Hi, y'all. I'm trying to restore a 1968 Page and Page detachable gooseneck (RGN) trailer. There are pictures of it in another thread. The current problem is the mechanism up front that rests down on the main deck. I'll describe it a little more: Big honkin' rams press down on the trailer deck a couple of feet behind the front of the trailer. In so doing, it lifts the deck up off the ground a few inches for travel. However, modern trailers then rotate a block (also called a foot) down to relieve the hydraulic ram so that the ram is not under pressure while traveling. There is no such foot on this old trailer, although there is evidence of some kind of a foot mechanism that is totally gone, now. I'd love to see some pictures of old (1968) RGN trailers so that I can get a clue what they did. I guess it's possible that they didn't use a foot at all and just relied on the hydraulic rams to keep it off of the roadway. Sounds scary to me. The hydraulic pressure would spike every time you hit a bump in the road, that way. Looking forward to seeing classic old RGN pictures! :waving
Here is a side view of the attachment point. You can see the heavy ram with the spherical end on the ram rod and where it presses into the deck, which has been beefed up. Directly behind the depression is a built up area that used to be something. I suspect it was where a foot planted down to relieve the ram. Note: The plates crammed into the front by the pin was intended by the manufacturer to prevent the pin from dropping down and out of the hook. The hook is on the deck side, open end down. To disconnect the gooseneck, you remove the plates so the gooseneck can drop down, and then drive forward away with the gooseneck. The plates you see are just temporary ones serving as substitutes for the originals, which served the same function. The little dual plates with 3 holes in it appear to be far too flimsy to support a foot to hold all the weight. They might have been used to pivot a foot from, maybe. Ideas? Pictures? Dirtmaster
"The little dual plates with 3 holes in it appear to be far too flimsy to support a foot to hold all the weight. They might have been used to pivot a foot from, maybe. Ideas? Pictures?" They may have been there to hold plates in place at the end of the gooseneck when it was removed. Changing the thickness of the plate would allow you to change the ride height of the deck.
What's the chance that the dual plates with the 3 holes was part of an assy to hold the neck up when the trailer was dropped. They seem a bit light to support that much leverage, but just a thought.
Well, there are two vertical rams pointing straight down, obviously intended to push down on the tail of the tractor. I agree, the 3 hole plates are too flimsy to hold up the deck. They might have been for holding a pivot arm or something where the pivot arm brought a heavy spacer into place that actually took the load off of the rams. I've been looking for months for some picture that shows what went there. It probably didn't work, or it would still be there. I suspect that the previous owner just left the load on the big rams and used it for short hauls. Dunno. Dirtmaster