Making a gooseneck hitch

Croatan_Kid

Croatan_Kid

How's your hammer hangin'?
Joined
Nov 4, 2007
Location
New Bern
I have access to and can operate a full CNC machine shop (lathes with live tooling/mills), a CNC flame cutter, and 450 Miller welders. I've got the plans roughly sketched out in my mind and it'll be fairly easy, I just want some input from some other guys.

This is going in my 86 K30. I figure I'll start with a basic rectangle to go under the bed and across the frame rails. Depending on where there's a flat spot on the top of the rails will determine how long I'll make it. I'm thinking I want to somewhat mimmick some of the flip over setups that are on the market. I could cut out a square/circle for the ball to sit in and have a spring loaded handle to pull and turn so I can flip it. It doesn't have to flip, but I want it removeable. I could either buy a ball or machine one and then heat treat it.

I'm going to try to design this thing so I can install it on the truck and hopefully not have to remove or unbolt the bed. I haven't taken the time to go look all up under the truck lately though.

That's the jist of it. Now for the questions/concerns:

How thick of a plate should I use? 1/2, 3/4, 1"? :D I'll measure and see what'll fit. It's probably going to be T1 anyway, unless that would be less desireable than standard A36 mild steel.

I'd guess you want the ball to be juuuuust a hair forward of the rear axle, right?

Thinking of adding some perpendicular gusseting under the top plate to help stiffen it up.

We manufacture container tie downs at work, so the safety chain loops are no problem.

Should I come down the side of the frame rails with some plates just to get some extra bolts holding this jewel to the frame? I was envisioning 2 or 3 holes in the top of each frame rail. I suppose it would be more sturdy with side plates.

I already have a trailer brake controller (Hopkins interia sensing) and it's always worked great. The 7 pin is in my rear bumper where a normal civilian truck would have a license plate light. Should I make an extension to run up in the bed or should I run some wires and permanently mount one somewhere in the bed?



When I get done this should be way more beefy, some would say overkill, than anything you can buy. Any concerns or comments would be great. Maybe even some pics of your setup.


EDIT: Depending on how much room I have to work with, I may go for an inside the frame rail setup with some 1/2" wall tubing and some "C" brackets to bolt to the top and bottom of the frame rails. Just a thought.
 
Last edited:
I have a B&W hitch in my truck I will try to remember to get some measurements and pics for you. IMO that's the way to go the ones that flip to the side have too much play in them if you ask me, but the way you flip the B&W and how I fits in there makes it very tight and very little play in it.
I would probably buy a drop in ball from B&W and build the rest of the hitch around it.
 
I use an extension cord to the plug on the bumper. It had plenty of slack in it so no rubbing on the gate. I have moved stuff in/out of the bed with it hooked up, but as said mine had plenty of slack in it.

For me, running the extension is safer then risking busting a plug in the bed when i haul something else.

On the ball i would do a flip over type with a pull pin. I have a flip over type that uses a twist type mechanism. It is a pain to flip over.

I was thinking something similar to a receiver style with the ball having a square shank & sliding into a square receiver with a spring loaded pin holding it in place. i don't think i would want the pin holding the vertical load though, just securing the ball in place. Then maybe a plug that you put in otherwise.

Sent via telegraph
 
Yall are thinking pretty much like I am. I was really thinking of buying a B&W ball to use and building around it. From what I've seen, the hitches you can buy don't have much that supports tongue weight/vertical load. Kinda scary looking if you ask me. I'd probably have a support of some kind unded the ball with a small drain hole. I always try to design things so they don't collect water.
 
Here is what i was thinking, and how mine is built. plates bolted to side of frame and go over top. Then top plate bolts down to these with ball and shackles in the center. I added how i would possibly build the ball setup. The ball would have a lip built into it so the top plate is supporting the load, not a pin. There would be a pin holding it place. Then i would make a plug/cover to put in when i wasnt using the ball.
 

Attachments

  • Untitled.jpg
    Untitled.jpg
    26.5 KB · Views: 243
That's awesome. I especially like the idea of the flange/lip so the plate supports the load. That gave me a better idea of mounting it to the frame too. It would be a lot more compact that way and more easily removeable, if there was ever a need.
 
My B&W is basically just a formed 1/4" or 5/16" plate (with ~1.5" lips) and a couple of 1.5x1/4"ish angles front/back. They bolt to the frame via side plates. It's rated to 7500# pin and 30k o/a trailer weight. I think 5/16" is plenty thick. The real strength comes from the vertical ribs. You'll want to make sure there are some sizeable gussets running diagonally out from the ball pocket, too.

My ball is centered 47-1/2" forward of the back lip of the bed. That's on an 8ft bed, and puts the ball several (~4"?) ahead of the centerline of the rear axle.
 
From what I've read, 4-6" forward of the axle centerline is about right. It gives you the best backing ability and load distribution. I'll certainly have plenty of gussets. Overkill is my middle name!

I'm going to start getting some rough measurements this week and make some DXF files. Hopefully I can cut out some plates soon. I'll keep y'all updated on the progress.
 
Back
Top