The Gooseneck Hitch - What You Need To Know
The venerable Gooseneck hitch has been around for awhile, and you’ve probably seen one if you’ve seen a horse trailer.
Considered Class V and above trailer hitches, the goosenecks have the ability to haul up to thirty thousand pounds. (Class I & II hitches are good for thirty-five hundred pounds of trailer weight, Class III & IV can pull 10,000 pounds - which are usually weight-distributing hitches. ) Conventional trailer hitches that are attached to a trucks bumper or rear frame always use a hitch ball system. Many gooseneck hitches also use hitch balls, but are never attached to the bumper.
Most people are used to hitches that are attached to a truck or car’s rear bumper. This is different from the gooseneck and fifth wheel hitches that are connected to the bed and frame of the pickup. The gooseneck hitch frame has a hitch ball attached to an arched arm that rises thru the bed of the truck. Then the arched arm of the trailer hitch locks in place on the hitch ball.
2 features of a gooseneck hitch make it popular: Folks favor the added strength in its towing ability and due to the nature of their design, they have the ability to make tighter turns than other hitch and trailer options. The trailer’s tighter turning ability is a huge benefit and is due to the fact that the turning point of the trailer is in the bed of the pickup truck instead of on or near the truck’s bumper.
The installation of the gooseneck hitch can be a little involved as you have to remove the pickup truck’s bed in order to attach the hitch frame to the frame of the pickup. With the bed of the truck removed, the hole in the bed is measured and drilled and/or cut so that when it’s replaced on the truck frame, the hitch ball rises thru the bed. Finally, the truckbed is re-attached, with the ball hitch poking up by way of the drilled hole in the bed of the truck.
Gooseneck trailer hitches are awesome for hauling horse trailers, camping trailers and other odd shaped trailers. And being able to turn much tighter is a great advantage not to be overlooked. Although a bit labor-intensive to install, the gooseneck hitch is very stable and secure once installed.
Jim Armstrong has been writing unique automotive articles for years. Find out more good info about the gooseneck hitch and the Reese Hitch now. Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory