so.. Who makes the best Hydraulic gooseneck and why?:beatsme
hummmmm you guys gonna start building them, chaz?
well we are considering it now...after going to the show in dallas and not getting a good response from a mechanical gooseneck I think we are going to have to come up with something, even as much as we hate to do it...
Theese guy's make the best ones in Europe: http://www.vangs.no/hengeralbum Click on the pics to enlarge the different modells. (Sorry its only in Norwegian, ask and i'll translate for you ) They are best because of the weight compared to payload. They use only the best quality materialls and well known suppliers. They are also in front thecnology wise, with electronic stearing on the axles for instance. You might get more for a trailer when selling it, than what you bought it for. This page show u some of the details u would be interrested in: http://www.vangs.no/documents/05.pdf More of those sheets here: http://www.vangs.no/losninger/produktark Maybee a talk with them could give u some design solutions tested and developed for years..
There are a lot of them out there and most all are very reputable too,, Here in the New England area, and if you are interested in longevity of trailer, safety of the same, and just plain common sense, all the contractors, this is, the bigger ones, all buy and use Etnyre (sp).. They are bullet proof and also very heavy., One has to design and order appropriately for what they will be hauling for equipment as the Etnyre's are very heavy in them selves, The old saying, you get what you pay for,,
The biggest thing I would say is the ease of hooking up to it on site. As we all know sites are not level and even. I have not operated many different models like somebody on this site, pssst! Hey lowboy! I think I would do a survey on what drivers want in a detachable and design something that is the best of all worlds. In my opinion it is Ease of hook and unhook with as little steps as possible, the ability to unhook and hook on uneven ground, also the ease to raise trailer up to get over obstacles like RR tracks or big crowns in roads. hope this helps
Chaz, I have had good luck with a Aspen hydraulic neck, I use it in BC as a nine axle where we gross 85,000 kg (187,000 lbs) on heavyhaul routes. The neck is able to lift 70t loads to ride height even when extended for a tandem jeep. One change I did make was to throw away the single stage hyd. pump & put a cheap Barnes two stage pump like they use for wood splitters & a 13 hp Honda, when the trailer is empty or lightly loaded you can lift it to ride height in a few seconds & maybe 30-45 seconds under full load. With all due respect, after you have used a hyd neck you will understand why you are seeing buyer resistance to ramp style detachables. The ease for the driver & less wear & tear on the truck plus the ability to raise the deck height make them tough competition. As you know, the penalty you pay is less payload, & for that reason we still have a couple of ramp type. I bet if you design & build a hyd neck, you'll sell even more trailers. Good luck.
I see alot of talbert, trail king, and landoll trailers out there. These are mainly 2 and three axle detachables though. I would be nice if someone put cylinders underneath the front corners to level the bed even just a little so you didn't have to be on a perfect surface to attach and detach.
Kaufman Trailers has a new 24ft Hydraulic tilt gooseneck just launched this year. It has a nice bed length of 24ft, a 82" width, with durable diamond plate fenders, and a GVWR of 14,000 lbs. This is a big seller right now.
http://www.jctrailers.ca/ SImple, light, no pins to bind, dont have to be level or perfectly straight.
I dident see any close up pictures of the gooseneck...happen to have any?
No i dont, If i were home id get you some but im in fort Mac till nov 13th. Basucally theres 2 large hooks on the bottom of the goose neck facing up, that engage in two horizontal fixed pins. The cylinders in the neck work against the deck of the trailer and two steel legs drop down between the deck and neck to keep it up. Works pretty slick. If you need height you just add steel shims under the neck legs. Theres also the stinger on the the neck to keep it up off the ground. Ill get you pictures as soon as i can. On a side note, If you come out with a Hyd neck id likely buy your trailers, thats the only thing i dont like about yours now.
we use the Cheater XL's they are great , they are simple , one man hookup and unhook
How do you guys feel about having to slide links? The design we are kinda looking at now will be able to be used on older trailers without modification except we will have to make the links sliding vs. most others using solid oversized links that are fixed in place. I would say we are a good 3-6 months away from a prototype so its still all in the concept stage
talking to my buddy's back east they swear by Rogers and XL specialized. But after seeing my 16 tire they both said they were going to look long and hard at getting a Murray interstate. and backwards compatibility is always a good thing. To have 2 necks for one trailer would only serve to make it that much more versatile.
I can understand using a sliding link if you are retrofitting to existing deck sections, but if you are building new from the ground up I think fixed link is a better way to go. One of the purposes of the oversized solid link is lineup- you only have to be close when you back onto the pins, when you lift the deck drops into place and away you go. With sliding links you can't slide them until they are aligned which is ok if you are pulling out from under the neck & letting guides shift the neck, but you won't be doing that with a hyd. neck. I guess you might be able to use a oversized sliding link? Also as a driver you don't have to go to the other side of the trailer, you don't have to kneel down and its quicker. Not a big deal if you only load once or twice a day but for local work it's a plus.
Hydraulic necks, The U.S. Armed forces love the top design features used by Cometto of N, Italy, they even have these units to lug your space craft about, In Europe a top Co, is Nooteboom, they make super kit, when the bed is sunk 6" into dirt you can still hook up the neck and lift the bed, all the necks are made of Weldox steel and strong as they come. tctractors.
new aspen neck i have a fontaine and like it,many of my co-workers have aspen or k line trailers and one has a murray,we are all impressed with aspens new design.they have taken 700-1000 lbs out of coventional hydraulic necks. their idea could easely be adapted to your outside rail trailers . what they did is eliminate the lift box and heavy crossmember that the cylinders push on and attatched the hydraulic cylinders directly to the rails of the neck.
Midatlantic Around here companies that can buy anything they deem to be the best, buy Talbert and Load King. Example: http://www.rifenburg.com/park-east-sales Here's another: http://www.allcrane.com/AboutGallery.aspx
Company I work for has a Diamond 150 ton,We call it the Circus Wagon.The basic trailer causes 45 minutes extra work (mechanical neck ).We don't have a dedicated lowboy tractor so we have removable ramps to bolt on.A real pain to swap back and forth. Also have an old Fruehauf Lowboy that I hate,umm let me rephrase that."That junk needs a home SOON" (what I told the boss after pushing 3 feet of oak blocks into the ground with that forsaken ground contact cylinder) They have a Load King rail trailer, Probably the biggest complaint is our own fault. the pin that secures the neck will hang up,Use's a type 30 brake pot to pull the pin.But it does set for weeks at a time and that light rust haze that builds up may be all that is. Since 1996 They have bought 3 Etnyre's.The oldest one bought in 96 I like.The pin for the neck is in the side (slides from left to right).you can be out of level or crooked and still make it connect.Only thing I thing it needs is some sort of interlock to make sure the neck support is up before you pick up the neck.That poor old support has been removed a bunch The two newer Etnyre's have single axle stingers and break down so you can make the trailer a Quad , They have a neck pin that drops in from the top and you have to be nearly dead on to get them to pin. Since we don't have a dedicated Lowboy tractor all these trailers have pony motors.For the most part is not too bad.Also the older Etnyre has two cylinders in the neck the newer has 4. If given a choice I will pull the older Etnyre just because it will pin up so much easier
wow what we use over here and what you use there is totally different. http://www.jtbvic.com/DropDecks.htm
Just a guess after looking at the trailers but our height limits must be a lot different,Most states here you have to have a permit after 13 foot 6 inches or 14 feet. Just some samples of what I deal with.
our are the same actually (4.3 meters) I have never seen a trailer with a detachable front in Australia, isnt it a pain to have to take it off then put it back on again? over here we just have to drop the ramps. Nick
Well I just got used to it I guess so detaching seems commonplace and normal,And not all that tough.I have had an excavator throw a track off getting on the trailer and slide off the side.While it was a rough ride I never had the feeling it was going to turn over.....Guess its just what your used to
It takes less than five minutes to remove the mechanical gooseneck from the trailer (video here http://www.murraytrailer.com/ )to load it and makes it a lot lower to the ground when you are loading. We can still load over the rear and do, I would say 90% of the time but some loads just cant climb over the rear of the trailer just due to limitations of the equipment so that's where the detachable neck comes into play. We have just completed our first Hydraulic wide gooseneck in the last few months but have been unable to post any photos on it yet as we are waiting for a few patten applications to be submitted before we get it out in the public eye....we are just a matter of weeks away from that happening.
Here are a few photos of the Prototype goose neck! Current specs on this gooseneck: 16" longer than standard Air powered links Battery powered Hydraulic system (recharges from the 7way while hooked to the truck or from a solar panel when disconnected from the truck) 19" of "up" travel from ground Only 1800lbs more than a mechanical gooseneck! Can be retrofitted to an existing 8'6" mechanical neck Murray Trailer with minor fitting. Detach sequence
Personally i would like to see more a substantial cover over the battery, pump, fluid tank area. To prevent a coupe of things, Theft, general damage to the wiring/battery cables, the possibility of something getting set on up there and shorting out the system. Can the deck be locked at different heights along the way or only one fixed height?
There are still a few changes that will be made to the production model...a cover for the tank area is planned. The deck can be locked at many different heights.
Do you still have to have the ramped frame on the truck?
No you do not....I just did not have a truck in the yard without ramps when I took the pictures We have tested it on a truck with a straight cut frame and it works no problem. We did put rollers on the front of the gooseneck so it can be used as a mechanical if you do have ramps on the truck though.
Chaz, First off, Happy Belated Birthday. Prototype looks good. Hope your lic goes thru quick and easy.:drinkup
What kind of hydraulic pressure are you using? What is the liftable load capacity?
I don't have all the specs on the hydraulic system so ill have to talk to our engineer Monday and get that for you but we designed the neck to be used on a trailer with a GVWR of 100,000lbs so far we have tested it up to 85,000lbs and it lifted from the ground to full up position without issue.
The Best!! TH55 Fontaine that we have is one of the best i've ever operated!!:usa
If there is a hydraulic system failure and the truck has ramps, can the neck be reattached mechanically?
Thats a good question! Chaz you guys should also look into designing a stand to store the neck as a stand alone. So you can use the lighter more durable mech neck and keep the hyd for special trips.
Yes it can be done mechanically assuming you start from the ride position. The neck still has rollers on the front just like the standard mechanical neck so if there was a total hydraulic failure then you would just need to support the neck with a block when detaching instead of the kick stand since that would probably not be working if the hydraulics were not working if that makes sense?
That would be an easy thing to do...but you would need two stands unless you have two trucks available to swap necks.