When it comes to hauling heavy loads day after day and year after year investing in top quality equipment is extremely important. There are few things worse than getting midway through a job and having to stop working on the job, to work on your equipment.
Quality equipment means having a quality trailer. The last thing you want is to be stranded in the middle of nowhere with a broken trailer trying to figure out how to unload your cargo and load it on another trailer without a forklift.
When it comes to hauling equipment and really anything over 10,000lbs, a gooseneck trailer is one of the most common types of trailers used. Between their flat deck and heavy payloads, these are the “go to” trailers.
Depending on how you look at it, Big Tex Trailers makes selecting the right trailer easy or difficult. They have done such a great job of offering a wide range of options and sizes that it is almost too easy to pick a trailer that is just right for what you do now, but may be a little small for what you may do in the future.
So, we figured we would hit the high points on their gooseneck line of trailers.
The lightest duty (if you can call it that) gooseneck trailer is their 14GN series. These are roughly 14,000 lbs trailer. Their G.V.W.R (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) is 15,900lbs. Now this doesn’t mean that you can put 15,900lbs on the trailer. It means that these trailers are rated for a combined (trailer plus load) weight of 15,900lbs. To calculate what they actually can carry, you have to first determine how long of a trailer you need. As you increase length, you actually decrease their load capacity because the weight of the trailer itself is increasing. The shortest (20’ deck with a 5’ tail) comes in a 4,920 lbs and the longest (28’ deck with a 5’ tail) weights 5,880 lbs. So, this line of trailers can actually carry 10,980 lbs (15,900-4920) to 10,020 lbs (15,900-5880).
On the other side of the lineup is the 3XGN series. These all carry a 30,000 lbs GVWR rating. They too come in the 20’ plus 5’ tail to 30’ plus 5’ tail. These are tandem axles with dual wheels. To handle the increased load, the frame, cross-members and side rails are all made with larger steel pieces. So, the base weights are, also, heavier. The base weight of the 20’+5’ trailer is 6,230 lbs and the 30’+5’ come in at a whopping 8,630 lbs. So, these super duty gooseneck trailers are capable of carrying a load of 21,370 lbs up to 23,770 lbs.
When you are spec’ing out a trailer, make sure and leave yourself some room to grow. Unless you are in some specific industry or situations where you will always be hauling the exact same thing, it is usually a good idea to give yourself some room in capacity and length.
No matter which size trailer and what options you add to the trailer, buying from a quality manufacturer will ensure that the trailer works for you and instead of you working on it years from now. For the most part, trailers are a relatively low maintenance items.