Fair enough. Thought it would be worth mentioning.
I have a 3/4 ton diesel 2008 Chevy with the 6.5’ bed. my horse trailer is a bumper pull (with a v nose), but my SO’s race car trailer is a fifth wheel. We bought a sliding hitch, which is an option with a fifth wheel that doesn’t exist with a gooseneck, plus it is a v nose. I have yet to even come close to tagging the cab with the nose of the trailer.
Really sorry to hear that OP. That would crush me. It’s one thing to plan ahead and have money set aside to buy a new vehicle. It’s another to have to unexpectedly use a large amount of money in a very uncertain economic time.
A friend of my husband’s had his 2006 3/4 ton Duramax stolen and totaled earlier this year. Had about 350,000 kms on it. My jaw literally dropped when I found out what he got from insurance. Apparently they had given him a first offer and he told them to sharpen their pencils and try again. So don’t necessarily accept the first number you get.
I’m not sure where you live but where I am, replacement insurance is only available for the first 3 years when the vehicle is new. If your vehicle is totaled during that time, it will be replaced by a brand new version of what you had. Obviously I’m not sure what the definition is where you live but don’t beat yourself up too badly that you didn’t have it. You may not have been eligible anyways.
“And I have read about the issues with the newer trucks being too tall in the beds for the goosenecks. Another worry.”
Shouldn’t be a really big worry. Of course money could be tight when it’s all said and done but it’s not like you have to go out and get a new trailer. Google “gooseneck coupler” to find a variety of options. They are basically just tubes that attach into your trailer, and I’m willing to bet if you look at your trailer you’ll find the ginormous bolts that hold it inside a sleeve. That’s kind of how I know this, because the gooseneck coupler on my old trailer was supposed to have both a safety pin and bolts. Safety pin was removed during maintenance and after a year or two that bolt loosened up just enough for the coupler to come loose. Unfortunately the whole trailer came down onto the truck and the coupler drive up through the floor of the gooseneck (right about where my head would’ve been if I were sleeping in it - heebie jeebies!!). But what I learned from that is that the couplers come in different lengths and strengths, and adjusting those dang bolts is how it comes higher or lower down to the truck.
Good luck with your shopping, I feel for you. Think of it this way, if you can afford to get even newer than what you had, then you’ll probably get some additional safety and technological features you didn’t know you wanted.
I tried the 2020 Ford Dually and it measure 4” taller from bed to ground than my 2012 Ford Dually. We backed it up to my brand new Merhow and it sits too high! This trailer already has blocks on it and isn’t getting any taller.
No.
That coupler levels the trailer. If you jacked it up all the way trying to fix a clearance issue, the trailer would ride nose-high and might still have issues around the tailgate when the trailer and truck go on different planes (pulling into a curbed driveway, gas station, etc).
What you do when the truck bed is too high is put blocks on the trailer axles to raise the entire trailer up. It doesn’t cost much $$ to get done. The only concern is with ramps on the trailer and making sure they aren’t now too steep, and the fact that the dressing room step up is going to be 2-3" higher than before.
That coupler levels the trailer. If you jacked it up all the way trying to fix a clearance issue, the trailer would ride nose-high and might still have issues around the tailgate when the trailer and truck go on different planes (pulling into a curbed driveway, gas station, etc).
and shifts the center of gravity of the trailer placing more weight on the rear axle which would make the trailer easier to crash/waggle when towing
Jumping in to add to the warning about the new truck bed rails being too tall!! I have a 2019 Ram 3500 and a 1996 4 Star GN, and it is definitely a problem for us. We can still haul on nice paved roads and over level ground, but if I have to go up & down hills in someone’s hay field, I’m going to crunch my truck. what endless climb said is correct, you end up needing to block your axles. You can extend your GN couple to lift the nose a bit, but it increases the angle of the trailer too much for safety (steep slope for the horses, uneven pressure on the tires). I tried to talk my husband into the flat bed option but he wouldn’t budge, so now we’re doing the blocked axle thing.
I also went the flatbed route and love it- You can do so many more things with than a regular bed and I often use it as a daily driver. I also saved a good bit by buying several states away from me where prices are much lower and getting a manual. I ended up with a 4 door RAM 3500 diesel dually, brand new for less than what most people are paying for a 1500
Also if it was the other driver’s fault, shouldn’t their insurance be paying? Then your insurance covers what the other drivers didn’t? That’s the way it’s worked for me in the past anyway
And lowers the tongue weight, which is bad for overall stability.
Puddin-- what solution did you find? I’m beginning to have to deal with this same problem-- new trucks sit way too high for the 2007 Gore Gooseneck. And apparently it isn’t an option to block the axels on the Gores.
Woodstock: the solution was keep the 2012 Dually and get a back up camera, bed camera and extended running boards add it. Some of the bells and whistles the 2019 had that the current truck did not. The price tag on the additional was way less than a new truck.
What a terrible situation. Sorry, but glad you’re ok. My horses are home and I don’t own a trailer at the moment. For things like appointments, there is a local guy who will haul for a small fee. Most gooseneck trailers have adjustable hook ups
I just purchased a newer 2017 f250 with 60’ side rails.
Was searching for a nice straight load gooseneck, but unless I wanted to spend 25k plus for newer one, we just couldn’t make it work. I ended up with a bumper pull, definitely not my first choice. We did need something safe, quick & budget friendly.
Truck manufacturers surely didn’t take older gooseneck horse trailers into account when they raised the trucks.
An FYI, putting on flatbeds in many areas will put you automatically into a class A license. Some people are ok with that, some are not.
Commercial insurance in CA anyway, and special truck numbering with the CHP on top of the plates. It being CA I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d added the license too by now.
But around here the shortie flatbeds with the gooseneck ball are common and very nice, really good for maneuvering. Gooseneck included. We had an old Ford Dually with the load carrying flatbed, wood deck with steel and a home built boom. People would try to muscle past the Ford truck front under the big mirrors and then see the steel plate at windshield height:eek:. Great all purpose hauling vehicle, the deck could take short stakesides or you could nail directly into the wood part for securing pallets etc, but NOT a daily or city driver.
This thread is fairly old, hope things have worked out well.
How does it look? My trailer repair guy said the trailers would look ridiculous blocked because of the newly created huge “gap” at the wheel wells.
Thanks so much for the answer Puddin!
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