Trailers...

Considering everyone on this forum has (or should have) towing experience, I thought I'd ask the experts ;)

If you had a choice between a steel 32' enclosed gooseneck trailer (new) or a 24' enclosed aluminum trailer (bumper pull, new or used), which one would you choose?

Having been witness and been in a duramax pulling 12,000 pounds of 28 foot bumper pull enclosed trailer, that just isn't the way to go IMO. If we went with the aluminum trailer, it would also be used with a weight distributing hitch and an anti-sway setup. Thanks for the help guys

My experience with heavy towing is with a gooseneck horse trailer. I've towed a bumper pull horse trailer in the past and I'll never go back. Goosenecks turn tighter, aren't susceptible to sway and aren't as fussy about tongue weight.

Uh.. Airstream Bambi?

I've towed a lawn trailer with my mower. Heaviest load was, iirc, 24 cinder blocks. Backing up is hard

A gooseneck trailer will tow better than a bumper hitched trailer, all other things equal.

In this case, all other things are not equal. That aluminum trailer is presumably quite a bit lighter. Nothing is mentioned about loads, trailer condition, axle configurations, or tow vehicle. Which all makes a tremendous difference.

Bumper pull all the way! That leaves you with more room for "stuff" ! I've got a 2010 f350 with 6.8v10 and a 11,000gvw package (SWR single rear wheel) this Jan. In feb we went to loook at toy haulers...... We did better then look....we got close to 60% off the price of a left over 2007 Work and Play. Anyway dwarf car fits in the back of the toy hauler and both are motorcycles fit in the bed of the truck so when we race on fri night or on long weekends we can ride the bikes too.

Don't waste your money on anthing but the best WD hitch. This is something you buy once! Go Blue Ox!! Talk with any RV dealer they'll all tell you Blue Ox is the best. No i don't work for them but they are made here in the US of A!

http://www.adventurerv.net/blue-sway-pro-weight-distribution-hitch-wshank-1000lb-rebuilt-p-22840.html

I got the 1500lbs unit at half what a others were asking.

44

foxtrapper wrote: A gooseneck trailer will tow better than a bumper hitched trailer, all other things equal. In this case, all other things are not equal. That aluminum trailer is presumably quite a bit lighter. Nothing is mentioned about loads, trailer condition, axle configurations, or tow vehicle. Which all makes a tremendous difference.

Loads (once we get the ball rolling), would be a 3500 pound rally car (or less), plus probably approaching 500 pounds worth o' tools, then tires/rims and other misc equipment. Basically, the trailer would be at GVW all the time (presumably 10000pounds). "Currently" this would be towed by a 2004 1/2 ton GMC 4x4, with a tow capacity of ~9000pounds. This would not be the permanent tow vehicle, and would probably never tow the max GVW loaded trailer. At best the 1/2 ton would tow the trailer with a car in it and thats it. A 3/4 ton duramax is in our future.

Either trailer would be a dual axle (5-7000 pound axles), due to the nature of rallying. Bed space is virtually useless to us either way, besides carrying tires. There are other easy ways to get around the tire carrying issue (tire racks). An aluminum trailer would probably weigh ~3500 pounds, with a steel goose weighing closer to 5k pounds. Each trailer has essentially a 24foot cargo area, but the goose has the bonus 8 feet of "storage" space.

Is that enough info?

OK. Since you do say truck bed space is a non-issue for you, I lean towards the gooseneck. Sure, you can tow that load with a good bumper hitch. But the gooseneck is much less exciting when things get dicey. I would also gladly take the additional storage space of the gooseneck trailer.

Shop the hitch with a little care and you can very easily use your bed when the trailer is not hitched. There are various setups that either pop out with some pins or lower down into the bed. I tend to think that's darn nice when compared to the ones that sit forever in the way.

You can still have the receiver hitch out back for small trailers and other things, like load extenders and such. Receiver hitches are just generally handy things, especially on trucks.

My trailer is 16x80 and even will all my stuff it is still comfy enough to sleep in ;)

Everything Foxtrapper said. I have towed race cars and various other things somewhere around 250K miles. The stability and manuverability of the gooseneck are a big plus.

foxtrapper wrote: But the gooseneck is much less exciting when things get dicey.

This is the big thing. Being in Canuckland, we get crazy weather all the time. My father came back from Quebec two years ago with a 3/4 long box regular cab 2wd duramax towing a 28 foot bumper pull that weighs 12000pounds fully loaded. Freezing rain, pure ice in manitoba. The truck got light over a crest at the top of the hill, and the trailer pushed him sideways. At the bottom of a hill was a semi coming at him. The semi ended up WAY over the shoulder to avoid him. And he's been towing all his life.

We want to avoid anymore situations like that. And after a thorough discussion last night, it sounds like we might be picking up a 32' (24' cargo) goose from the states. You guys got some crazy deals down south!

I love my gooseneck car trailer......it tows so much better than the bumper pull I had.
I still keep a small bumper pull trailer and a tow dolley around in case I absolutely have to have all of my truck bed, or need to get into tight spots, but that's rare.

Goose!

damn zombies, learning how to use canoes

I used to tow a Massey Harris 35 combine on an ~20 foot, steel, bumper hitched, equipment trailer (Reece hitch). It was all about load distribution. We had equalizers, but never used them. It towed just fine. I've never towed a fifth wheel, but they aren't the easilest thing to back up if manuvering. It just takes a while to figure it out.

I have a 22' bumper pull only because maneuverability and parking space were not available for a gooseneck. They are easier to pull, better to move around, and there really isn't a price penalty for them either. The 32' gooseneck is really a 24' box with a loft and I would love that extra space over the truck - it is like getting a huge closet for almost the same money as the 24' box bumper trailer.

So... long/short - if parking space isn't an issue for you and you can live without a portion of the truck bed while you tow it is the way to go.