LJPeterson
South Eastern Washington
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Joined: 09/22/2011
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This is my gooseneck conversion trailer. We used it for the first time this past weekend and it tows great. There were no issues at all everything worked as expected. I was worried about the pin load on the truck but even with 56 gallons of diesel in the top tank I had no problems with it.
This combination is great for towing in wind too. We had about 30-40 MPH gusts when driving to the campsite on Friday but there was no movement that I could tell from the drivers seat.
Here we are all loaded up and ready to leave.
The first campsite at Unity Lake Recreation site in NE Oregon.
And here we are at Catherine Creek state park also in NE Oregon.
Overall it was a great weekend away, my only complaint was the weather was a bit cold so we didn't take the motorcycles.
Here is a pic of the rear bumper cover I made for the trailer.
And here are the fuel tanks which are located on top of the gooseneck.
One tank is 75 gallon for diesel and the other is 40 gallon for gas.
My overall length is 60'10" which is a bit on the long side but I can also jack knife the truck to near 120 degree angle on the trailer. That is something that no 5th wheel can do without crunching the cab.
My total weight is 21750 as weighed on a state of Oregon scale. My pin load is about 3720 but that was without any fuel in the trailer tanks.
Sometime in the near future I will take pics of the battery box I made for this trailer. Right now I'm working on a central control box for the power distibution to serve the fuel pumps and some lights I plan on adding under and around the trailer.
Moderator edit to re-size pictures to forum limit of 640px maximum width.
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* This post was
edited 09/01/12 09:12am by an administrator/moderator *
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JKrussow
Alabama
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Joined: 10/03/2010
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Being that those tanks are transfer tanks or refueling rigs have you had them checked out for DOT certification? You may need to have HazMat placards and associated tags.
John & Rana
Toby "da bear" RIP 12/28/12
Bandit, Kato & Punkin
2004 GMC Sierra 3500 D/A DRW CC, Banks IQ w/Econominder, Speedbrake & CAI, Curt Q5 20K
2011 Heartland Big Country 3650RL
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westend
all over
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Joined: 11/17/2011
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Well that is some mighty fine work. The trailer part looks bone stock and it's hard to see how you tied the gooseneck to the trailer frame. Great job!
I'm liking that bumpe cover, too! Mind if I kind of steal that idea?
'03 F-250 4x4 CC
'71 Starcraft Wanderstar -- The Cowboy/Hilton
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recycler
michigan
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JKrussow wrote:Being that those tanks are transfer tanks or refueling rigs have you had them checked out for DOT certification? You may need to have HazMat placards and associated tags.
wondering that my self the diesel is fine allowed 110..the gasoline is another story..technically you are only allowed 5 gallons before needing placard...last I knew...
great looking rig..
1968 franklin 11fk
back to my 93 cummins
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LJPeterson
South Eastern Washington
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Joined: 09/22/2011
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The trailer is welded full length to the gooseneck trailer frame and is otherwise stock.
The fuel tanks shouldn't be an issue. Many toy haulers come with gas tanks in them, some with as much as 50 gallons too.
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Camper JamesB
Wichita
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Joined: 07/27/2011
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Would you mind posting some pictures of the goose neck conversion. I have thought about doing this numerous times. From the pictures, it looks great! I am also curious how the pin weight is 3720lbs. It doesn't seem that the factory tongue weight would be over 1000lbs. Did the extra length of frame, goose neck and fuel tanks add 2700 lbs? I am not questioning your weights, just curious how much extra weight the conversion added. Thanks for posting this, it is really nice in my book!
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LJPeterson
South Eastern Washington
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I don't have any pictures of the gooseneck by itself. What I did was build a gooseneck trailer that matched the travel trailer width then put the travel trailer on the GN frame and weld it down. What this made was a double I beam trailer.
The pin weight is driven by the steel in the GN area and of course the fuel tanks and how the front deck is loaded. Also in most trailers you would want a 60/40 split from the wheels to the hitch. Due to the wheel holes on my travel trailer I had to match them so I am nearer 70/30 split.
This puts a lot more weight on the truck.
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Camper JamesB
Wichita
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Thanks for the info, that sounds like a great way to do it.
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LJPeterson
South Eastern Washington
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A while back I said I would post some pics of the different items I made for this trailer.
Here is the battery box.
Here is the trickle charger wired into the battery bank.
The control box for lights and the keyed switch for the fuel pumps.
And I added a light for hooking up to the truck.
Not pictured are LED lights at the stab jack locations for setting up at night. I also added LED lights that backlight the stairs. Located in the control box is a switch that can turn on the trailer parking lights too.
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