Gooseneck trailer adapter to kinpin set up

[Littlejohn]

I'm looking to upgrade trucks to pull a goose neck cattle trailer. Right now I got it down to two options, by a used diesel pickup (10 to 15K range) or buy a used single axle tractor trailer (have found a nice one with an equipment trailer in the 8K range which would solve another issue i have). My question is, does any know if they make kin-pin to gooseneck ball adapter? I have found the adapter where you change out the "neck of the gooseneck" to a kinpin set up, but my trailer doesn't have an adjustable neck, so i would cut on the trailer which is out of the question.

I'm looking for something like shown in the link below but king pin on one side to a gooseneck ball on the other side. If this is not something that is a standard, does anyone know why i couldn't/shouldn't make or have one made?

Thanks for the responses, John

http://www.crofttrailer.com/site/produc ... 8038d50ed4

 

[dun]

My set up for a kingpin has rails that mount in to the bed and the 5th wheel type hitch mounts to it with a couple of pins. Pull the pins and remove the 5th wheel and there is a plate with the gooseneck ball tht hooks to the rails with a couple of pins. In a couple of weeks a set up just exactly like that will be at a local auction.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I have made a couple of these for guys and they are pretty simple
we took a piece of 1/2 thick plate steel and cut it in a 18" -24" circle
cut a hole in the plate so the kingpin could be bolted to the plate
then got a piece or heavy wall 4" or 6" pipe ( I used schedule80 cut roughly 6 inches took a peice of 1/2 plate and welded in the top of the pipe and another inside the pipe with 1/2 space between it and the top piece both of these had a hole for the gooseneck ball to bolt thru
bolt the gooseneck bale on the pipe
then welded the pipe to the first plate over the hole where the kingpin was bolted thru
then I added gussetts to the pipe and plate in 4 directions for strength


if you are doing alot of hauling the S/A tractor will a longer life, better handling capabilities and just as good of fuel mileage if not better than the 1 ton and actually less maintenance than the 1 ton

or alot of guys around here take and weld or bolt a channel iron between the the frame rails of the semi behind the 5th wheel with a goosenck ball on it

 

[novatech]

I have made a couple of these for guys and they are pretty simple
we took a piece of 1/2 thick plate steel and cut it in a 18" -24" circle
cut a hole in the plate so the kingpin could be bolted to the plate
then got a piece or heavy wall 4" or 6" pipe ( I used schedule80 cut roughly 6 inches took a peice of 1/2 plate and welded in the top of the pipe and another inside the pipe with 1/2 space between it and the top piece both of these had a hole for the gooseneck ball to bolt thru
bolt the gooseneck bale on the pipe
then welded the pipe to the first plate over the hole where the kingpin was bolted thru
then I added gussetts to the pipe and plate in 4 directions for strength


if you are doing alot of hauling the S/A tractor will a longer life, better handling capabilities and just as good of fuel mileage if not better than the 1 ton and actually less maintenance than the 1 ton

or alot of guys around here take and weld or bolt a channel iron between the the frame rails of the semi behind the 5th wheel with a goosenck ball on it

An S/A tractor is also a lot safer. One thing you may want to check out, in Texas an S/A tractor is rated at about 26000 lb. When you add a trailer you jump to DOT inspections and CDL license requirements.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I have made a couple of these for guys and they are pretty simple
we took a piece of 1/2 thick plate steel and cut it in a 18" -24" circle
cut a hole in the plate so the kingpin could be bolted to the plate
then got a piece or heavy wall 4" or 6" pipe ( I used schedule80 cut roughly 6 inches took a peice of 1/2 plate and welded in the top of the pipe and another inside the pipe with 1/2 space between it and the top piece both of these had a hole for the gooseneck ball to bolt thru
bolt the gooseneck bale on the pipe
then welded the pipe to the first plate over the hole where the kingpin was bolted thru
then I added gussetts to the pipe and plate in 4 directions for strength


if you are doing alot of hauling the S/A tractor will a longer life, better handling capabilities and just as good of fuel mileage if not better than the 1 ton and actually less maintenance than the 1 ton

or alot of guys around here take and weld or bolt a channel iron between the the frame rails of the semi behind the 5th wheel with a goosenck ball on it

An S/A tractor is also a lot safer. One thing you may want to check out, in Texas an S/A tractor is rated at about 26000 lb. When you add a trailer you jump to DOT inspections and CDL license requirements.

if a S/A is licensed as a farm vehicle and your are only hauling for yourself and in I beleive a 150 mile radius from home and do not cross state lines then the owner of the vehicle is not reguired to have a CDL license or have D.O.T. inspections
but if you are hauling for hire or non-farm products then you are required to have a CDL
a CDL isn't hard to get and a D.O.T. inspection is that hard to pass as long as you keep your vehicle in good shape
also it depends on what class S/A you buy as to what the rating is
the last one I owned had a 16,000lb front axle and 20,000 rear so going by GVWR the truck was rated at 36,000 without a trailer

 

[Littlejohn]

Thank you for all the reply's. I was planning on getting my CDL this winter to help out dad with his construction company, so it would help light a fire under me to get that done.

AC,
I thought about welding a channel on the frame, but did not know if the ball would get in the way of the Kingpin on the trailer when using the 5th wheel.

On the adapter did you use the pipe because you needed the hitch to be higher, or to make it easier to build?

Thanks you for all the reply's
John

 

[jedstivers]

I'm looking to upgrade trucks to pull a goose neck cattle trailer. Right now I got it down to two options, by a used diesel pickup (10 to 15K range) or buy a used single axle tractor trailer (have found a nice one with an equipment trailer in the 8K range which would solve another issue i have). My question is, does any know if they make kin-pin to gooseneck ball adapter? I have found the adapter where you change out the "neck of the gooseneck" to a kinpin set up, but my trailer doesn't have an adjustable neck, so i would cut on the trailer which is out of the question.

I'm looking for something like shown in the link below but king pin on one side to a gooseneck ball on the other side. If this is not something that is a standard, does anyone know why i couldn't/shouldn't make or have one made?

Thanks for the responses, John

http://www.crofttrailer.com/site/produc ... 8038d50ed4

Why is it out of the question to cut on the trailer an put in a adjustable neck? You will need it sometime anyway. I have a old one that had the big 4" ball with the hole in the center an we cut the tube off an put on an adjustable tube with the 2 5/16th ball.

 

[Angus Cowman]

Thank you for all the reply's. I was planning on getting my CDL this winter to help out dad with his construction company, so it would help light a fire under me to get that done.

AC,
I thought about welding a channel on the frame, but did not know if the ball would get in the way of the Kingpin on the trailer when using the 5th wheel.

On the adapter did you use the pipe because you needed the hitch to be higher, or to make it easier to build?
Thanks you for all the reply's
John

I add the pipe for strength so you can have space to bolt the ball to something other than welding the ball and weakening it also you need the pipe so the nut on the kingpin and the nut on the ball don't hit eachother also DO NOT weld the king pin or the ball on you can weld the nuts on to the threaded shanks and you need to weld the nuts to the plates so they can not loosen
you are better off not welding on the ball or the kingpin
for the channel put the ball about a foot behing the 5th wheel and even with the frame rails and the ball will not be high enough to interfere

I am like Jed why not cut the bottom of the hitch off the trailer and use an adjustable hitch
becasue more the likely the added height of the semi will make the trailer ride to high in the front and place alot more weight on the trailer
if your hitch tube isn't the correct size for the factory made adjustables just buy the latch mechanism and a piece of material that will slide into the existing hitcht tube

 

[cfpinz]

if a S/A is licensed as a farm vehicle and your are only hauling for yourself and in I beleive a 150 mile radius from home and do not cross state lines then the owner of the vehicle is not reguired to have a CDL license or have D.O.T. inspections
but if you are hauling for hire or non-farm products then you are required to have a CDL
a CDL isn't hard to get and a D.O.T. inspection is that hard to pass as long as you keep your vehicle in good shape
also it depends on what class S/A you buy as to what the rating is
the last one I owned had a 16,000lb front axle and 20,000 rear so going by GVWR the truck was rated at 36,000 without a trailer

That's exactly what the laws are like here, 150 miles inside state lines.

I use an Intl 8100 with a M11, 12 mpg with an empty gooseneck and 7 to 8 mpg with a loaded 42' dropdeck. Got less money tied up in the truck/dropdeck than I do in the gooseneck trailer by itself. Plus it stops.

I recommend the slide in adaptors for your trailer, simplest and strongest route in my opinion.

Paid $6800 for the truck and trailer:

 

[deenranch]

One thing you might check on is having your trailer DOT inspected. I have a 32 foot flatbed that we haul hay, tractor, and skid steer on and I was stopped the other day and was told I had to have the trailer inspected. It has farm tags on it and the truck. He told me since the trailer could haul 20,000 lbs it had to be inspected. This is in TEXAS!!!!

 

[Littlejohn]

Thanks for all the reply's. Once we get the truck, i'll do some measuring and see if it's better to cut the hitch, or put in the plate.

Thanks
Little John

 

[upfrombottom]

if a S/A is licensed as a farm vehicle and your are only hauling for yourself and in I beleive a 150 mile radius from home and do not cross state lines then the owner of the vehicle is not reguired to have a CDL license or have D.O.T. inspections
but if you are hauling for hire or non-farm products then you are required to have a CDL
a CDL isn't hard to get and a D.O.T. inspection is that hard to pass as long as you keep your vehicle in good shape
also it depends on what class S/A you buy as to what the rating is
the last one I owned had a 16,000lb front axle and 20,000 rear so going by GVWR the truck was rated at 36,000 without a trailer

That's exactly what the laws are like here, 150 miles inside state lines.

I use an Intl 8100 with a M11, 12 mpg with an empty gooseneck and 7 to 8 mpg with a loaded 42' dropdeck. Got less money tied up in the truck/dropdeck than I do in the gooseneck trailer by itself. Plus it stops.

I recommend the slide in adaptors for your trailer, simplest and strongest route in my opinion.

Paid $6800 for the truck and trailer:

Only one thing I see wrong with that setup, it needs a set of bull horns on the front of it.

 

[cfpinz]

Only one thing I see wrong with that setup, it needs a set of bull horns on the front of it.

I was thinking a gallon of white Rustoleum.