I recently bought a 96 Chev Kodiak (C-7500) Medium Duty Dump Truck (33,000 GVWR). I have a F-350 Diesel with a gooseneck hitch. I want to buy a 10 ton heavy equipment trailer that I can use with both trucks. Initially, I thought I'd have to settle on using a 10 ton heavy equipment trailer with a pintle hitch. After thinking about it, there shouldn't be any reason why I couldn't have a hitch made on the back of the medium duty dump truck frame that would have a gooseneck ball sticking out. Kind of like a regular ball type hitch. I've never seen anything like this around here, but to me, seems very possible. Any thoughts, idea's, or comments. Thanks

Maybe I'm wrong.... but just thinking here.


Problem...the hitch height. Ok, raise the ball. You will want something that does not impeed the movement of the bed nor the access to the pintle hitch. The goose ball will stick out quite a bit and being high won't help. Whatever is dumped out of the truck will catch on the ball if it's there and will also beat the ever live'n crap out of it. Now, if the system was a fold-down swing away......... ya might have something. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Embarrased.gif Keep in mind that you will overload it one day, you will back into something one day and it must to be legal. Four mounting brackets that are kind'a like a hitch-pin would work... I think. Remember, keep the steel in tension not compression if possible.


My .02 worth http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif





Burner----------------> http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif

Ladn,


My first thought if I am understanding you correctly is that you want to put a gooseneck hitch after the end of your truck body at the same area as the pintle after the rear of the axles. First I am not sure that a ball at that location could handle 4,000 lbs of tongue weight that far after the axles and also support the weight of the trailer properly.


I would also think that the extended length would help on the bridge formula for your on that kind of configuration. However, as burner brought up kinda, how would you get the hieght on the ball correct and be able to still use the dump body without damaging the ball??


Tag a long trailers with a pintle hook are up to 24 ton, so the pintle can take the weight on your class 8 truck, as far as your F350 it could take and empty trailer and maybe some weight, but not as much as the 7500 obviously.Also not only should you consider the payload, but the brake capabillities.


I am sure that someone out there has more imput, or you could try either


www.heavyequipementforums.com (http://www.heavyequipementforums.com) or


or http://www.snowplowing-contractors.com/forums/index.php


lots of very knowleadge guys over there also


It in interesting concept.


Pete





As a side note as I am thinking about it, I saw several weeks ago a tandem gooseneck horsetrailer on the highway. I have never seen it before and did not get a great view of it, however maybe someone knows more about it and how it might apply to what you want to do.
Edited by: gslam88

Ok men been there and have done this, the truck bed sits higher that the frame, the goosneck ball should sit almost level with this. You have to cut a "trap door" in the floor of you dump body to allow the coupling device to latch on to the ball. It does not interfere with you bed space. The only thing you have to be sure of is that you sides of the body do not interfere with the trailer swing. I hope this idea will work for you.


P.S. If you just mounted the goosenck plate to the bottom of the bed. When you drive forward it would raise the bed up, the only thing holding the bed in place is the weight of the body.

The gooseneck trailer female coupler is between 32"-38" inches above ground level. The truck dump bed is 64" above ground level. Therefore, putting the gooseneck ball in the dump bed is not an option.

I'll need a 1/2" plate welded to the back of the frame. This plate would be required whether I install a pintle hitch or a gooseneck ball. The dump bed would extend about 7 3/4" from the back of this plate. With the tailgate on the dump, the tailgate would extend 3' past this plate.

The question is whether or not the truck frame and hitch would handle the tongue weight if the gooseneck ball was sticking out about 1.5' from the back of the frame.

You are worried about that weight on the back of truck then? You have more than enough frame and axle strength. The only possible problem is if it is a very short wheelbase C7500 it "might" get a little light in the steering but that is easily overcome. I would use more than a 1/2 plate though for rigidity. I would suggest at least 3/4 inch or more and make sure you brace it to give it a large contact area with the main frame to spread load.

Landrand, my post never mentions placing the goose ball in the bed. Just box the rear frame in and have at it. The ball will need to be at least 14" off the back. The bed and trailer neck should not be close and you'll need room to climb without the neck and bed having a dispute.

Being that the it is a 7500 I would think that it is just like any other dump truck. A regular hitch receiver is a 2 in for a pickup. At the back of the bed I would make a hitch where the receiver would be 4 in piece instead of 2 in. And then I would weld a tube on the back of the bed under the spreader plate. We put a hitch like this on a 2 ton International. Just make sure its built heavy.

I worked summers for a pipeline here. They have a winch truck that they mounted the hitch off the back like you are talking. We pulled a gooseneck trailer with a backhoe on it everywhere we went, including a lot of off road stuff, and never had a problem. The truck will handle it just fine.

I've been thinking about the same concept of towing a gooseneck. I'm planning on making a seperate hitch on the back plate of the dump for the ball. I'm not worried about the weight 3' back from a 2 ton rearend, know what I mean http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley2.gif

Look at semi car haulers for hitch strength. Many of them run a mini 5th wheel behind tandems on the tractor. Not sure what these are rated for but I figure it's more than what you are looking at. The only difference is these don't have a dump box to worry about and they are mounted low but the idea is generally the same.


I've seen twin screw dump trucks haul small asphalt machines hung off the dump gate. Yeah they were a bit light in the front but those machines got to be more than 4K.