hehe... Hi again all!<br><br>Well, let me start by saying that I have a experience towing large boats, big truck behind small trucks, and driving stake bed trucks with as much as 18,000 lbs on the bed (as much as the truck weighed). <br><br>Honestly, I've overloaded a few things, but I've always tried to be safe with my load.<br><br>Now I have my '99 3500 TD and I'd like to know just what I can put behind it?<br><br>I've never towed a gooseneck, nor *owned* a deisel (although I've driven larger types a few thousand miles).<br><br>What I would like to know is what it *can* tow, what I can do to it to make it tow more, and what I can *casually* tow in either case?<br><br>Since I&quot;m a macinery dealer, my forklift (which I would like to take to load the rest of the trailer) already weighs in at 9k.<br>Machines I purchase often weigh between 4-10,000lbs.<br><br>I have the &quot;flip-over&quot; ball type hitch and well.... it doesn't inspire tons of confidence in me... is there a better way?<br><br>Oh yeah... and could someone tell me the difference between gooseneck and 5th wheel?<br><br>The trailer I hope to buy will be a 30-40' heavy equipment flatbed.<br><br>I know this sounds a little strange..... I'm used to moving big-time cast iron around, but I bought the to truck fill in the spots between the SUV/trailer combo and the hiring of the full-on Line truck (big rig).<br><br>Any thoughts? (I'll assume the standard disclaimers)<br><br>Many Thanks<br>Sean

Looking around to see if the load Nazi's are watching.<br><br>How does 32,500lbs sound?<br><br>I've hauled that once and used to haul 28,500lbs regularly.<br><br>I'm don't haul much any more, as we bought a small road tractor to use on the farm. 8)<br><br>The little 5.9 is rated to pull 50,000lbs but the truck will by no means handle that. You can pull a house with these trucks but you can't stop it. :( That is by far the limiting factor with these trucks is the breaks. And it seems that people really like to pull out in front of you once you have a load in tow. &gt;:( <br><br>To help with the load you could always add a set of air bags or heavier springs but mine did just fine for the short trips that I used it for. You can even put a air set up on the trailer brakes to help with the braking but that's pretty expensive.<br><br>Darrell

&quot;Load Nazi's&quot; hahaha! <br><br>30Kish eh?... Ok.<br><br>That's with electric trailer brakes?<br><br>Seems like there would be some brake upgrades out there by now for these trucks...no?<br><br>Since I've never had a gooseneck, what's the deal if I load forward on the trailer? 2000lbs max over the axle? (gawd that seems so &quot;woosie* compared to some trucks I drive where I've got 10K over the axle)<br><br>Seems like it would be hard to load 30k without quite a bit more than that on the truck's hitch (unless you had 3 axles pretty far forward on the trailer. Do your dual's fall off at 3000lbs? ;)<br><br>I see air-assist bags that claim around 4-5k in load capacity increase, but I wonder about the strength of the ball-type hitch, the frame, and the axles.<br><br>Wow, this spot between hauling 6K on a car trailer and 65k on a drop-deck is definately new territory to me.<br><br>I know it's hard to give advice on this sort of thing being that there are so many variables involved. I really appreciate it!<br><br>Sean

Yep that's with electric brakes.<br><br>The only brake upgrades for these trucks that I know of is rear discs for us drum guys.<br><br>I never weighed each axle but I'm quite sure I've been well over 2K on the rear axle. The goose neck trailer I've pulled these loads on is a 25k trailer with dual tandams and a deck over on the goose neck. the deck over probable weighs close to 2K. ::) Police and DOT officers are getting alot strickter around here, and it's worse if your doing the hauling for profit and not for farm use. :(<br><br>The goose neck hitch I use is rated to 30k and I think the rear axle is rated a 8k and each tire is rated to 3k or more.<br><br>Oh Ya, I forgot to say I have a 2500 not a 3500, no duals here. ;)<br><br>There will be more repleys in the morning. I think there is a few guys hauling for a living that could tell you more about the laws and such. 8)<br><br>Happy hauling.<br><br>Darrell<br><br>

Let me just add one tidbit in addition since I'm up late....<br><br>Part of what led me to this dually/gooseneck combo is that I had planned to buy an Isuzu/GMC NPR style stakebed truck for hauling. A fellow dealer who has one said that if he were to do it again, he'd go the HD truck/ trailer route as he wouldn't need to stop at the scales.<br>Is this true (or true in your state?)<br><br>....and now for the humor question of the night....<br><br>If you put a NPR on your gooseneck, *THEN* do you need to stop at the scales? ;)

&quot;Towing forum&quot;... geee, why didn't *I* think of that?! ::)<br><br>Tough being a lost newbie :-)<br><br>Sean

I have pulled up to 26000 with mine on a few ocassions and I have a friend that has pulled over 32000 with his from Tennesee to Virginia. The truck will move just about anything you can hook to it but stopping it is the problem.

dont exhaust brakes help when stopping??

Yes, I'm glad we all signed the disclaimer when we started talking about towing in the 30K range.... ???<br><br>Anyway, as far as weight on the truck is concerned, we have been known to load 8800 lbs on the bed of a flatbed 3500 ctd. (bagged dry fertilizer) plus 4 hardwood skids. Never had an axle problem or tire problem (keep lots of air in 'em though!!) <br>What's the rear axle weight actually rated at? I'm not sure but it will be more than 2000. (just cause they call it a one tonne, don't mean it'll only haul a tonne)<br><br>Remember too that some weight of your trailer will be transfered to the front axle as well. (but not that much)<br>

I've had the Jacobs brake for over three years now and my front brake pads are just like new. They definately help.

Oh man, and I thought this would be easy [undecided]<br><br>I've been browsing around now and there doesn't seem to be any conclusive info on what brand of aux' brake to use, or which CDL is appropriate....etc.<br><br>My truck is an automatic and I'm getting the impression that exhaust brakes wont really work.<br><br>The truck already seems a bit sluggish in the braking department (compared to my Lotus Esprit anyway ;) )<br><br>Maybe I should change this topic to &quot;How would *you* tow?&quot;<br><br>Let me tell you about what I need to accomplish and attack this from a different angle.<br><br>As a machinery dealer, I purchase used machines and haul them to the shop and sell them. On any given day, you never know what you will be buying, or the location of the item, so basically no load is ever the same, and you don't know before you leave how much you will buy.<br><br>There is a point while purchasing, when you have to decide to either rent a flatbed truck, or a full line truck.<br>My intent was to extend this line out a bit because these rentals are not only expensive, but often require extra days of stay at a location.<br><br>Now sometimes you will only be hauling the trailer itself (if the location has a forklift), or you will be hauling a 9klbs lift truck.<br>Of course you need a trailer that can load/unload the forklift, and the forklift has to be the *last* thing loaded.<br><br>Although I don't plan on overloading the rig, when you are dealing in basically cast iron, things can get heavy fast, and I would like to plan on having the best rig I can put together for those times when I am &quot;not quite&quot; at an obvious &quot;hire it out&quot; load<br><br>Sooo....<br>If you had a '99 TD dually AT with a flip-over ball, what would you add/change/remove to it, and please include the trailer type and options you would choose (since I've yet to buy the trailer, but am in the market).<br><br>Keep in mind that this rig will not haul daily, but when it does, it may need to be pushed. Comfort, price, etc...are not nearly as important and safety and capacity in this case.<br><br>I can purchase, add, and modify, but I cannot change trucks... I'm pretty much stuck with this one (hopefully not literally).<br><br>So, what should my heavy hauler checklist include?<br><br>Many Thanks!<br>Sean<br><br>P.S. I am not only a dealer, but have a full-sized machine shop, so fabrication of almost any kind is not a problem.

Since you feel you need extra braking for these loads, I agree you do, consider the following. Investigate the possibility of a trailer equipped with electric disk brakes. These have advantage of drum brakes as you well know. The maintenance is easier, they are more consistent in their braking. They are made to retrofit and replace drum brakes. <br><br>Was just looking at a catalog from Northern Tool and Equipment. http://www.northerntool.com/<br>They have a listing 12&quot; Disk Brake Assembly. <br><br>If you have good trailer brakes it will diminish the need for extra truck braking. There are other sources for trailer disk brakes. This will give you a start.

dtt tranny or ats tranny....beef it up and modify the engine. as far as gooseneck or 5th wheel...i believe that gooseneck ball is better..anyone else...i am no expert.

Sean all the questions you asked are addressed in this thread. It is many pages long. Take some time and shuffle back through the pages. On one I have a pic of a scale ticket near 30,000 with about 8000 on the drive axle. On your other thread, a big rig trailer will not clear the pickup bed. Without it you could easily run a full fifth wheel (big rig) and put the lighter axles under the trailer. I am planning a conversion of a Raven in the near future. Just remember that you need 25% of the weight on the hitch.

Sean,<br><br>So far I see a bunch of good info. I'll just try to throw in a few extra cents worth...<br><br>I have pulled 24,000+ lbs. (load weight, not counting trailer) on a 30' gooseneck with my '96. Electric brakes are a must. An exhaust brake would be most helpful, especially the heavier you go with loads. I plan on installing one soon. The one I bought is an older used in-line style BD. It is similar to the PacBrake. There may be pros and cons to in-line vs turbo elbow mounted systems. I also have a BD Torque Loc to control lock up during braking, additionally I bought a BD Pressure Loc to hold a higher line pressure while locked up and braking. These items should help the tranny survive the ordeal.<br><br>You will need to beef up the tranny one way or another- a valve body kit such as the TransGo I have should be considered a minimum. I would also recommend a deep tranny pan- either the Mopar Perf. or MagHytec- for the extra capacity and cooling when travelling down the road.<br><br>I haven't seen it mentioned yet, so here goes- YOU MUST HAVE GAUGES so you can keep an eye on everything- especially EGTs and trans temp, but you'll want to see your boost pressure too.<br><br>I have a 12 valver, so mine is a little different, but you'll also want a fueling box like an Edge EZ, and/or maybe bigger injectors to make some more power to pull those heavy loads. Then your EGTs will go up, so you will look at ways to make more boost and a 4&quot; exhaust system... Somewhere you can achieve your goal of being ready for unknown loads, within reason, depending on the mods you have.<br><br>I have the flip-up ball in the bed, but the previous owner just put it in using a plate (about 5/8&quot;) to span across the frame rails. That's not heavy enough, it's sagging. You need something more like structural square tubing, or at least heavy angle under there to support it. I've probably had at least 4,000 tongue weight (maybe more) on mine- I have the optional heavy duty helper springs- they handle it just fine, but are very harsh on bumpy roads. I am going to replace them with a heavy duty AirLift system in hopes of smoothing the ride.<br><br>Hope that helps, if you're not already, browse through some of the 24V performance threads. And have fun! ;D

So far as your engine goes, it will pull anything you throw at it stock.

Lot's of good info folks, thanks!<br><br>I'm trying to make a list from what I've read on this and other boards. Believe it or not, I am trying to do as much research as possible before asking questions. I keep forgetting that the search feature defaults to a 7 day max age, so that has been throwing me off.<br><br>Ok..... (in no particular order)<br><br>1. Exhaust Brake... Still cannot figure which is best to use with this auto tranny, and who would make it. I don't mind waiting until after hours to creep up a grade, but I'd like everything possible to make sure I creep down it.<br><br>2. Electric (and possibly disc) trailer brakes.... I didn't mean to imply to anyone that I would consider towing without trailer brakes, I just didn't know if there was something better out yet (air, or air over hyd'...etc). Honestly, I think the truck/trailer designers are asleep at the wheel for not having yet collaborated on an ABS trailer braking system which would integrate with the factory ABS...&quot;We Tow Better&quot;... ok..whatever. <br>Anyway, my truck came with the Tekonsha &quot;Voyager&quot; controller and I'll probably change it out to that one that begins with a &quot;J&quot; since it makes sense to me in it's operation.<br><br>3. Engine upgrades..... Well, I bought my truck used and it has over 200K on it (the only way I could afford such a truck in this year, and I'll probably only put 10k a year on it so...). The engine came with a &quot;puck&quot; called &quot;Diablo...something&quot;, and who knows what else was done? I'll leave it as is aside from K&amp;N air filters and such. After an overhaul, I'll consider &quot;BOMBing&quot; it (hey..I do catch on ;D ), but until then I run this engine out.<br><br>4. Suspension...hmmm.. well, I think it already has a HD suspension from the factory. It has helper springs and what looks to be a sway bar in the rear. To this, I'll add an AirLift system just in case (cheap enough).<br><br>5. Speaking of the rear.... I'm not sure if I have the 4:10 rear or the other one. Until I get a factory manual with some sort of designation, I really won't know. I could jack up the truck and start spining things to count, but I cannot afford to change it, so I'll just take whatever is in there.<br><br>6. Hitch.... I've read some debates on 5th vs Goose, so I figure I'll stick with the flip-over gooseneck for now. It seems beefy, but doesn't seem real solid (kind rattles when up and nothing on it). I have no idea if this is normal or not, but I'll get under there and see if there is any provision.<br><br>7. Transmission.... Hmmm... well, DTT trannys are pretty pricey if you cannot work the cost into a daily hauler. My truck will haul maybe 3 times a month, so I'll just have to risk it until my tranny goes, or until the truck has payed for itself to have an upgraded one<br><br>8. Steering...... it's cr*p... The truck wanders. I'll order an Energy suspension kit for all the links/arms, and see if the pre-load on the steering gear will take up some slop. I'll also throw on a new stabilizer and check the ball ends.<br>It's not the worse thing in the world as many of the more commercial trucks I've driven have just as much, if not more backlash, but those don't tow. I might have to drive a new one, or someone's repaired truck to know what it *should* feel like. My regular cars are a 300zx TT and a Lotus Esprit, so I'm used to some pretty tight steering, and in my mind, when I'm driving a commercial truck, the difference is to be expected. I guess I cannot figure out if this Dodge should handle more like a car, or more like a 24' stakeside.<br>Does anyone know if you can adjust the gear backlash out on the box like in older units?<br><br>9. Lubrication..... To Amsoil or not to Amsoil? I've been searching all over town for this stuff today, and it's not the easiest thing...and I live in a major city (Los Angeles).<br>Here's what I think about the product *without* having tried it....<br>I don't like the idea that it is not available at the local &quot;Pep-Boys&quot;. I also don't like that they sell organic health products on the same page. Sounds like snake oil to me. However, I am a small time inventor, and I also know what it's like to make something good, and sort of be suppressed by the &quot;Giants&quot;. I also know that there is *no* question that the big oil companies (with incredible R&amp;D) can make a better product than Amsoil....question is... &quot;would they want to?&quot;<br>So, not to get too deep into conspiracy theories, but it seems that there are two ways of thinking on this...<br>Either Amsoil is snake oil the likes of Slick 50, or Amsoil is actually a better product than the Big Oilers make due to the fact that they aren't bound by the X-files secret contract with the Big 5 auto makers. I really wish that their web page didn't have health products as their sister company (or this Avon style prymid dealer scheme)<br>Ok, #9 could start a rather warm debate, which is not my intention...just how I feel after a couple days of web browsing.<br><br>Well, that's where I'm at on the checklist. The unseen side of this is me trying to learn all the querks of the desiel engine/tranny... Warm for 2 minutes, cool for 5 minutes..if..unless... .... downshift, then upshift, then OD on unless...if.....then...off... etc. (Any I thought my other turbo cars were complex ;) )<br><br>Overall, how am I doing?<br><br>All the Best<br>Sean

with some mods already being on the truck and it have 200k on it i would say that ther eis a chance someone already upgraded the tranny somewhat cause they usually only last about 100k i hear!

Exactly.<br>At this point, it would be hard for me to identify what internal mod's may have been done. I'll just wait until something *needs* to be taken apart before assuming that the parts that I might put in there are better than the parts that could *already* be in there :)<br><br>However, this truck is still sporting the factory air box, so I'd just have to assume that the mod's are mild.<br><br>Sean

Yeah with the stock airbox i belive mild mods would be a safe assumption ;D

Sean, do yourself a favor if you are not well off financially, hook it up and run it, then see what you need. You have enough springs on the '99 to pull anything that you want to. Air bags at this point would be a waste. I only have a '99 2500 with one less helper spring and the springs are great with 30,000 pound gross. Electric brakes are fine with the Jordan. Ahhhhh don't talk about adding abs to the mess [eyecrazy] For heavy hauling they are a pain and complicated. When I put the pedal down I want to know what it is doing without some computer engineers ideas of how to stop on a hill. Currently they are the only braking system that is not cobbled up with computer nightmares.

Ok..scratch one set of air springs for now.


Financially well off....no. I'm in my second year of business. I need a good hauler so that hopefully I can at least become financially *comfortable* in the future.

:)
Sean

Yeah, I'm financially independant ;D Not much money but independant as hell 8)

Hmmm....<br>I found a pic of a fellow member of a machinery type site I moderate on.<br><br>I thought this might give an idea of what I'm talking about when I say &quot;large, heavy and irregular&quot;.<br><br>http://www.snowest.com/fusetalk3/attachments//Chip%20spinner%2Ejpg<br><br>Ahh heck, now that I have my truck, all I wanna do is buy a speedboat and a travel-trailer anyway. Forget the work!<br><br>Sean

I think you didn't get an answer about the fifth wheel and gooseneck. For what you will be doing, I would think a gooseneck would be better as it will allow the trailer to &quot;twist&quot; if you have to get off the pavement on uneven ground. I don't beleive this was mentioned either, the problem with being legal. This can get very sticky and complicated. Anytime you go beyond the trucks weight rating, you may be open to an expensive lawsuit. When you start suspension work, do not forget the shocks. I have the Rancho 9000 on mine and these are a very common upgrade which help a lot. They are adjustable for running empty or loaded. I like the airbags. About the truck scales along the highway, I believe if you are hauling for a buisness, you have to pull in. This is why travel trailers don't have to pull in. Maybe they should because a lot of them are way over on their weight. My travel trailer weighs 10,000 dry.<br>Michael

If you try and pull on to a highway scale in Indiana you will be given a dirty look and the tipical drive through statement. ::)<br><br>They don't even bother with anything under 50k. All they want to see is tractor trailers. The state doesn't have the man power to inforce the laws on the small independent hauler. Every now and then you will see them focous on dumptrucks for highway inspections but that's about it.<br><br>Get some good trailer brakes, some good tires, and make sure all the lights work and you wont have a bit of trouble in the Hoosier State.<br><br>DB

That GN looks almost identical to mine. Looks like a good load, hope it pays well.