deckover vs. low boy gooseneck

4x4dually said:
Having had both, there is no reason to want a low-boy. The fenders hit everything I loaded. Fork trucks can't load lumber and a dually won't fit because the lugs on the front wheel wouldn't pass the 85 inside width on the fenders (non-factory width tires won't fit on a 3/4 ton either). I put 2x10's down to get them over it.

Look for a Low-Profile deck over. The deck height is not bad. My old vs. my new.

85 inside width.

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102 outside width (legal limit). Deck height is 32 inches.

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I bought the 30' version of this for $11,000 with hydrualic dove tail. :D
That looks identical to the 36' Load Max we use for our hay service. I can vouch for them. The hydraulic dove tail will pick up the ass end off a 4440 and a 468 baler with a roll of peanut hay in it. We also haul 18 rolls of peanut hay at a time. They average 1400-1600 lbs apiece.
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duck_04 said:
Be glad you changed your phone number, because I just tried to prank call it. LOL
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:hehe: I'm smarter than that my friend. :D That was my Stillwater number when I lived in town going to college. So you knew the area code?

Dieselracer07: How does your safety latch on the back work? I can push down on the hydraulics and it will bind then pop past the latch. That don't work for me. I put a cam latch on the safety lever to hold it up...but it will still bypass the hooks under neath. IMO they need a better system. I am going to weld another piece under it in the future when I get time.
 
You mean the ramp will go down without pushing the release? When I raise the ramp I go just past where the lock engages then lower it down on the locks. With 10,000+ lbs setting on just the dovetail its never failed. We did have a issue with the square tubing that the rams hook to that's welded to the crossbeam. Welds broke the other wk. Also on top of the pump there's actuators for the up and down. There held on by a nut. One came off and the ramp wouldn't go down. So keep an eye on them and make sure they're tight. Some 2×4 tubing welded in behind that beam makes an excellent gusset too.
 
Thanks for the tips. Yes, the dovetail will go down with some hydraulic pressure without pressing the release down. It hold for a second, then the hooks slide off those round pins. I've never heard of one failing on the road and the salesman assured me "it won't drop". I figure that if I can push it down with the cylinders, that if I have a tractor on the tail and a hose breaks, it will drop. I've never had an accident on the road or anywhere else for that matter, so it is either 'luck' or my retentiveness for 'safety'. Either way, it needs some improvement. I think the hooks were just welded on slightly in the wrong spot or were cut slightly out of spec.
 
That's not good lol. We've tested ours and it hasn't failed. Must be what you said, locks in wrong location. I believe ours has 14,000 lb axles and we way overload it. I hauled a load of wet peanut hay the other wk with it. The bales weighed right at 2000 lbs apiece and I had 18 on the trailer. Those things take a beating. We also have a 36' Anderson workhorse that we do the same thing with. Only problem I have with the Anderson is the dovetail hangs too low. It drags in those soft ass peanut fields. We've had to push the rig thru the field with the tractor a few times.
 
As soon as I can get to Sonic, eat, and get home, I'm heading to the Red River with a trailer of hay. If it fails, I sure hope it ain't today. :D
 
4x4dually said:
As soon as I can get to Sonic, eat, and get home, I'm heading to the Red River with a trailer of hay. If it fails, I sure hope it ain't today. :D
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If it fails you can buy one of my Hooper trailers I don't use anymore lol. They're both 25'. Just aren't long enough to haul as much hay as we haul. We bale over 30,000 bales a year.
 
If you can swing it, we have both and they come in handy for different things.

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However for a pulling truck I'd recommend a low-pro deckover, ours is rated for 22k and around 9 grand brand new.
 
we have both aswell, both come in real handy for different reasons...i prefer to pull the deckover tho.
 
how does the low profile deckover gooseneck with a hydraulic dove work for loading and unloading a puller with a weight box up front? does it work better than unloading or loading with standard ramps?
 
red dodge2 said:
how does the low profile deckover gooseneck with a hydraulic dove work for loading and unloading a puller with a weight box up front? does it work better than unloading or loading with standard ramps?
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If I was loading/unloading vehicles everyday, I would do this. I would make a set of short ramps that the tail board could come down and rest on and take half the angle off. My trailer has 21 ft bed plus a 9 ft dove. All the way to the ground on a level surface is still a hell of a ramp. I loaded a 1-ton dodge 2wd. We drove it up until the bad tires were on the ramp and then lifted it up. The crossmember was about to drag. I have a design in my head and might build them someday. It will make it easier to load cars and lower to the ground trucks.

To answer your question....the box may/may not hit. Depends on how far it sticks out...but you know that.
 
I've loaded stuff with hardly any clearance by pulling onto the ramp as much as possible then lifting in increments as I pull up. The remote has a long lead so you can hold it in the vehicle while you drive up.
 
I've got both sittin here... (neither of em mine.. I'm a lucky son of a gun, people just park their trailers here for me to use. LOL) I use the deckover mostly, but the low-boy is better if you can fit the item on it on account of slightly better fuel economy... Oh, and the the lowboy is only singles where you can have duals on a deckover.
 
I hate lowboys because we are always loading and unloading with forklifts. We have a few deckovers that I am much more partial too unless I'm hauling jeeps or something small. The trailer I'm refinishing is a 90's Donahue triple 7k axles 102" 24' deck. It widens out to 150" with 6 hydraulic rams in about 20 seconds and should handle any thing that won't fit on our semi. By the time I am done with the trailer we will have roughly $3000 invested in it. If I had to chose just one or the other, I would definitely go with a deckover for versatility.
 
bmarlatt said:
If you can swing it, we have both and they come in handy for different things.

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However for a pulling truck I'd recommend a low-pro deckover, ours is rated for 22k and around 9 grand brand new.
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I have the 32ft big tex. I really like how low it sets compared to the h&h i used to use. Much easier for loading.
 
does it have the hydraulic dove? looking at a 30ft PJ dual tandem low profile deckover, but trying to decide if i want one with a hydraulic dove or with the standard flip over ramps. looking for the one that will make it easier for loading and unloading puller with weight box on front? also the with hydraulic dove how is the clearance when pulling up?
 
pictures please

mcnamara0851 can you post pictures of the trailer your working on,sound interesting,I've never seen one like that.
Personally I never want another dove tail that's not movable, hydraulic or manually.
 
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