Gooseneck on a 1/2 ton truck

[GLZ]

Anyone pull a gooseneck on a 1/2 ton truck?

The truck we use to pull the gooseneck is getting a few too many miles on it to trust on some of our longer trips.  I thought about maybe putting a gooseneck hitch on 1/2 ton Chevy Silverado for the time being.  Does anyone pull your gooseneck with a half ton?  How does it do?  How much have you hauled, etc?  I am not real worried about pulling power.  My fear lies more in the spring package.

 

[kanshow]

I wouldn't want to do it with a very big trailer and very many calves.    I'm talking about 14' trailer and one calf.    And not much of the extra stuff either.   

 

[herefordfootball]

We havent done that, but I can give your our experiences with our half ton. We had a 16 foot corn pro. We put 6 full grown calves averaging 1200 each. Put some tack in the bed with some feed and it pulled fine. We put 100lbs of air in the air shocks and that helped tremendously.

 

[RSC]

I have had good luck with my 1/2 ton Ford F150.  Have over 200,000 miles on it and I pull a 20 ft Steel. My half ton does have the off road extra suspension on it though.

Tony

 

[Dusty]

If you're not doing a lot of heavy hauling a 1/2 ton will be fine.  I know guys that went their whole life only owning half tons to pull livestock with

 

[showsteerdlux]

My 1st truck was an 04 150 crew cab and I pulled a 16 ft steel that was pretty dang heavy. Never had a problem stopping or pulling it, but I did manage to take the back window out of it once. That was an expensive mistake.

 

[Cowfarmer65]

I wouldn't advise it.......I used to use a single wheel one ton. Had a friend a number of years ago lose his life when he blew a back tire and the truck did a 360 on the gooseneck and sheared off the front of the truck. That cured me.....bought a dually right away and have had one since.

 

[ploughshare]

The Featherlite rep told me years ago that a 1/2 ton could pull a 20' GN loaded, no problem.  With care you might get away with it for a short time, however, I am with Cowfarmer65.  When it comes to hauling at highway speeds you need good reliable heavy duty equipment.

 

[DMAF]

I have a dodge ram 1/2 ton and it pulls very well at highway speeds.  We use a 24' wilson trailer and it hauls with no problems.  The truck does squat a tickle and could user stiffer springs or air bags.

If money was not an option though I would upgrade to heavy duty truck.  I do not want to sell my truck and get into a big truck payment when what I am using now is functional.

 

[angus showman]

my first truck was a 99 reg cab 1/2 ton 2wd V6 and I started pulling a 14' bumper pull never pull a bumper pull again they suck. Then got a 16' GN steel and pulled two show calves and tack fine just got a extra leaf spring in the back really helped braking was ok too just make sure trailer brakes work. I would just advise you to use it short term cause my next truck after was a 3/4 GMC 2wd and I'll never go back now have a 3/4 ton GMC 4x4 ext cab love it I would also make sure your 1/2 ton is a V8

 

[Bulldaddy]

I have a 3/4 Dodge Ram diesel and a 1/2 Toyota Tundra with the 5.7 V8 and use both to pull my gooseneck trailers (16 to 32).  Beleive it or not, the Toyota is rated to pull almost as much as the Dodge.  My first choice if I am going very far is the Toyota (quiter and moe comfortable).  The disadvantage is fuel consumption runs higher.  If I am hauling hay with my 32 ft trailer I usually use the Dodge.  It is nice to have two trucks rigged for a gooseneck in case one breaks down.  So far, the Dodge has broke down once but it has over 200k miles on it and the Toyota has yet to run away with me!

 

[simtal]

when we first started we had a toyota (mid 90s) hooked to a 16ft keifer, bumper hitch

 

[mark tenenbaum]

Where I come from its illegall-I personally think thats asking too much from a light duty truck O0

 

[shortyjock89]

We have 3 trucks rigged for Gooseneck's- two 3/4 ton HD gassers (one GMC, one Ford), and a ton diesel single wheel (ford). Our next truck will be a dually. We have a dually for years, but we go so many places with the cattle, that it can be hard to find a place to part a dually. I have pulled our cattle trailer with all three (22 1/2' eby alum), and I can't imagine going very far with a gas pulling it.  I have taken our current diesel all over the country, and the only time it's given us grief was at Badger Kickoff this winter, and an injector retainer went bad. Since then, its been to Denver and back, and lots of 1-3 hour trips, and its been great.

 

[jbw]

Had a '94 chevy 1/2 ton deisel, put overload springs and 12 ply tires on it.  It handled a 20ft steel trailer, LOADED, like a champ. I hauled alot of cattle with that rig. Not one or two at a time either.  The truck had over 250,000 when I sold it.  The guy that has it now uses it under a 28 ft trailer. He hauls holstiens and has a flatbed that he hauls round bales with, It has 290,000 on it now.  Here is the kicker...IT HAS ORIGINAL TRANNY!!!  That truck did not have an easy life,I got it when I was in college and it took me through my single years! <rock>

 

[BCCC]

Sure wouldn't be my first choice but you can make it work if you get it set up right. I have seen a 95 Chevy 1500(not the HD either) pull a 32 foot trailer pull 24,000lbs of hay. That truck is also no longer running.

 

[DLD]

There's alot of difference in trailers and trucks (and drivers and conditions) that could make it work or not.  I've gone alot of miles pulling goosenecks with 1/2 tons, and probably will again.  Obviously smaller trailers, like a 16' work better, but you can pull bigger ones in alot of cases.  If you're going to do it, I'd suggest adding heavier rear suspension (more leaves or an overload or air bags), heavier rear tires (please don't try it with P rated tires - always use LT's, preferably load range D or E) and a big  transmission cooler.  Make sure your brakes (on both pickup and trailer) and brake controller are working well, and you should be good to go.

 

[mooch]

There's alot of difference in trailers and trucks (and drivers and conditions) that could make it work or not.  I've gone alot of miles pulling goosenecks with 1/2 tons, and probably will again.  Obviously smaller trailers, like a 16' work better, but you can pull bigger ones in alot of cases.  If you're going to do it, I'd suggest adding heavier rear suspension (more leaves or an overload or air bags), heavier rear tires (please don't try it with P rated tires - always use LT's, preferably load range D or E) and a big  transmission cooler.  Make sure your brakes (on both pickup and trailer) and brake controller are working well, and you should be good to go.

What he said .We have had them all . The only thing the dually did was pad our ego and drain our check book.If its for running a couple steers around and 5 or 6 cows every once and a while you'll be more than fine if you do as DLD suggests.Looking around at recent shows it seems like a lot of people have a financial realization due to the price of fuel and paying for 6 tires at a time. Lots of 3/4 tons and a more 1/2 tons than you use to to see.

 

[GoWyo]

Always a good idea to check your GVW rating and make sure you are somewhere in the neighborhood weight-wise.  If you are grossly overloaded and that is the cause of an accident, you can bet that the settlement check to the other side is going to be bigger and your own insurance could have a reason to try to deny coverage.  It is not a question of if you can overload a 1/2 ton pickup, but whether you should . . .