I have owned several gooseneck trailers but have never had a need to change the length of the hitch, they have all been close enough. I bought a new pickup and my horse trailer now sits at a slight angle, not much but enough that I want to change it. Does the neck have notches or holes or is it held tight by pressure? Can I just loosen the two bolt, move the hitch, tighten them back up and then call it good?
Posted 2013-06-17 3:16 PM (#152821 - in reply to #152820) Subject: RE: Changing Hitch Length
Member
Posts: 47 Location: South Dakota
Originally written by blackcows on 2013-06-17 1:44 PM
I have owned several gooseneck trailers but have never had a need to change the length of the hitch, they have all been close enough. I bought a new pickup and my horse trailer now sits at a slight angle, not much but enough that I want to change it. Does the neck have notches or holes or is it held tight by pressure? Can I just loosen the two bolt, move the hitch, tighten them back up and then call it good?
Loosen, adjust and retighten. If its too much you might have to block your trailer. My semi was way too high so I had 3" blocks installed.
Posted 2013-06-17 4:39 PM (#152824 - in reply to #152820) Subject: RE: Changing Hitch Length
Expert
Posts: 2953 Location: North Carolina
Careful ! ... Don't just loosen the bolts. The whole trailer or heavy tube may drop further than you expect. Hitch the trailer first. Then Jack the trailer to take SOME of the weight. THEN loosen the bolts. The jack will prevent the trailer from dropping too far. Once the hitch tube is loose, use the jack to position the hitch as desired. Tighten the bolts and lock nuts .. you're done.
Posted 2013-06-17 6:47 PM (#152828 - in reply to #152820) Subject: RE: Changing Hitch Length
Veteran
Posts: 178 Location: Richmond, Ky
If you drop your hitch down, be very careful, a gooseneck will dent the heck out of ya bed rails before you know it. All it takes is a dip and a turn at the same....guess how I know????
Posted 2013-06-17 10:28 PM (#152832 - in reply to #152820) Subject: RE: Changing Hitch Length
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
Like HP stated. Hitch and lock the ball, take some trailer weight off the truck with the jack. Loosen the lock nuts, then the bolts and you can then extend or compress the hitch up or down as you need it with the jack. Re tighten the bolts and lock nuts and you're done.
There have been many instances of new truck owners trying to hitch to older trailers, and finding that the bed rails are too high for the rig to sit level. They have ended up with too little a clearance between the bed rails and the bottom of the GN. Some people have left their trailers nose high, others have blocked the axles to level their trailers, after raising the nose to increase the clearance.
Changing Hitch Length
