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Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck

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d2allen
Reg. Jan 2011
Posted 2019-01-29 9:55 AM (#172162)
Subject: Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck


Member


Posts: 45
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Location: Mead, WA
Must sell my 2011 GMC 2500 diesel extended cab long (8') box because it has become unreliable (a problem for another forum); looking to trade it in for something new or newish.  Turns out the 3 major truck brands have phased out the extended cab in their leather seated diesel truck models. I'm now faced with buying a truck with a crew cab and either an 8' bed or a 6.5' bed.

My horse trailer is a 3 horse Elite with a 9' short wall. It weighs arouind 12,000 lb fully loaded. I don't use it very often, maybe 5 or 6 trips per year, but we do live in a mountainous region. I also own a 3 horse Featherlite bumperpull, which is what I use much more often. Here's my question. 

Would I be happy with a new crew cab truck that has the short bed (6.5')?  I'd have to add a special type of "slider" hitch that moves the nose of the trailer back a bit, while keeping the weight over the axle. I know it's not the ideal set up for a heavy gooseneck, and I have no idea how it will perform and how the ride will be affected for horse and human. This question is taking all the fun out of buying a new truck. Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.


 
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Steve-O
Reg. Mar 2016
Posted 2019-01-29 12:05 PM (#172163 - in reply to #172162)
Subject: RE: Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck


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Posts: 108
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Location: Lawrence KS
I am sure you would be happy with a new vehicle and I am sure it will pull your trailer just fine. With a short bed vehicle and a wide nose trailer its not a matter of if the trailer breaks out your rear window of the truck, it's when. It is going to happen. I have a short bed that pulls a 3 horse Kiefer with a narrow front and it would be hard to contact the trailer and truck on tight turns. The 8 ft wide Cimarron with a big wide front is a different story, It will hit the back of the truck cab going forward and turning tight. The nice thing about an 8 ft bed is tight turns.
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RustyScupper
Reg. Mar 2013
Posted 2019-01-29 12:18 PM (#172164 - in reply to #172162)
Subject: RE: Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck


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Posts: 113
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Location: Wi
d2allen - you will have no problem pulling the trailer with a 6.5' box.  I have been pulling with a 6.5' box for approx 15 years.  You do not need a slider hitch or offset hitch.  I recommend you pull into a parking lot and practice and see how far you can turn without hitting the cab.  You will be surprised and in normal driving conditions this will not be a problem.   Only when you forget you have a trailer back there will there be an issue....no different than pulling into gas pumps and ripping a fender off.

The offset hitch maybe benificial if you are putting hay or water tank in front of the hitch but not needed for pulling.
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Jeepplr
Reg. Oct 2007
Posted 2019-01-30 1:25 PM (#172168 - in reply to #172162)
Subject: RE: Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck


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Posts: 233
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Location: Pataskala, Ohio
I have pulled my Lakota 4 horse 10’sw with my 2002 Chevy 2500HD short bed cross country several times without issues.
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horsey1
Reg. Dec 2004
Posted 2019-01-31 6:15 AM (#172170 - in reply to #172162)
Subject: RE: Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck


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Well, in my experience it has a lot to do with whether your trailer is 7 or 8' wide. And what design the nose is (rounded, tapered, and so on). So all of these "it'll be OK because I've done it" don't seem to fit for me until we know we are comparing apples and apples.

I do know a friend of mine has a fairly new 8' wide Lakota Charger on his shortbed truck. Because Lakota's coupler is not at the front of the trailer's nose, he uses a 9" step back coupler. It was just uncomfortably close without it.

If it is 8' wide on a shortbed, I'd plan on some sort of stepback. Just my opinion. I will also state my opinion that the longer the wheelbase, the more stable the ride. 
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RustyScupper
Reg. Mar 2013
Posted 2019-01-31 10:58 AM (#172171 - in reply to #172162)
Subject: RE: Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck


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Posts: 113
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Location: Wi
The trailers that I have pulled have been Featherlite, Sundowner and 4 Star Deluxe. 
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d2allen
Reg. Jan 2011
Posted 2019-01-31 4:54 PM (#172172 - in reply to #172162)
Subject: RE: Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck


Member


Posts: 45
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Location: Mead, WA
Thanks for all the helpful replies.

My Elite trailer is 8' wide with a tapered nose. I have a photo but need directions on how to include it here.

The concensus on my 1st question, both inside and outside this forum, is the 6.5' bed will "probably" work just fine. The only way to know is to try it. If there is interference, the offset hitch will solve that problem once and for all. That's my take-away so far.

My other question: how will the trailer feel with the 6.5' vs 8' bed? 
No one has a strong opinion on this issue. heoretically, the long bed will result in a smoother, more stable ride, but perhaps the difference is marginal?


 
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Jeepplr
Reg. Oct 2007
Posted 2019-01-31 5:56 PM (#172173 - in reply to #172162)
Subject: RE: Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck


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Posts: 233
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Location: Pataskala, Ohio
This may help you, I thought it trivial so I did not say anything.
My truck is a short bed extra cab and I have driven it 230,000 plus miles a friend has a 4 door Western Hauler 1 ton. I pulled my trailer once with his truck. I had to make zero adjustments to the way I drove his bigger truck vs my truck BUT his is a dually handled much better on the back back country roads of Ohio.
My truck has double the power of his but he has a 6L90 vs my 4L80 transmission. His truck did not seem underpowered but overly well stuck to the ground. For back roads I like his truck for merging with traffic I like mine.
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jmey1820
Reg. Aug 2009
Posted 2019-02-01 9:46 AM (#172174 - in reply to #172162)
Subject: RE: Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck



Regular


Posts: 76
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Location: Michigan
We went from a 2001 Chevy Silverado, regular cab with a long box to a 2012 Crew Cab GMC Diesel with the 6.5 box within the last few years.  I had also hauled my trailer with my moms 2002 GMC Sierra with an extended cab and long box.  Honestly I can say that towing wise, none of them feel any different (obviously the diesel has a lot more power!). I have used all three trucks with the trailer loaded the same on back roads and highways. The biggest thing were the different turning radius's of each.  The regular cab turned on a dime, the Crew Cab/Short box was not much different but the long box extended cab needed a football field to turn around.  I have a 2009 Merhow GN with a tapered nose that I pull and I have made some scary tight turns with it and have never had an issue with it getting close to the back window.  The one thing I have to watch like a hawk is the clearance between the truck bed and the trailer.  When I have to turn going up a steep incline out of the driveway and out of the road I have come close to putting a crease in the truck bed.  
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d2allen
Reg. Jan 2011
Posted 2019-02-01 2:40 PM (#172175 - in reply to #172162)
Subject: RE: Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck


Member


Posts: 45
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Location: Mead, WA
Thanks Jeeppir, a dually is a LOT different, pulls great, but glad you can get by without it.

Jmey1820, what you wrote is the kind of feedback I was hoping for. I think I'm sold on the shorter bed. I'll have to find a photo of the Merhow nose and see how it compares to my trailer. How many inches clearance do you have between the trailer and truck back window when you turn sharp? As for the front - to back clearance when you go down a steep hill, now that's a tough problem to have. Your trailer must have a nice bed space with plenty of headroom inside.

The 2018 Ford F350 crew cab I just drove has all the bells and whistles, but the one thing I'm not sure about is the factory goosneck hitch package. It's not a turnover ball like my B&H. Plus they end up drilling extra holes in the bed for a 5th wheel prep pkg and then cover them with plastic caps. Don't like all those extra holes in the bed. Anyone here with a newer Ford want to tell me how they like the factory gooseneck hitch?
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Kay
Reg. Oct 2003
Posted 2019-02-02 6:12 AM (#172176 - in reply to #172162)
Subject: RE: Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck


Extreme Veteran


Posts: 534
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Location: Zionsville, Indiana
Be aware that the "factory" gooseneck hitch in all three major brands of truck is a bit misleading. We have had quite a few customers that were surprised and dismayed to find that they still had to buy the puck system to get the rest of the hitch, an additional almost $300 on the aftermarket, likely more from a truck dealer. Ridiculous in the light of how much you are paying for the truck. Those holes in the bed are for the ball and the safety loops, which is what the puck system consists of. It is very misleading and I think most truck salesmen aren't even aware of the additional parts needed.

Along those lines, most truck salesmen aren't aware of the adapters that are shipped inside the 2.5 x 2.5 or 3 x 3 receiver hitches. They are not pinned in and if not removed eventually vibrate out and no one ever knows it.
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jmey1820
Reg. Aug 2009
Posted 2019-02-02 9:27 AM (#172177 - in reply to #172162)
Subject: RE: Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck



Regular


Posts: 76
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Location: Michigan
No problem!   I love the nice big bed that trailer has!  The issue isn’t with the trailer nose itself.  It’s more of an issue with the coupler where it flairs out and attaches to the frame further back.  Our driveway has a a three to four foot difference with the road surface so the steep grade at the end of the driveway coupled with the turn rocks the trailer just enough that I have to be super careful as one day I almost creased the box.   It’s kind of hard to explain, hope that helps. In the tightest of turns I would guess there is still at least 6 inches of space between the trailer and window.

Edited by jmey1820 2019-02-02 9:31 AM
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PaulChristenson
Reg. Jan 2007
Posted 2019-02-02 7:02 PM (#172178 - in reply to #172162)
Subject: RE: Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck


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If you are going to a new crewcab, I'm a big advocate of going with the cab&chassis solution and putting a flatbed, like Hillsboro or PJTrailer, in place of the pickup body, especially since pickups have been rising fractions of an inch since 2000, so those pickup siderails will rub many older Gooseneck trailers necessitating the blocking of trailers to get level rides
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Daniel-J
Reg. Feb 2020
Posted 2020-02-13 12:06 AM (#172968 - in reply to #172162)
Subject: RE: Gooseneck lq trailer with short bed vs long bed truck



New User


Posts: 4

Location: Adelaide
I have a similar problem, I'm looking for a trailer where there will be enough room for a big mattress similar to these reviews. Now I'm pretty big and I'm not comfortable with my old little trailer, but how to find a big one is a problem.
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