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advice on gooseneck hitch for flatbed dump truck
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halfpint23
Reg. Aug 2004
Posted 2006-05-04 10:41 AM (#219)
Subject: advice on gooseneck hitch for flatbed dump truck





Posts: 144

Location: Monroe, WA
OK, I've done a bunch of archive searching and have not found anything yet.Hubby just bought a nice little chevy C3500 with flatbed and hydraulic dump unit under it. We have been pulling our trailers with our previous Chev C30 flatbed, solid bed, no dump, and had considered using the new one too.Is there any gooseneck hitch rig made for dump beds? How can this rig be reinforced to handle the loads involved and retain the dump capability?Any advice or product pointers would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!
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hosspuller
Reg. Oct 2003
Posted 2006-05-04 3:41 PM (#220 - in reply to #219)
Subject: RE: advice on gooseneck hitch for flatbed dump truck





Posts: 1563

Location: North Carolina

Hi Kate .. This is just a guess...  If the lift mechanism is clear of where the hitch would mount on the frame,  Then a door in the flatbed would suffice. 

You could look at say a B+W hitch and see where it would mount on your truck.  They have very detailed instructions and measurements.

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BigT
Reg. Oct 2003
Posted 2006-05-04 6:28 PM (#221 - in reply to #219)
Subject: RE: advice on gooseneck hitch for flatbed dump truck





Posts: 190

Location: Lockport, ILLINOIS

If the dump box is over the tires, and the dump box has a flat floor, then I would be concered about the trailer being level and the gooseneck hitting the sides of the dump box.

 

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BigT
Reg. Oct 2003
Posted 2006-05-04 6:28 PM (#222 - in reply to #219)
Subject: RE: advice on gooseneck hitch for flatbed dump truck





Posts: 190

Location: Lockport, ILLINOIS

If the dump box is over the tires, and the dump box has a flat floor, then I would be concered about the trailer being level and the gooseneck hitting the sides of the dump box.

 

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halfpint23
Reg. Aug 2004
Posted 2006-05-05 8:13 AM (#223 - in reply to #219)
Subject: RE: advice on gooseneck hitch for flatbed dump truck





Posts: 144

Location: Monroe, WA
Well, it's not a "dump box", it's a standard-variety flatbed with wood decking, stake pockets, no sides..... no problems there! BUT the hydraulics and liting mechanism is pretty much right in the center of the whole thing, kinda-sorta over (spans fore and aft) the axle, and I'm thinking it might be a real interesting welding project to make it work. You CAN'T put the attachment to the frame rails as per usual mounting. I guess my question should have been whether anyone had figured out or seen a gooseneck hitch mounted only to the flatbed - and how was it made strong enough, locked down, etc. The notion of pulling a big gooseneck off a pair of tilt pins does not make for a warm and fuzzy feeling here.Hubby is an oldtime master welder of many years, but he's getting kind of creaky in his old age and may not be up for this kind of headache - er, challenge. He's now talking about trading off the truck ad getting something without a dump...... though it is handy sometimes!Thanks for input! Enjoy the lovely Spring weather (if you have it ) :)
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Reg
Reg. Oct 2003
Posted 2006-05-05 1:03 PM (#224 - in reply to #219)
Subject: RE: advice on gooseneck hitch for flatbed dump truck





Posts: 2621

Originally written by halfpint23 on 2006-05-05 9:13 AM

Well, it's not a "dump box", it's a standard-variety flatbed with wood decking, stake pockets, no sides..... no problems there! BUT the hydraulics and liting mechanism is pretty much right in the center of the whole thing, kinda-sorta over (spans fore and aft) the axle, and I'm thinking it might be a real interesting welding project to make it work. You CAN'T put the attachment to the frame rails as per usual mounting. I guess my question should have been whether anyone had figured out or seen a gooseneck hitch mounted only to the flatbed - and how was it made strong enough, locked down, etc. The notion of pulling a big gooseneck off a pair of tilt pins does not make for a warm and fuzzy feeling here.Hubby is an oldtime master welder of many years, but he's getting kind of creaky in his old age and may not be up for this kind of headache - er, challenge. He's now talking about trading off the truck ad getting something without a dump...... though it is handy sometimes!Thanks for input! Enjoy the lovely Spring weather (if you have it ) :)


Well, those "coupla pivot pins" are secure/strong enough to hold the body on when loaded.
My own flatbed has a trapdoor through it, the ball is down below and I'm fairly sure that it is mounted to the flat, not (directly) to the truck's frame - the difference being that mine doesn't tilt, though that might have been an option I was offered at the time. You could go to the Hillsboro web site for ideas.

Some sort of a shallow pan, made from 3/8 or so steel, would probably have all the torsional stiffness you'd need. I'm thinking that just bolting a ball in the bed would need a stiffening plate, again 3/8 or so steel a coupla foot square {suggestion only, this is NOT a design spec (-: }.

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halfpint23
Reg. Aug 2004
Posted 2006-05-05 3:09 PM (#225 - in reply to #219)
Subject: RE: advice on gooseneck hitch for flatbed dump truck





Posts: 144

Location: Monroe, WA
from Reg

Well, those "coupla pivot pins" are secure/strong enough to hold the body on when loaded.My own flatbed has a trapdoor through it, the ball is down below and I'm fairly sure that it is mounted to the flat, not (directly) to the truck's frame - the difference being that mine doesn't tilt, though that might have been an option I was offered at the time. You could go to the Hillsboro web site for ideas.

Some sort of a shallow pan, made from 3/8 or so steel, would probably have all the torsional stiffness you'd need. I'm thinking that just bolting a ball in the bed would need a stiffening plate, again 3/8 or so steel a coupla foot square {suggestion only, this is NOT a design spec (-: }.

Hi Reg!Yah... trouble being that this is one of those real cute little one-way hydraulic setups, where it's power UP and gravity down - not a two-way cylinder setup, where you would have the hydraulic system pressure holding the bed in the down position - and those pivot pins are like 3/4 inch max., NOT the big ol' 1.75 hardened pins I'm used to seeing under real dump trucks. So, bed may want to rise, or twist.... dunno, I don't really know how much sideways torque a GN horse trailer may put onto that ball.

For any flatbed, we'd definitely put in a gusseted set of heavy channel stringers welded in between the under-deck supports, and weld the ball mount into that. Trust me, "over built" does not begin to describe the stuff hubby has built over the years - and as an engineering tech, I'm kinda on the paranoid side of design work, too :) Been there, done that, and seen the wreck when it breaks - not on MY rig, uh-uh.

So, still in the rumination stage, thinking of how to make a good solid locking-down mechanism that is also easy to UN-lock when he wants to use it as a dumper. (sure makes unloading those heavy bales easier :)Thanks Reg!

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Reg
Reg. Oct 2003
Posted 2006-05-05 3:28 PM (#226 - in reply to #219)
Subject: RE: advice on gooseneck hitch for flatbed dump truck





Posts: 2621

I'd be REALLY surprised if a floating deck (no lock when down) is legal - ANYWHERE in the US.

I think you might have one of those insta-dump converta_kit afta market thangs (-: 3/4 inch pins indeed.
Did you find any ideas on the Hillsboro site ?
Even with 3/4 pins if you add GOOD latching on the front corners you'd be better off than the 2 skinny pin set-up you have now. I think those add_a_dump kits are only good for 1/2 or 3/4 ton.
You DON'T have a Knapheide class flat, which I thought you did from the initial post.
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halfpint23
Reg. Aug 2004
Posted 2006-05-05 4:05 PM (#227 - in reply to #219)
Subject: RE: advice on gooseneck hitch for flatbed dump truck





Posts: 144

Location: Monroe, WA
Originally written by Reg on 2006-05-05 3:28 PM

I'd be REALLY surprised if a floating deck (no lock when down) is legal - ANYWHERE in the US.I think you might have one of those insta-dump converta_kit afta market thangs (-: 3/4 inch pins indeed. Did you find any ideas on the Hillsboro site ?Even with 3/4 pins if you add GOOD latching on the front corners you'd be better off than the 2 skinny pin set-up you have now. I think those add_a_dump kits are only good for 1/2 or 3/4 ton.You DON'T have a Knapheide class flat, which I thought you did from the initial post.

Well, all I can say is it SAYS Knapheide on the bed, and was a dealer install when the truck was new (1999), ordered that way, added on to a cab & chassis..... It was pretty well done, standard 12-foot length, good welding, clean fitting, etc. but I didn't see any provision for locking down....

NICE no-slip prop stick for holding up for maintenance, though

Guess we will have to give it a more thorough going over, maybe we just missed it..... NONE of the commercial dumps out here have lockdown, BTW..... God knows there are enough of them. Last time I have seen a lockdown setup was on a 1958 Ford ton-and a half, a LONGGGG time ago! (that one was a booger to get loose, too.....)Cheers!

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Reg
Reg. Oct 2003
Posted 2006-05-05 6:05 PM (#228 - in reply to #219)
Subject: RE: advice on gooseneck hitch for flatbed dump truck





Posts: 2621

Oops, oh well, Knapheide it is (-:

Here's something;
http://www.hillsboroindustries.com/Products/SteelTruckBedsFarm.htm
Standard features; ball in a hole, down a well, under a trap-door (-:
I can't find where or if this can be tilted.

I use this place for reference pricing,
http://www.precisiontbec.com/main.htm
They're usually pretty good and close enough (to me, but I'm on the right coast). I've bought a few things there over the years. Their paper ad currently has Knapheide Westerner plaform for $995, though I think the headache rack is extra and its probably for the smallest size.

FWIW, if you wanted to go to a FIXED flat, etc.

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halfpint23
Reg. Aug 2004
Posted 2006-05-08 9:49 AM (#229 - in reply to #219)
Subject: RE: advice on gooseneck hitch for flatbed dump truck





Posts: 144

Location: Monroe, WA
Thanks for the links, Reg. I always enjoy a little shopping trip - 'specially if I don't have to spend the money!

Sorry to be tardy in the reply and thanks, we had one of those "interesting" weekends.... Spent obligatory 8 hours on Saturday building barn annex, as we had scheduled two mares and foals coming back home from breeding. Hubby picked up our main hauler from a service call at Chevy dealer - it had started "running poorly" on him, symptoms made my hair stand up so I had him just stop in there before going to the jobsite to pick up the loader. Darn thing died in the shop! After a grand's worth of work and parts, it's still so darn sick it can't get out of its own way, let alone pull horses on a two hour trip home on the interstate.....

SOOOOO....."new" truck, the flatbed dump in question at the beginning of this little saga, was all we had to pull the trailer. And with that damnably long overhang of it's 12 foot bed, no way can you put a trailer on the hitch. Saturday night, 6:30 PM, we scribe a few lines and go to work on chopping the bed. Took out a 15 inch section just ahead of the crossmember of the rear structure, cut off wood, refit and reweld.......fall into bed unfed and unwashed at 11:30 PM.

Get out there at 7am after feeding horses, and put all the lights back on and rewire for our trailer. Truck had been bought new by a landscaper (groan!) and had "interesting" wiring, lots there to fix up. God looks after fools I guess, everything worked perfectly on the first go-round - after building and wiring about nineteen trucks and trailers, I am finally getting pretty good at this electrical stuff!

No time to paint the welded section, burning daylight, so hit the road, head south to get the girls and babies. Wow, this truck rides NICE! longer wheelbase, better seat, starting to not feel so bad about having to retire the old faithful....Shoot, this thing pulls so nice, we may just get a bigger BP and the heck with a gooseneck!

Cheers!

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