Towin a Goose with a f150
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Joined: Oct 2007
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From: FORT HOOD TX
Towin a Goose with a f150
Is anyone towin a goose neck with there 97-03. I am lookin to upgrade trailers and wanting to go to a goose as i will be gettin a superduty in the next two years hopefully. All i will be towin is my wrangler on the trailer. Ok first my truck has a body lift and 35s can this even be done and if so wat do i need to do and how is it workin out for u.
Senior Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,461
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From: Colorado
Before you install a hitch look in your rear fender well at the frame. The weakest point in the frame is where you are going to install your hitch on the '97-'03 F150's. B&W discontinued the hitch not long after it came out because of frame bending issues on these trucks.
I'm not saying you can't do it.... But it is not a wise decision.
That said, 35's are only going to raise your pin height about 1.5" which is still shorter than any of the new 1 ton trucks... so trailer hitch height and bed rail clearance won't be a problem unless you are looking at pre-1988 trailers. Some of these did not have much bed rail clearance in the newer trucks.
Woops... re-read your post... you have a body lift.
You are going to end up with a hitch ball that is below the bed height unless you get an extended ball to lift it up high enough to poke through the bed because of the body life. The chain ties also will not go through the hitch and the bed because the hitch and bed won't be touching... again due to the body lift.
Long story short... not a good idea in you truck year model and a worse idea because of the body lift.
But.... it can be done.
I'm not saying you can't do it.... But it is not a wise decision.
That said, 35's are only going to raise your pin height about 1.5" which is still shorter than any of the new 1 ton trucks... so trailer hitch height and bed rail clearance won't be a problem unless you are looking at pre-1988 trailers. Some of these did not have much bed rail clearance in the newer trucks.
Woops... re-read your post... you have a body lift.
You are going to end up with a hitch ball that is below the bed height unless you get an extended ball to lift it up high enough to poke through the bed because of the body life. The chain ties also will not go through the hitch and the bed because the hitch and bed won't be touching... again due to the body lift.
Long story short... not a good idea in you truck year model and a worse idea because of the body lift.
But.... it can be done.
Senior Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,461
Likes: 1
From: Colorado
You don't have any bed support to support a GN hitch.
For starters by increasing the distance between the bed and frame with the body lift you have essentialy weakened the bed/frame supports. Second you would be just bolting a hitch on the low end pulling 7,000lbs by just a few bolts bolted to 16ga sheet steel in the bed?? Those JC Whitney bed plates were designed to bolt to the bed supports in older trucks or across the frame under the bed. An alternative would be to put 1/4" angle iron rails under the bed to bolt to and weld/bolt the rails to the truck frame.
Generally speaking the cheaper the hitch, the more fabrication and work it is to install.
I would avoid the bed plates like the plague. Not worth the time effort to install correctly. Same goes for the Atwood flip up ball plate that would require a 1 foot by 1 foot hole cut in the bed.
The least expensive alternative is a set of 5th wheel rails and brackets mounted under the bed to the frame and instead of installing a 5th wheel center section you can get a Goose Neck ball set up that fits in the rails.
Overall cost is about $450.... which is almost the same as a Pop-Up or similar.
You could probably buy a set of used 5th wheel rails for about $25 and make brackets for just the cost of materials ($20). The GN center section is still about $30-350 though. (Never seen one used before)
For starters by increasing the distance between the bed and frame with the body lift you have essentialy weakened the bed/frame supports. Second you would be just bolting a hitch on the low end pulling 7,000lbs by just a few bolts bolted to 16ga sheet steel in the bed?? Those JC Whitney bed plates were designed to bolt to the bed supports in older trucks or across the frame under the bed. An alternative would be to put 1/4" angle iron rails under the bed to bolt to and weld/bolt the rails to the truck frame.
Generally speaking the cheaper the hitch, the more fabrication and work it is to install.
I would avoid the bed plates like the plague. Not worth the time effort to install correctly. Same goes for the Atwood flip up ball plate that would require a 1 foot by 1 foot hole cut in the bed.
The least expensive alternative is a set of 5th wheel rails and brackets mounted under the bed to the frame and instead of installing a 5th wheel center section you can get a Goose Neck ball set up that fits in the rails.
Overall cost is about $450.... which is almost the same as a Pop-Up or similar.
You could probably buy a set of used 5th wheel rails for about $25 and make brackets for just the cost of materials ($20). The GN center section is still about $30-350 though. (Never seen one used before)
