“Why and How” Choose a
ing up or down hills or traveling on uneven ground, the tailgate or sides
of the bed will hit the bottom of the gooseneck and damage both the
truck and the trailer. Many of today’s newer pickup trucks with 4 wheel
drives are blocked
higher and will have heights up to 59” measuring from the ground to
the top of the tailgate. Most gooseneck trailers manufactured after
2000 are designed to have enough clearance. But many models prior
to 2000 won’t. If you are buying a used gooseneck, always make sure
it will clear before writing the check.
Most gooseneck trailers have adjustable couplers but it’s a mistake to
believe that by adjusting it to gain more height will solve the clearance
problem over the truck bed. An adjustable coupler will not raise the
entire trailer, it will only raise the front, making it un-level. This places
more weight on the rear axles and tires, thereby exceeding their weight
ratings and increasing the possibility of tire blowout. The purpose of
an adjustable coupler is to allow a level trailer to adjust to different
height truck beds, which occur between different truck manufacturers
or between two and four wheel drive trucks. If the level trailer does not
safely clear the truck bed the entire trailer can be raised by blocking
up the axles. This is not always ideal because it can cause balance
problems.
a tag-along designed for three horses
because it’s difficult to know where to
place them. A horse placed in the rear
stall and one in the center over the axles
will make the tongue weight so light
that it will sway. A horse placed over the
axles and one in the front stall will be
far too heavy for most SUVs and some
trucks. An important thing to note is that
heavier tongue weight is always better
If you plan to haul
three or more horses,
it would be wise to
cross bumper pull
trailers off your list.
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Continued...
Gooseneck.
NO!
YES!
The To
The difference between a gooseneck and a bumper pull (we call them tag-alongs since you should
never hook up to a bumper) is how it is hooks to the tow vehicle. A tag-along trailer hooks to a ball on a
frame mounted hitch behind the tow vehicle. Gooseneck trailers hook to a ball over the axle of the tow
vehicle, which limits it to trucks. Gooseneck trailers are available from two horses up to six horses, and
in our case at EquiSpirit, a gooseneck is available in our SoleMate 2minus1 models (one horse trailers).
Most standard two horse tag-along trailers are a safe choice when
hitched correctly to the tow vehicle and when the tow vehicle is rated
to handle the overall weight and tongue weight. However, it’s safer to
choose a gooseneck if you are going to put significantly more weight
in the trailer. Adding the weight of that third horse to a tag-along trailer
tends to create balance issues directly related to tongue weight.
So, if you plan to haul three or more horses, it would be wise to cross
bumper pull trailers off your list. To achieve the optimum tongue weight
for a three-horse tag-a long, most horse trailer manufacturers move the
axles forward so that one horse is placed behind, one over, and one in
front of the axles. However, the trailer would need to carry three horses
of the same weight and size to achieve that optimum tongue weight.
If the horses have different weights, it will affect the weight placed
onto the back of the tow vehicle and the hitch. Too much can overload
the hitch and tow vehicle, too little will cause the trailer to sway. The
tongue weight problem is exacerbated when hauling only two horses
The other reason why a gooseneck might not fit your truck is the length
of the truck bed may be too short. If it is, the front of the gooseneck
could hit the cab of the truck when turning. A six foot length truck bed is
the minimum length to keep the
trailer from colliding with the truck
cab on most all goosenecks that
have a wedge (aerodynamic) nose.
But a six foot bed will not keep a
square nose trailer from hitting the
cab.
than lighter tongue weight for tracking and eliminating sway (Lighter
tongue weight is rarely good in any situation). If you have a heavy-duty
vehicle with a hitch that is rated to haul excessive tongue weight, you
should load the three horse tag-along trailer so that the majority of the
weight is always over and
forward of the axles rather than in back of them. But still, make sure
the tongue weight doesn’t exceed the hitch and tow vehicle ratings.
For these reasons, I say that the simple solution is to always choose a
gooseneck when hauling three or more horses.
Before choosing a gooseneck, you should make sure it correctly fits
on your truck. By fit, I mean that a gooseneck trailer must sit level and
clear your tailgate and the sides of the truck bed by at least six inches.
And you must be able to turn without the nose of the trailer hitting the
cab.
To determine if a gooseneck safely clears your truck bed, make sure
the unhooked trailer is sitting level. Then back part way under it to
determine if the top of the tailgate (or top of the truck bed sides) is six
inches or more from the bottom of the gooseneck. If it isn’t, when drivin
Adjustable Coupler
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