned that some trailers would be a problem.
Does anyone have any advice or experience to share? The trailer would be a 2-horse, something like this:
http://www.sundownertrailer.com/trailers/horse/gooseneck/straight_load/sunLite_777
Thanks for any help!
Shouldn’t be a problem
The more angled the nose of the trailer is, the better. That’s the part that will come through your rear window if you turn too sharp. 
You won’t have the flexibility to jack the trailer around 90+ degrees to the truck like you can with a long bed, but in general it still works. I think the trailers that cause the most trouble are RVs or the ones with the big square fronts.
We just bought an F250 and there were no long bed extended cabs to be found – I’d have had to take a crew cab to get the long bed, and I’m not sure that would have fit in the garage! So, short bed it is. I don’t have the hitch installed yet but I backed it up to the trailer and it looks fine.
Years ago my friend borrowed my trailer (Logan Coach) and pulled it with her short bed Dodge and didn’t have any trouble.
Since you’re getting the truck first, you’ll be able to check the clearance before you buy the trailer. I wouldn’t worry too much if that’s the truck you want.
I have a short bed F350 and a brand new Merhow gooseneck. The dealer (our own Tobruk) had me purposely manhandle the rig into a near-jackknife situation (and showed me how to extricate myself, LOL) and the gooseneck portion was in NO danger of walloping the truck, ever. The trailer does have a slightly tapered nose, which I believe makes a difference. If there is any potential for collision, you can buy an extension for the ball that moves the trailer back 6-8".
There is also a short bed that is a foot longer, you can ask for that.
My short bed is not 5 1/2’ but 6 1/2’.
Or you can get the gooseneck extension mentioned if you do later feel you have a problem.
A friend just went to trade and for just a few hundred dollars more he got what he wanted in a ton pickup, the 3500, not 2500, same mileage, etc. and is very happy with it.
He said there was not any difference in size for driving or handling, just that much more power.
That would also be another option.
I currently have a 2011 chevy short bed crew cab duramax. I had a 2002 short bed gas chevy king cab. No problem with hauling a bumper or a goose.
Only thing on the 2011 is the truck is higher off the ground than the 2002 so had to adjust the gooseneck stem down a bit.
Also the bed on the 2011 is a bit different being the ball is a bit in front of the axle. There is a huge beam/support in the middle of the bed underneath. So the business which does the hitch puts it just a hair in front of the center. You do not want somebody to drill or cut through that support underneath. There is an adapter you can get so it puts the hitch further back. I didn’t get it. Pulls just fine. I have a goose right now, but do have a drop down extender to pull a bp.
You would never notice pulling or a visual the hitch being just a hair in front of the axle’s. My friends older ford is like that. Pulls fine.
I would RUN FAST away from the dealer at $1600. Find a reputable business to install your new hitch. STAY away from the dealer. That is a rip off. Mine cost a couple hundred bucks. The dealer more than likely would take the truck to this place have the hitch installed then bring back to dealership for you. Oh, and charge a huge premium for the service. They usually do not do those in-house. You want somebody who knows how to do it, and do it really well, and will do a great job.
For what I have been told by all gooseneck experts, the ball is supposed to be a few inches in front of the back axle, to work as intended.
Those that are mounted like that are the correct ones.:yes:
Oh thanks, that is some great info Bluey. I have always wondered. I have had no issues with the ball where it is located now on the 2011. Cool and thanks again for the info.
I haul by gooseneck with a short bed (6.5’) Dodge half ton. It does a great job. The short bed with the longer cab can actually haul more weight, and is more stable than the full size with a standard cab on my type truck.
The biggest issue is that when backing in a tight jackknife, you may hit the window with some trailers - mine is one that would. Still, I can turn it around in a TINY parking lot, it just takes a few moves, and I stay aware not too get too much of a jackknife.
The other issue I was told is that the turnover ball may not be safe to turnover as it may damage the differential. I have not tried that. I just leave mine upright, but was told to remove it if needed, rather than flip and put it back in the hole.
I have always had short bed trucks and pulled goosenecks, just be careful not to totally jackknife it when turning and never had any problems
I have an 06 F350 short bed and a 07 Featherlite. Never any problems and I have crammed it into some serious places.
I have a short bed Dodge. No problem with my 2008 Kiefer. It is tapered in front.
Thanks for all the replies! Sounds like it should work fine - and this one is actually 6 1/2 ft rather than 5 1/2, so added bonus there.
I have a short bed F250 and a 2 H Sundowner gooseneck. Had no problems at all but for the 1 incident. I found out about the jackknifing thing at my own expenses. I jackknifed the truck while trying to park the trailer in a tight spot. My eyes were on the trailer and then I heard a huge pop, as my back truck window ‘exploded’ LOL. Learned a valuable lesson and have been super careful ever since. Luckily my insurance covered it, but I was at a horse show and used up 2 rolls of duct tape taping up the window opening LOL Sound scared the pants off me 
[QUOTE=shawneeAcres;5510383]
I have always had short bed trucks and pulled goosenecks, just be careful not to totally jackknife it when turning and never had any problems[/QUOTE]
^ Yep.
I have a 5.5 foot short bed and a square-fronted Hawk. I got a 9-inch gooseneck extender that makes it impossible to jackknife/crunch the cab. One less thing to worry about. My extender is built into the coupler, not the ball.
Horse Trailer World Forums! For Truck/Trailer Questions Great Info.
For ANY truck and trailer questions I would recommend going to Horse Trailer World.
You can search the forum or post a new question. You will get great information from folks that are professional haulers and KNOW horses, trucks AND trailers.
I’ve learned a ton there.
Here is the link or you can just search Google/Yahoo, etc:
http://www.horsetrailerworld.com/forum/forum-view.asp?forumid=2
Friend broke 2 back windows on her short bed truck before she traded the truck back to the dealer. I think she only kept the truck for a couple of months before trading it back.
She has a slightly tapered front on the trailer. However she pretty much has to jackknife her trailer to get it turned around in her drive.
I am pretty sure the truck she had was one with a 6 1/2 foot bed but she did not have the coupler extender thingy.
We have a shortbed F350 crew cab and a Sundowner 740… never had any problems. I can get it to just over 90 degrees before I have to stop. As someone else mentioned, there’s an adapter that you can put on the trailer that shifts it back a little bit.
Just make sure you have a spare rear window around…the question is not IF you hit your back window…it’s WHEN!!!
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