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Affordable gooseneck trailers

ANGELO

ANGELO

Red Numb Skull
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
453
Messages
700
Loc
BRADENTON FL
I currently have a 20' trailer that im not happy with for multiple reasons and im looking to upgrade.
I hate to buy new, but 20+ year old goosenecks near me are going for 7k+. There is no way im paying that, after tires, lights, bearings, brakes and a deck its still a wore out pos for the price of new.
I want a load trail, but after the base plus the options I want its to expensive, I want a 30', I think that would be the minimum to fit 2 trucks for me. I dont want a triple axle or dually so i believe that limits me to 14k. The cheaper trailers are only a few grand less then load trail, so if im spending that much i might as well spend a bit more and get what i want, but I cant afford that now..

So for now I think im going to go for a 25ish' cheaper brand to use for the next 5 or so years, then get a bigger one.
I was looking a kaufmans trailers. their standard 24' is 6k. Theres some things I dont like about that one, but their premium one is 6500 and all the things i dont like are fixed. after a couple of their options like the lay flay ramps (which extend the dove tail, do the total length is 25') im think i should be around 7500.

What other brands should I look at that affordable? I dont want a cheap trailer, that ill have to fix/redesign everything. I want a decent mid range one.
Also what options do you guys feel are necessary? dual jacks, tires, ect
 
Heres the current trailer. The 20' deck has been just to short or almost to short quite a few time now. Im not a fan of how often i have to buy tires. And the trailer wheelbase matches the bronco wheelbase... Because of the wide tires on the bronco, if its not perfect centered it will rub the trailer tires. so loading sucks and it always takes a few tries.
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Fuck load trail, cheap ass junk.

I looked for a year and custom ordered a Delco. I dont know what you have available in FL.

Hard to say what features are must have, when I dont know your intentions.
 
TRINDU said:
Fuck load trail, cheap ass junk.

I looked for a year and custom ordered a Delco. I dont know what you have available in FL.

Hard to say what features are must have, when I dont know your intentions.
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I believe theres a delco dealer a hour or so north of me.
what were the must have features for you?
 
ANGELO said:
I believe theres a delco dealer a hour or so north of me.
what were the must have features for you?
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-Dual jacks, not only is it more stable, but it allows for storage between the uprights.

-The monster/max ramp feature. It's so much nicer just to toss those up and down with one hand.

-102" width with steel instead of wood (the outer 8" strips). Real c channel drive overs is so much nicer that what some companies try to pass off.

-pick out your own wheels/tires. They come with the cheapest LRE available. I was given a $75 credit per tire and they installed mine when I showed up.

- throw the spare up on the neck/hitch like a cattle trailer. At 6'1" the spare in the tongue is a head knocker. Now I can stand without worry while getting straps or whatnot.

I really like the chain rack/winch mount. But that's not a must have.

I jumped up to oil bath 8ks.

originally set out for a ~24ft to just haul a single vehicle. I ended up with a 28ft. It was about $2500 more for exponentially more trailer, itll snowball fast on you. With delco 26ft was 8" ibeam and 28ft was 10" ibeam. I didnt want the longest trailer per material, but a 2" shorter deck height would be nice now. Go as stout as your budget allows, with a bigger trailer you'll find yourself buying or hauling stuff simply because you can now. Sometimes I wish I had a 32-34ft to haul two trucks comfortably, but I'm glad it's that short the other 99% of the time.
 
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I bought a load trail 14k bumper pull from a dealer in Texas, I'm happy with the quality for the price, thus far

when I was trailer shopping, it seemed that trailers are cheapest where they're built, basically north Texas/ Oklahoma, and seemingly Florida, e bay seems to be the best for shopping and comparing

bumper pulls are expensive right now, as lots of gov employees are flush with stimulus money and taking new razrs out since their Hawaii vacay got cancelled, but used goosenecks, and maybe last year's goosenecks are significantly cheaper in Texas since the oil fields slowed down

that's from a few months of research that ended a month ago, YMMV
 
Projectjunkie said:
I bought a load trail 14k bumper pull from a dealer in Texas, I'm happy with the quality for the price, thus far

when I was trailer shopping, it seemed that trailers are cheapest where they're built, basically north Texas/ Oklahoma, and seemingly Florida, e bay seems to be the best for shopping and comparing

bumper pulls are expensive right now, as lots of gov employees are flush with stimulus money and taking new razrs out since their Hawaii vacay got cancelled, but used goosenecks, and maybe last year's goosenecks are significantly cheaper in Texas since the oil fields slowed down

that's from a few months of research that ended a month ago, YMMV
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Pretty much everything used near me expensive, it doesnt matter if its a trailer, truck, boat or bike, its all almost the same as new.
Ive seen some cheap small brands in fl, but the quality doesnt seem to be there in the pictures
 
If you don't wanna pay a lot of money and you don't wanna re-work a really old and beat trailer then your options are either to take a long drive to somewhere with cheaper trailer or to find a trailer with title issues and spend a bunch of time un-fucking it.

If you don't wanna pay the prices every other idiot is paying you gotta be willing to do shit other people won't. There's no way around that.
 
arse_sidewards said:
If you don't wanna pay a lot of money and you don't wanna re-work a really old and beat trailer then your options are either to take a long drive to somewhere with cheaper trailer or to find a trailer with title issues and spend a bunch of time un-fucking it.

If you don't wanna pay the prices every other idiot is paying you gotta be willing to do shit other people won't. There's no way around that.
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I'm fine with paying. I'm looking for brand suggestions, that are affordable. I can't afford the fancy ones. the kauffman looks like the way, unless there's some other brands.
Any half way decent used trailer near me is like 1k less then new. Used isn't worth it in fl.
 
Take a look at Sundowner , I have a XL 25 with a 25' deck , they do make one with a 20' deck .
Aluminum gooseneck IMHO is just so much lighter than a steel ,
$14,500 is what I paid , so competitive too .
14K axles , 5' dovetail and ramps .
Really wanted a Feather Lite , but they are too proud of them .
When empty you hardly feel it back there , the Big Tex that was replaced was a slug in comparison and was a nightmare to maintain .
Wheel bearings and brakes were an issue for me .
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I don't even see how you could get any kind of tounge weight. With 21k on that pos you'd be blowing beads on almost any turn.
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I could see a heavy equipment rental place using one of those for bigger fork lifts. Beads don't come of that easily at trailer tire pressures.
 
How much weight are you realistically looking at hauling? I have a titan that was a 24’ that I redid to 27. It had two 7000lb axles from the factory. I carry two rigs on it. I fought blown tires and not nearly enough brakes for a long time. I bought 16 ply tires for it. Still blew tires. I finally cut the two axles out and went triples 7000’s. Yes there is tire scrub. But I haven’t lost a tire since and have had to lock the brakes up once. If it had still been the two axle setup. We would be dead. 27 or 28’ with two axles I think is just too easy to overload the axles because of all the open deck space. Go two jacks for sure! I hated the single on my trailer. Cut it off and went two. So much nicer.
 
rockdog57 said:
How much weight are you realistically looking at hauling? I have a titan that was a 24’ that I redid to 27. It had two 7000lb axles from the factory. I carry two rigs on it. I fought blown tires and not nearly enough brakes for a long time. I bought 16 ply tires for it. Still blew tires. I finally cut the two axles out and went triples 7000’s. Yes there is tire scrub. But I haven’t lost a tire since and have had to lock the brakes up once. If it had still been the two axle setup. We would be dead. 27 or 28’ with two axles I think is just too easy to overload the axles because of all the open deck space. Go two jacks for sure! I hated the single on my trailer. Cut it off and went two. So much nicer.
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Ive been think about it quite a bit. if i had a 30' it wouldnt be overloaded most of the time. but when i go to put 2 trucks on it, it would be like 500 lbs over after the tongue weight.. i think my best bet is ill get a 25' 14k. When i can afford a trailer with duallys ill get a bigger one.
 
25' is tight with 2 rigs, my buddy and I did it with my stretched samurai and his toyota, it took up the entire trailer.

I think 28' is a good middle ground.
 
27' was too tight for two full fize rigs so I plan on going 29' - 31' w/dual tandems for my next goose. I was happy with my Mortiz and would get another in a heart beat.
 
LowDown said:
27' was too tight for two full fize rigs so I plan on going 29' - 31' w/dual tandems for my next goose. I was happy with my Mortiz and would get another in a heart beat.
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Agree with you. At 27’ we stack the back truck over the front truck.
 
I have a 24' load trail bumper pull and is by far the nicest "cheap" trailer I've had or seen. Unless your rocking a couple small rigs 25' is going to fill up really fast.

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ANGELO said:
I currently have a 20' trailer that im not happy with for multiple reasons and im looking to upgrade.
I hate to buy new, but 20+ year old goosenecks near me are going for 7k+. There is no way im paying that, after tires, lights, bearings, brakes and a deck its still a wore out pos for the price of new.
I want a load trail, but after the base plus the options I want its to expensive, I want a 30', I think that would be the minimum to fit 2 trucks for me. I dont want a triple axle or dually so i believe that limits me to 14k. The cheaper trailers are only a few grand less then load trail, so if im spending that much i might as well spend a bit more and get what i want, but I cant afford that now..

So for now I think im going to go for a 25ish' cheaper brand to use for the next 5 or so years, then get a bigger one.
I was looking a kaufmans trailers. their standard 24' is 6k. Theres some things I dont like about that one, but their premium one is 6500 and all the things i dont like are fixed. after a couple of their options like the lay flay ramps (which extend the dove tail, do the total length is 25') im think i should be around 7500.

What other brands should I look at that affordable? I dont want a cheap trailer, that ill have to fix/redesign everything. I want a decent mid range one.
Also what options do you guys feel are necessary? dual jacks, tires, ect
Click to expand...

Used trailers around the oil field here hold their value as well plus most of the trailers running around here are overloaded. I have 2 similar 22', 14k Lamar's. 1 GN on 14 ply tires, 1 Bumper on 10 ply tires. I regularly haul 12K (weighed) on the deck. Zero issues. When I ordered them new I spec'd them out to keep the trailer weight and price down.

Texas Pride website lists a 16k tandem axle, single wheel 30' GN but it looks like its priced higher than what you are looking at.
 
Tinstar said:
Texas Pride website lists a 16k tandem axle, single wheel 30' GN but it looks like its priced higher than what you are looking at.
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I went out to madisonville to look at their trailers. What I took away is if I was running a business and letting monkeys abuse them, if was a good deal. But not something I'd want for myself.

They also build their axles in house, reportedly how they keep cost down vs competitors. They dont make oil bath so soon as you add a different axle, it was the same as everyone else.

Talked to a call hauler than was running for me and he wasnt impressed with their 5 car. Welds broke, burnt up axles, and he had to take it to madisonville for warranty.
 
Another thing I’d look at is spring setup. Fuck torsion axles!!!! They don’t carry the weight distributed even between axles. They are cheaper and they will push that garbage on you. Next... fuck slipper springs too!!!! Same thing. One axle is gonna carry more weight. Get axles with equalizers between the spring sets. That way the weight is evenly distributed between axles. It’s more money, but worth every penny in tires saved.
 
rockdog57 said:
Another thing I’d look at is spring setup. Fuck torsion axles!!!! They don’t carry the weight distributed even between axles. They are cheaper and they will push that garbage on you. Next... fuck slipper springs too!!!! Same thing. One axle is gonna carry more weight. Get axles with equalizers between the spring sets. That way the weight is evenly distributed between axles. It’s more money, but worth every penny in tires saved.
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Torsion axles aren't cheaper. Back when I was building trailers already they weren't cheaper. They were 15% higher priced.

Also, how are slipper springs not gonna carry the weight as equal as shackle springs? They should both have equalizers.
 
Benny said:
Torsion axles aren't cheaper. Back when I was building trailers already they weren't cheaper. They were 15% higher priced.

Also, how are slipper springs not gonna carry the weight as equal as shackle springs? They should both have equalizers.
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Maybe I’m wrong. But the slippers I’ve looked at had no way to equalize the weight. They were pretty much individual springs with an eye in one end and flat slipper on the other. If the trailer isn’t level then one tire is carrying more weight. Just my experience.
 
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they sell slipper spring equalizers.

torsion axles have their place. I wouldnt get them on a flat bed. But my boat trailer will have them. less to rust out and seize. my boat could easily be on a singe axle trailer, and im getting a tandem so all the weight on one axle is not problem
 
Load Trail are nice. I read Diamond C is nice as well - got to see one a few weeks ago and it was nice indeed.

I want a 30' hydraulic dove tail. They are nice.
 
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