# New gooseneck trailers



## bhamrick

Any of you guys have any personal comparisons or experiences with Pj or Load Max trailers with or without hydraulic dovetails? Looks like the hydraulic dovetails are similar in design but different locking mechanisms. Otherwise the current specs seem to be very similar. Any opinions on one vs the other?


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## Bonfire

I have a dual axle tandem PJ. Works great. Needs an inspection sticker now that I think about it.


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## azmike

I bought a new Load Max 30' car hauler for some equipment last year. Well built, tracked fine BUT it came with absolutely junk tires. I had two side wall failures, dumped the set and bought new skins--then sold the trailer with the equipment. We also run a tandem dual Big Tex that has been OK (except the wood). Mike


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## bluefarmer

Red rhino!! (Gobob pipe) I ain't got one but can dream! They are built stout


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## NewBerlinBaler

No direct experience but someone told me that PJ trailers use Chinese axles and should be avoided for that reason.

I'm told that Dexter Axles, made in Indiana, are supposedly the best trailer axle and a trailer made with these is desirable. However, my trailer has Dexter axles and soon after I bought it I had to repack wheel bearings, adjust brakes and replace leaking seals.

Gary


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## JD3430

Just bought a 2015 Big Tex 22GN. 30' and 23,900lb GVWR and dovetail with mega ramps
I bought it for a couple reasons that appealed to me.
1. 23,900lb GVWR a, but only weighs 6,500lb empty.
2. Dexter oil bath 48" spread axles.
3. Sealed wiring and LED lights.
4. Good overall industry reputation
5. Price
6. Dual jacks and lockable toolbox standard.

Brakes are adequate, but not excellent, but full confession, I'm overloading the trailer.
I really like the the spring loaded mega ramps and the dovetail design.
Dislike the Chinese tires, but no problems with them so far.

http://bigtextrailers.com/22gn-tandem-dual-axle-gooseneck/


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## JD3430

NewBerlinBaler said:


> No direct experience but someone told me that PJ trailers use Chinese axles and should be avoided for that reason.
> 
> I'm told that Dexter Axles, made in Indiana, are supposedly the best trailer axle and a trailer made with these is desirable. However, my trailer has Dexter axles and soon after I bought it I had to repack wheel bearings, adjust brakes and replace leaking seals.
> 
> Gary


I hear Dexter still US made but starting to use some off shore parts.
Best trailer axles you can buy are Rockwell American. Pequea uses them in some of their trailers. All USA made components. Expensive, but worth it from what I'm told. 
I would have bought the pequea 20k trailer, but wasn't sure if it would have the capacity I need to get the job done.

http://www.rockwellamerican.com/manufacturing/axle-manufacturing


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## gearhartfarms82

Well dont know how much you are going to use it but some things to look for. When it comes down to steel there all the same. The big differences are in the details. Sealed wiring harnesses are a must. 17.5 tires are a must. If you like to stop electro hydrolic disc brakes are a must. Led lights are a must too.

Axles are all the same at the end of the day. Its personal opinion which ones better.

On hydrolic doves make sure they put 25% of weight on the gooseneck. The shorter the trailer the harder it is to do this. I personaly love full tilts or straight tails. Lifting the ramps get old.


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## bbos2

JD3430 said:


> I really like the the spring loaded mega ramps and the dovetail design.
> Dislike the Chinese tires, but no problems with them so far. http://bigtextrailers.com/22gn-tandem-dual-axle-gooseneck/


That's my only complaint as well on the big tex. It won't take long and you'll go through those crappy tires. I was glad to have different set


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## JMT

gearhartfarms82 said:


> Well dont know how much you are going to use it but some things to look for. When it comes down to steel there all the same. The big differences are in the details. Sealed wiring harnesses are a must. 17.5 tires are a must. If you like to stop electro hydrolic disc brakes are a must. Led lights are a must too.
> Axles are all the same at the end of the day. Its personal opinion which ones better.
> On hydrolic doves make sure they put 25% of weight on the gooseneck. The shorter the trailer the harder it is to do this. I personaly love full tilts or straight tails. Lifting the ramps get old.


Why are 17.5" tires a must?


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## Lewis Ranch

JMT said:


> Why are 17.5" tires a must?


The sidewall doesn't blow out. I'm actually looking for another myself 40' w/ 17.5 duals.


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## Bonfire

Lewis Ranch said:


> The sidewall doesn't blow out. I'm actually looking for another myself 40' w/ 17.5 duals.


Aren't they like load range H or something like that? A 14 or 16 ply?


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## JD3430

Yes. I had a Cam Superline with 17.5" tires and they are strong, but holy cow are they expensive.
The 15" tires are adequate if you get a quality brand with more plies than the bare minimum. 
Re manual dovetail: you can flip mine with one finger. Very easy. Maybe Big Tex makes a easier to flip ramp?
The hydraulic option is nice, but for me it made the trailer heavier and stole payload. It added about $1,500 to the cost, too.


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## swmnhay

I got 17.5 tires on my Titan trailer.they are 215 width and cut in more if the ground is soft in hay field compared to the 245 x 16 on my other trailer.

The trailer rides rougher when empty also with the 16 ply tires but also has 12k axles vs 10k on the old one with 10 ply tires.


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## somedevildawg

JD3430 said:


> Yes. I had a Cam Superline with 17.5" tires and they are strong, but holy cow are they expensive.
> The 15" tires are adequate if you get a quality brand with more plies than the bare minimum.
> Re manual dovetail: you can flip mine with one finger. Very easy. Maybe Big Tex makes a easier to flip ramp?
> The hydraulic option is nice, but for me it made the trailer heavier and stole payload. It added about $1,500 to the cost, too.


I think the op is talking about a hydraulic dovetail.......


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## Lewis Ranch

Bonfire said:


> Aren't they like load range H or something like that? A 14 or 16 ply?


You can get them in either. My understanding is the 17.5 tires have a steel sidewall where a 16" tire doesn't.


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## gearhartfarms82

Jtm,

If you have trouble with tires blowing out that will cease to exist will 17.5. One tire is rated for over 6000 pounds caring capacity 16 inch tires originally rated for 2800 pound apiece in dual form. Why run eight tires at $150-$200 apiece when you can run foru tires for $200 apiece and I'll have no more blowouts. In my fleet of trailers we switched everything over to 17.5's after doing so our tire bill per year on the trailers got cut by three quarters


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## JD3430

somedevildawg said:


> I think the op is talking about a hydraulic dovetail.......


So am I.

My point is, if the OP wants to save weight and money, the spring assist mega ramps and fixed dovetail or a manual dovetail are a nice option.


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## JD3430

gearhartfarms82 said:


> Jtm,
> 
> If you have trouble with tires blowing out that will cease to exist will 17.5. One tire is rated for over 6000 pounds caring capacity 16 inch tires originally rated for 2800 pound apiece in dual form. Why run eight tires at $150-$200 apiece when you can run foru tires for $200 apiece and I'll have no more blowouts. In my fleet of trailers we switched everything over to 17.5's after doing so our tire bill per year on the trailers got cut by three quarters


IF you mean 4 single tires v. 8, there are disadvantages to single 17.5's:

if you run on soft ground with 17.5" singles and load the trailer heavy, the ruts are pretty bad. Trailers dont have a lot of ground clearance. I had trouble with my 18K Cam 17.5's tires cutting into the soft ground with heavy load to the point that I got rid of it.

Ruts also fill with water and make fields bumpy.

Duals float much better on soft fields.

Also, if you lose a tire on a dual setup with a load, you'll probably make it home.

Lose a single and you better have a spare.


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## gearhartfarms82

Jd3430

The soils we run it dosent matter to much but see ur point. I always carry a spare (never have used it in 6 yrs) on the trailers. The savings in scuffing 4 vs 8 is pretty large at least in my opperation. But we are probly in the leage with hot shot guys instead of the normal farmer. I got really tired of the blow outs on new tires and massive rolling resistance of 16" tires on thhe dual wheel set up.


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## gearhartfarms82

Soory for off topic. Hydrolic dove or tilt. Save ur back over time


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## JD3430

gearhartfarms82 said:


> Jd3430
> The soils we run it dosent matter to much but see ur point. I always carry a spare (never have used it in 6 yrs) on the trailers. The savings in scuffing 4 vs 8 is pretty large at least in my opperation. But we are probly in the leage with hot shot guys instead of the normal farmer. I got really tired of the blow outs on new tires and massive rolling resistance of 16" tires on thhe dual wheel set up.


That's a good point. I'm on softer soil all the time, so the duals work much better for me. In the final analysis, it was between a Pequea 20k with 17.5" singles and a Big Tex 23,900 with 15" duals. It was a tough choice. 
Good thing we have choices, isn't it? 
If I was on pavement all the time, I might have gone Pequea


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## gearhartfarms82

Choices are good.


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## cornshucker

What do you all think of these deck over tilt tops.

www.bwisetrailers.com


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## somedevildawg

cornshucker said:


> What do you all think of these deck over tilt tops.
> 
> www.bwisetrailers.com


Very good looking trailers.....me likes the 30' hydro dovetail


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## JD3430

cornshucker said:


> What do you all think of these deck over tilt tops.
> 
> www.bwisetrailers.com


BWise makes a good trailer. They looked heavy built. What is your pulling rig?


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## cornshucker

JD3430 said:


> BWise makes a good trailer. They looked heavy built. What is your pulling rig?


Ford F-450


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## gearhartfarms82

I have a corn pro full tilt. Wouldnt trade for anything. Like them better than hyd doves


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## somedevildawg

gearhartfarms82 said:


> I have a corn pro full tilt. Wouldnt trade for anything. Like them better than hyd doves


Got a link to that? Never heard of them....


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## JD3430

I missed out on a 28' hydraulic full tilt trailer about a year ago. 
Later I realized it wouldn't have worked for me. It weighed over 8,400lbs empty and with a 20,000lb GVWR really didn't have enough payload left for bigger hay bale deliveries. Man that was a sweet trailer though. 
I don't really understand how a dual tandem trailer can be legally useful without a GCWR of at least 33,000 lbs. My truck with tools weighs 10,000lb my trailer weighs about 6,800lb. That leaves me a little over 16,000lbs for payload or about 20 800 lb round bales. 
Not exactly a BIG delivery load, but enough for now.


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## gearhartfarms82

Cornprotrailers.com

I think off top of head


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## PaCustomBaler

Why do some of you guys fancy tilt decks instead of dovetails for loading/unloading equipment?


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## gearhartfarms82

My biggest reason is u cant always load tractor and ............ because of the dove tail angle (hinge point) Hitch hits or pins catch ect. Also ever try to load a van or car on hyd dove? Not all will load because of clearence. Also another nice point is i can haul rd bales and never unload with tractor or skidsteer, dump slids of lumber or metal with out loaders or roll dead equipment off with ease. Tilt and take off. Just some of my reasons at least. This tilt pictured is used almost every single day of the yr so before i bought i was in same boat of which one. Basicaly its the same as having a rollback


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## PaCustomBaler

Copy. I understand with hay, lumber, other material....just wondered about equipment.

Never heard of binding hitch points but I guess it could be possible if the angle is very severe.

As for clearance, the geometry of the dovetail angle will be pretty similar to that of a tilt bed angle where it meets the ground. I would think you'd be rubbing front ends and bumbers of cars/small vans off the ground instead of rubbing the bellies of vehicles.

I thought a rollback's bed can slide back further decreasing the loading angle whereas a tilt deck simply pivots at one point?


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## slowzuki

A tilt deck needs a long overhang to get a low loading angle like a roll-back. Some states/provinces don't like long overhangs and will ticket you. The sliding axle tilt decks get over that by sliding the axles but they are pretty rare and non-powered ones can have some problems in soft ground.

The power doves seem to come in as heavy as the full tilts if they are robust. Sometimes you can cheat a vehicle up them by driving onto the dove then powering it up flat, this helps loading scissor lifts/boom lifts that have good approach angles but poor breakover.



PaCustomBaler said:


> Copy. I understand with hay, lumber, other material....just wondered about equipment.
> 
> Never heard of binding hitch points but I guess it could be possible if the angle is very severe.
> 
> As for clearance, the geometry of the dovetail angle will be pretty similar to that of a tilt bed angle where it meets the ground. I would think you'd be rubbing front ends and bumbers of cars/small vans off the ground instead of rubbing the bellies of vehicles.
> 
> I thought a rollback's bed can slide back further decreasing the loading angle whereas a tilt deck simply pivots at one point?


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## gearhartfarms82

All depends on what u haul. At least for us u name it we haul it. Bush hogs are a prime example on a dove u have to stop and lift or drag were tilts u just load. Also for unloading rd bales it makes life a breeze tilt and go. Im not against hydrolic doves but if i had to choose it would be full tilts all the way. More versatile across the board.


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