We currently have a super cab with a 6’6" box and no problems but are looking to upgrade our truck and can’t find what we want in a super cab. I’ve seen modifications for hauling with a 5’6" box - crew cab - but would like some real world experiences. My trailer has a slanted or more pointed nose if that helps.
Thanks!
Robin
I’ve never experienced a problem with it. I didn’t know anyone did until
I joined COTH.
I have an F350 Superduty with crew cab and short bed, single rear wheel. No problems with my gooseneck.
I’ve had four different tapered-nose GNs over the years that I have pulled with my two F250 crew cab short bed (6.5) trucks…never had an issue.
You have to be very careful making tight turns on some goose necks or you will bust the back window of the cab.
I had a short bed crew cab Dodge diesel for awhile and hated hauling my 3 horse gooseneck with it.
I have a shortbox Chev Z71 and a 3 horse (2+1) with dressing room GN.
You DO have to be careful not to bust the window of the cab, but other than that, no problems.
http://www.mrtruck.net/popup.htm
They do make an extension to address this. Don’t ask me if it works, never have tried one or even seen one. I agree that the turning can be an issue, also the length of the nose of trailer might be too long, some trailers have longer ones than others.
The tack shop I used to work for had a mobile unit to vend at horse shows. It was a wide 24" gooseneck trailer with a newer Dodge Ram (crew cab and a short box). As other has mentioned you have to be very careful you don’t break the rear window or crease the corner in tight turns.
The other learning curve for me that was when backing, it will seem as though it isn’t turning at all and then suddenly it swings around real quick. This was the biggest challenge, but as long as you take it slow at first you will get the feel for it. I never had this issue with any of the other rigs I have driven (actual horse trailers) and it may have just been specific to that setup. That was my experience though.
I pull a gooseneck with a short bed F150. It is very much easier to maneuver and makes parking etc a lot easier. Trailer has a slightly tapered nose.
They make a great hitch for this - I think it’s called a slider hitch. Makes pulling with a shortbox a dream!
You have to have a “set back” hitch. The trailer shops carry them, and probably RV shops too. I have a short bed and I wouldn’t want to pull my gooseneck with out it. Then there is almost no worry about smashing the cab window.
http://www.adventurerv.net/turnover-ball-gooseneck-extender-pi-5332.html
I am amending my post to clarify that our GN has a completely square nose, hence my post. Also, there are GN’s with tapered noses and then there is the v-nose.
We’ve pulled with a 6’6" and a 6’3" bed for years now with NO slider or extended hitch, just a B&W turnover or Companion… Goosenecks (6’9" wide) with tapered noses, and fifth wheels (8’6" wide) with cut back corners. Never had an issue, and we have been at darn near 90* a handful of times over the years.
But most of the time, we DO NOT want to be “jack knifed” near, at or past 90*, and it is generally not hard to avoid. Being jack knifed is not easy on the trailer axles, especially on a triple axle trailer. Get out and look sometime when you are backing at sharp angle, and you will often find your trailer wheels torqued in opposite directions. Which is also why you should always “straighten out” after you have backed sharply, in order to realign the tires.
Robyn,
Yes, with a crew cab short bed 5’6 you would be wise to get a hitch extender…
Risa
HappyTrailsTrailers.com
BalancedRideTrailers.com
It can depend on the Gooseneck and or when it was made. The “post” in most newer Goosenecks especially smaller ones is mounted closers to the “nose”. Manufacturers starting changing the post position as short beds became more and more popular. As Crew-cabs become the standard instead of the exception, to keep cost down manufactures use the standard PU truck wheel base and just added to the cab there by shortening the bed. I would bet there were a lot of broken cab windows when people made the transition to crew-cabs. As others have said a tapered nose makes a difference also.
You would think trailer manufactures would include on the “vin plate”, specs the minimum distance from the back of the cab to the ball needed for “nose clearance”. A simple measurement that anyone could do would tell a potential buyer if the trailer will fit their truck with no worries. Maybe this is done, never looked.
I have a crew cab with a 6’6" bed. NEVER had a problem hauling my gooseneck, which is a standard 7’ wide trailer. I have been in some tight spots with it and haven’t come close to breaking my back window.
I am waiting on delivery of my “new to me” gooseneck LQ trailer. It is 7’6" wide and I am considering getting an offset coupler just to make sure I don’t have a problem. The dealer thinks I shouldn’t have an issue but I will probably feel better with the offset coupler.
If your box is truly 5’6" (didn’t know any were that short) than I would definitely get an offset coupler.
I have a short bed and a Custom-Fab gooseneck with a tapered nose. Because of the tapered nose, I can turn it very far and not hit the window.
[QUOTE=Doctracy;7917998]
You have to be very careful making tight turns on some goose necks or you will bust the back window of the cab.
I had a short bed crew cab Dodge diesel for awhile and hated hauling my 3 horse gooseneck with it.[/QUOTE]
This happened to us when we had our short box truck and purchased a new gooseneck that had quite a square/boxy nose. Although in our case, we had hay bales stacked vertically up against the back window. Turned a corner and the square gooseneck pushed against the hay bales and caused the back window to bust.
Yeah, I can definitely see if you have hay stacked in front of your gooseneck that the trailer could push the hay bales through the window. Especially if the trailer nose is not tapered.
I have been closer to 90 degrees than I would ever want to be with my trailer and it has not been an issue. But, my trailer does have a tapered nose and is 7’ wide.
Just want to add, in case it is not obvious, that it is possible to get the crew cab with the long bed. It does make for a whale of a turning radius though.
With a super-short bed like that one I would not try to haul without a hitch extender, but then again I have jackknifed a bumper pull. :rolleyes:
I admit to having laughed at a guy who pooh-poohed my offer of help in backing his trailer into a tight spot and then watching him crease the back of his truck cab with the nose of the trailer. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: 
(Almost as funny as watching people pull away from their GN with the tailgate up. And again, why I don’t have a GN… 
)
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