Mechanos

I've got an '01.5 2500 SB with the factory camper package & tow package. I'm looking into replacing my 18' flatbed bumper pull trailer with a 25' or 28' gooseneck flatbed. I'm new to gooseneck trailers and was wondering about the maximum recommended tongue weigh that I can put on the ball without over loading the truck?

For instance, on a 25' 14,000# trailer with a gross trailer weight of 11,500# and the load configured as necessary, I calculate a tongue weight of about 2,735#. Comments?

I could swap ends with part of the load and reduce the tongue weight to about 2135#, but that is not the preferred load-out.

Mopar_Mudder

Well the limiting factor is the GVWR of your truck.

So take the GVWR and subtract off the actaully weight of the truck and what ever is left is you max pin weight you can have. That is provided that you don't go over your rear axle weight.

So I guess thier is no clear answer for you unless you can give us your

1) GVWR (gross vehice weight rating)
2) weight of your truck full of fuel and driver
3) RAWR (rear axle weight raiting) found on the drivers door sticker

matthopp

These trucks are pretty stout, I have a similar setup as you. Provided that you have good brakes (trailer and truck) and some common sense when going down the road loaded, your truck will handle the loads fine. I just got back from Oklahoma this weekend with a load of hay on a 28ft flatbed (20+8GN) full of Alfalfa. I am ESTIMATING Trailer to be 4,000 plus just around 9-9500 #'s of hay. The overloads were engaged but truck had no squat and pulled the 450 miles w/o a problem. I assume you have the Load Range E tires as I do, just make sure you have them at 80psi. I would say your limiting factor is the transmission and you have the DANA 70. Everything Depends on the Load!!

Patrick Campbell

You want MORE tongue weight not less!!! With a gooseneck that weight is nice and right over your axle giving you good traction and even transferring some of the weight to your front tires.

You could always get Load range F or G tires if you think you are overloading your truck. The 47RE + 3.54 is not going to be very fun (I tell you 48RE + 3.73 IS NOT fun) so watch your trans temp and engine temp. Everythings going to get hotter because it is trying a heck of a lot harder just to move that weight but it'll do it no problem I think.

I don't know what the Dana 70 is rated to but I'm sure it's pretty stout.

Say you are putting 3000 # on the rear axle, when you're empty, with that loaded GN trailer you're putting another 3000# so you're up to 6000# on the rear axle which I'm sure the Dana 70 can handle (double check that, I am an AAM man) and your tires are probably up to it (check the sidewall) so you're good as long as your brakes are good and your motor/trans can handle it.

Mopar_Mudder

You are getting alot of advise here which is good. But I just want to say that what is good is not always legal. Are you looking for legal weight or what you can get away with.

The information I gove you is to stay within the legal limits of the law. Not that you can't pull more then that, you can, but I wont tell you to do it

But like I said start with getting all the empty weights on you truck, total, and front & rear axle.

Mechanos

Well, naturally, I would like to stay legal. NOT getting pulled over by the State Troopers in the name of the game. My hauling will be personal/recreational and I won't be hauling for hire. I know laws vary from state to state, but I would not be required to stop at weigh stations here in my home state. I would be technically illegal anyway since the truck is licensed with 12,000 plates. 11,500# (actual loaded weight of trailer) plus the weight of the truck would put my GCWR over 12,000#.

Mechanos

I talked to my local State Patrol HQ and they dished me off to a local Scale House (Wiegh Station). The officer there told me that even though the towing was personal (not for hire) and only occasional, that in order to be "legal", I would need to weigh the the truck & loaded trailer and license the vehicle for that weight. This doesn't come as any shock to me, but for years I have heard wive's tales about if you only tow occasionially, etc. you don't have to license for full weight.

The propblem that I might run into is a local one. We have quite a few boulevards in town that are restricted to truck traffic. NO trucks over 12,000# on posted boulevards. Now this gets into a grey area.... even though it's technically an 8800# GVW truck (empty, no trailer), would it be considered "illegal" on the posted boulevards if it was licensed for say 18,000#? I'll have to do some more checking on that one.

I called the scrap metal yard that is on the way home and they will give me front/gross/rear weights for $5. I would like to be full of fuel when I run across the scales, but I don't think there's a diesel pump between here and there (at least one that I trust). The fuel would probably only skew the weights a couple hundred pounds at most.

Patrick Campbell

if you can, go to a CAT scale. it's $8 and guaranteed accurate.

Mechanos

Ok, here's the deal. Me in the truck with 13 gallons of diesel in the tank:

Gross ratings:
Front - 5200
Rear - 6084
Vehicle - 8800

Actual:
Front - 4080
Rear - 2600
Vehicle - 6680

Assume 6800 with a full tank. 8800-6800=2000. So based on the formula posted above, 2000 lbs is the maximum tongue weight I could put on the truck? (doesn't even come close to exceeding the rear axle rated capacity)

This just doesn't make any sense to me..... why put springs rated for 6084# under the 2600# rear of the truck (difference of 3484#) if you can only put 2000# of load in the truck without exceeding the GVWR?

Mopar_Mudder

Yep you got it, that is the way it is, "legally"

Their are many factors that they use in getting a GVW and the front & rear axle weights never add up to the GVW.

Even in my dually I can only go about 3,500# of pin weight.

Mechanos

I do notice many, many people towing 9000# and more TT's all over the place with a truck registered for 12,000. If the trucks are about 7000 and the trailers are 9000, then all of these people are way overweight, yet I don't see the HP pulling them over. It seems to be one of those things that they just look the other way on. Now, if you ever did something to really tick the HP off, and they happened to pull you over, I guess they could throw the book at you for being overweight. They'd probably make you drop your load on the spot and leave it until you could come back with a properly licensed rig to get it. Of course, before that would happen, they'd red tag it and have it removed from the shoulder. Then you're stuck paying the tow bill and impound/storage fees to get it back.

y-knot

I have to aloud your efforts, most never go to the lengths you have to get the facts and actual weight. But then again, they find out the hard way when they are involved in an accident and the insurance company refuses to pay, or they get sued for the careless actions they have taken.
I have posted this info before, but I'll go threw the motions again for you. I live in Kentucky, and we boarder Indiana and Ohio. There are several weigh stations close to me, and all are very active in spotting overloaded or over sized travel and cargo hauling trailers. The main ones to avoid (assuming you are not with in the limits of the law) are South bound 71 right after the 75 split, and north bound 74 where it ties into 275. The one by me regularly has fifth and goose neck trailers pulled over and many times locked in there impound lots. The violations go from overloaded to not right license type(both vehicle and personal). Many times people get sited for no working brake-away system. So feel better that there are some states and agencies that check for the proper uses and capacities of trailers.

ddestruel

CAlifornia will second guess everything sometimes you need to carry a copy of the commercial travel laws yourself but i am glad to hear that there are people who actually watch and load themselves properly.

When i pulled in the west i had a 24' goose and a 12 tandem tilt i was under 65' in length so i was legal when traveling in california and licensed for interstate travel by montana with doubles so they never could do much especially since my goose's 2 axles slid forward and aft 3' so i could really ballance my load and lift the weight off my rear driver axle to make myself legal. it improves mileage when your trailer axles are doing thier job.

keep you trucks' paint off the blacktop

waynem

who set up your trailer to let the axles slide ????

That's probably what I need to do to mine. It would be great to
slide them up a little and get more of that weight off the truck and on the trailer axles, where it belongs.

Mechanos

I was checking out a simi-trailer as I was driving home the other night and noticed the sliding axles. I thought that would be the ultimate setup on a flatbed gooseneck. 3' of travel should pretty much allow for complete custom control of your load's weigh distribution.