Goose Neck Hitch
 

my buddy just picked up a goose neck trailer.

e is looking for the cheapest 5th wheel hitch he can find.

its for his 95 chevy CK 3500

anyone know of a place to pick one up cheap? or know someone that might have a junked truck with one?

or a link to a place that has them for cheap?

is it a goose neck or a 5th wheel? Can't be both.

I thought they were the same. sorry. he bought a goose neck trailer so he needs a goose neck hitch.

If ya wanna do it cheap, meausre the inside width of the frame, run down to your local metal supply place, buy a section of 4-6" channel to fit in there, weld peice in, and cut holes in bed and channel for ball to fit. Once ya get the ball installed, weld the nut to the channel iron. Thats the cheap way.

If you do it this way brace up the center of it some way, I have seen many of these bend and I have two sitting at home that have bent.

Andy

This is exactly what I have. About a 4" wide C channel and its thick...maybe 5/16 or more.

Last one I did was 6" wide C channel 1/2" thick and it is holding so far, I need to do one in my truck.

Andy

Mine may be 6"...have to look again and its pretty darn thick. I pull a 8k lb 5er and its fine with that load.

The 6" stuff seems to take the load better than say 4" but theres more metal there to spread the load.

The bracing is a good idea regardless, I had forgot about that when I was replying earlier.

hey guys could you please post some pictures?
I have access to tons of steel and would love to fabricate something

i can try and crawl under the truck and take a few tonight. Don't know how well i can see it with the bed on.

I would greatly appreciate it!

heres a little sketch
 

I'm no artist but maybe this clears it up.
The C channel welds over the axel, the ends are cut out to fit down on the frame rail. Use a good qualified welder to do this. Don't get t he frame rails too hot or it could weaken them but get good penetration on the weld to hold strong. I don't know about bracing, this is exactly how mine is.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m.../ballmount.jpg

You'd want your bracing running from the center back to the frame sorta like the lines below in red. The channel iron on mine is butt welded between the flatbed frame rails, but Clays hitch would probably be stronger since it has more area welded then a regular butt weld.

Just be carefull welding to a chasis of any kind of truck. Chasis welding is a profession all in it's own and it's tricky stuff to do right. To cold and it's to weak to hot and it doesn't set the bead deep enough to be strong, but make it to hot and you weaken the metal. It's an art to do it right.

u should be fine welding to the frame, if ur lookin for a gooseneck ball let me know i might have a spare plate at home.

I will be needing one I'll PM you

Do the hitches that you can buy bolt on or weld on? Im just wondering if I can make a bolt on design instead of welding on the frame.

I bolt mine on, make up spacers if needed bolt four bolts on each side and then small weld on the edges to keep it there.

Andy

first pickups we had with a ball in them were way back in 1973 when we built the first gooseneck trailer around this area. we used half inch plate alittle wider than the frame and 16" front to back and it sat on top of the bed floor with four bolts and box to frame spacers. my brother wore the ball flat with all the towing he did with his 84 pickup never bent anything. not saying it couldn't happen. next one i do is going to be a plate on the floor again. always bought some fancy hida ball thing and never put it away.

Yeah I found these at Tractor Supply for less then $100 bucks.

Andy

I think you would be fine to bolt it as long as you use large grade 8 bolts and lots of touque on em.

On a rigid type hitch such as a gooseneck or bumper hitch, it's better to bolt it in. Bolts leave room for flex and these hitches get alot of jerking action while in use. Over time this will stress the metal around welds. 5th wheel type hitches are ok to weld in because the plate at the hitch point stays mobile and absorbs that motion.

I would also dissagree on the use of grade 8 bolts. I know it seems like you would want the strongest bolts available, but in this case grade 8 are to stiff and which makes them brittle when flexed. They tend to snap under pressure. If you look at any hitch on the market, from the cheapest to the most expensive they all use grade 5 to allow for this.

These are just my personal opinions and observations from being in the trailer business, I don't have any fancy articles or studies to referance proving my case.

Makes sense, i didn't really consider that.

yeah the shear point is better on grade 5 bolts

any pics yet?

this will actually be my trailer now. He is selling it to me for 50 bucks more than he bought it for $ 200!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SO if anyone knows where a goose neck hitch is for a dodge ram for cheap let me know
or can build one or has plans to build one

I'll get pics of a bent one tomorrow.

Andy

ok sweet.

is it repairable?

If its just sitting at your place I'll pay shipping to get it here so I can fix it or copy it with more beef or if you want to get rid of it for a small sum of money.
let me know

is the B&W a good hitch?

I think its a popular choice. Dennis knows more about those.

Their an awesome hitch! I have a B&W turnover ball on mine and works pretty slick.

yeah they look pretty cool.

I just need to find $330 for one and a brake controller

You can get what they call the "flatbed kit" (center section, ball, and lever) for around $150 - $200. Then if ya got access to some metal and a welder you can make the mount yourself to save a few bucks.

I have access to all the steel I want but by the time I spend the time I might as well have the nice B&W.
but some times I get ambitious and want a project

I've had two kinds of customers, those that bought B&W hitches and those that come back later and say they wish they had bought a B&W hitch. It's just a fact that these things are so well built and well designed that they take all the hassle out of having a goosneck in your truck. They mount in about 2 hours of easy work. They last forever, They are stronger then any other I have found out there, to nclude these home made hitches and most important they bolt right into existing holes so they do no damage at all to your truck other then cutting the hole in your bed. No welding, no drilling, no tapping, just put it up there and bolt it in.

Forgot the most important thing. If your ever involved in an accident no way the investigation can consider you negligent for an un approved hitch. B&W has been tried and tested so you are also getting thier reputation.

yeah I have been looking at a bunch of hitches and these are the best looking and functional.
They also offer an adapter to put on a 5th wheel.

They also make a great anchor point for pulling other stuff to. I made a hitch to go in mine that has the tow hook on it. I pull the ball and slide this in. It works great cause it pulls the truck down and put's weight to the tires. I used to pull from the bumper hitch and it pulls the truck up off the tires in most cases.