How managable are long tag trailers when compared to gooseneck? I've never driven over 20' tag trailers before... if you can make the weight work, and you're dealing with a good weight distributing setup, is a long tag just as comfortable to drive and maneover... or is 32' +tongue just too much to have hanging back south of the bumper? I'm thinking around crowded towns, the goose would make a significant diffence in manevorability.

I'm looking at an enclosed setup for two rigs. I thought I was dead set on goose, but the extra price you pay for having that 8' loft has my eyes wandering back to tag. its probably just a phase, but thought I'd ask for opinions.

-Rob

There is a difference in price, but I like the GN because it "feels" more stable to me. And the difference in price is a wash when you realize nobody can borrow your trailer any more!! :D

My family has a 31' travel trailer (Tag) and it pulls ok, but requires a good 50 psi in my bags to make it ride somewhat decent. My brother in law has a 34' flat goose that weighs about the same (Dry). And it only takes 10 psi and thats just to make it so it doesn't bounce the rear of the truck all over.

i have a 30ft bumper pull and it tows really well.. i like the fact that if we rent a motorhome to use for a trip we can still use our trailer, where as a GN i dont think we would really be able to.. i have had roughly 13k on my trailer with no trobles and i can run 70 on the interstate with no trouble(i can actually do way more comfortably, but towing at those speeds with that much weight isnt exactly safe IMO).given the option, if i could afford it i would take a GN any day of the week though..IMO the GN is a little more manueverable, but they both seem to need the same amount of space

If you have the choice, Gooseneck owns all. You can turn alot tighter, You have more flexibility in weight distribution, and they just ride better.
On a bumper pull, you have to keep the majority of the weight off the tongue, or the truck will squat too much, but if you get the weight too far back, the trailer will wiggle, and drive you nuts.

If a tag is loaded properly, air bags, and a weight distributing hitch, it still wont tow like a goose. Ive towed a lot of trailers and I will always pick a goose over a tag.

Mike

I chose a 34' tag since I initially was towing with a PSD Excursion, then we went to a '05 F-350 and a '05 Avalanche 2500 (BBC), also towed with my brothers 2500HD

I used to tow a 30' triple goose with a dually for work. The main advantage was I didn't care where the weight was as much.

The tag tows great. I use a 14k lb Equalizer hitch. It takes a few minutes to hook up (about 5 vs 2 for the goose) but it tows great. You do need to get your tongue weight close to 15% on the SRW, but on the dually, it doesn't make much difference.

As far as tight turns it turns to 90 degrees. You can probably get tighter with a goose, but I think the tag is a little easier around tight corners. (Pivots farther back, cuts less) but I think its a wash.

The nice thing with a tag is you can drag it around empty with pretty much anything with a 2" hitch.

I have dragged the 34' from Denver to Chicago (all around St Louis), all over Denver, to Moab numerous times, most trailheads in Colorado, up to Canada, (where we dragged it with two rigs down the forestrey trunk road for 60 + miles) including around Jackson and through Yellowstone, all over northern New Mexico, all the back roads from Farmington to Moab... Can't say it tows badly!


http://www.trailseeker.com/4x4/mods/trailer/trailer1.jpg

http://www.trailseeker.com/gallery/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=13164&g2_serialNumber=1

http://www.trailseeker.com/gallery/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=13455&g2_serialNumber=1

http://www.trailseeker.com/gallery/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=21540&g2_serialNumber=1

http://www.trailseeker.com/gallery/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=20208&g2_serialNumber=1

I have a 38' boat trailer and a 38' on deck goose. THey both tow about the same as far as the rear view mirror picture. The goose is more solid on the truck and turns better.

And the difference in price is a wash when you realize nobody can borrow your trailer any more!! :D

thats not true,i could still borrow it if he lived in my town! :grinpimp:

i personally would go goose. a tag trailer that long has more centered axles,so even when its weighted right and youre towing it with a solid tow rig its going to tow different. the tag will have more rear overhang,and therefore more rear swing,and youll really have to watch out for that going around corners and backing up.

ive towed tag trailers up to 55 feet long(empty MH frames). sure it can be done,but the goose is nice cause you dont have to fool with the WD hitch and you dont have to load stuff exactly right.

and the GN is definately more manuverable. heres a big reason not to fool with a tag trailer that long:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/scotty85/firsttow1-1.jpg

its harder on the tires,but you can turn well over 90* with the GN. to make the same U turn with a tag trailer without smashing the tongue into the bumper would require some multiple point turns,or a much larger area.

tag trailers have their places. a friend has a 30 foot tag he uses in his businessto haul his equipment on,since he pulls it with a dump truck. but if you are able to use a goose,id very highly reccomend going that route.

and i wont bug you to borrow it,if thats a factor :p

just depends on what you want/need... they both have their pros & cons.

here's ours, 32' Kraftsman:
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f175/efrancin/OspreyMovie2007-7-20060.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a180/bigassedredjeep/random/shanes%20yj/P4100015.jpg

just depends on what you want/need... they both have their pros & cons.

here's ours, 32' Kraftsman:
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f175/efrancin/OspreyMovie2007-7-20060.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a180/bigassedredjeep/random/shanes%20yj/P4100015.jpg
Whats that weigh empty by chance?


I'd love a goose since everyone says they tow better, but I'm planning a 26-30' tag for the flexabilty in tow rigs (camper on tow rig, tow behind flat-bed with rig on back, tow with work truck, etc).

not sure what it weighs empty.. weighed it with two jeeps (TJ on 35's & YJ on 38's) = 12,8xx#

Mine weighs about 3500 lb empty

http://www.trailseeker.com/4x4/mods/trailer/trailer2.jpg

I would guess the grey one is a little less given the nice metal deck/open center.

Here's another GN vote to help you justify the extra coin to your wife...

I prefer bumper pull trailers.


Half the BS you hear from the pro-GN crowd is exactly that... BS.

I prefer bumper pull trailers.


Half the BS you hear from the pro-GN crowd is exactly that... BS.

Finally the truth! :) I don't know what you all are talking about when you say a GN is more manuverable in the city. Exactly the opposite is true!

All trailers track around corners according to the axle placement and where the tongue is. If the tongue is in the back of a bed (GN), the trailer gets pulled straight from there, and scrubs the curbs. With a bumper pull, the ass end of the truck swings out and helps your trailer clear curbs, plus the hitch is mounted at the back of the truck and the trailer gets pulled straight from there.

Also, with my 35' bumper pull, I can still turn the truck to the steering stop while making u-turns, so I don't know how much sharper you want to turn.

However, pulling a GN down the HWY is easier, and it wil haul heavier loads better, but if you know how to drive well, you will not have any problem with a 35' bumper pull.

Here is my 35' bumper pull, and it has more TONGUE weight (5400 lbs) than most of your trail rigs fully loaded! It weighs 12K lbs empty! BTW, my wife drives this thing all the time!
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c138/EMIEVEL/my%20fleet/503c972f.jpg

Here's my GN so you know I'm not talking out of my ass!
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c138/EMIEVEL/jobs/Chrispics2001.jpg

There is a difference in price, but I like the GN because it "feels" more stable to me. And the difference in price is a wash when you realize nobody can borrow your trailer any more!! :D

My family has a 31' travel trailer (Tag) and it pulls ok, but requires a good 50 psi in my bags to make it ride somewhat decent. My brother in law has a 34' flat goose that weighs about the same (Dry). And it only takes 10 psi and thats just to make it so it doesn't bounce the rear of the truck all over.

The only problem with that is...you can't call on those same friends when your truck breaks down and your trailer is on the side of the road! That's why I always get tag trailers!

The only problem with that is...you can't call on those same friends when your truck breaks down and your trailer is on the side of the road! That's why I always get tag trailers!

This was one of the main benefits of a tag that we looked at. If something were to happen to the tow rig, a U-Haul could get the trailer back home, not possible with a GN...

This was one of the main benefits of a tag that we looked at. If something were to happen to the tow rig, a U-Haul could get the trailer back home, not possible with a GN...

well, except with these heavier/larger tags, you're pretty much requiring a weight distributing hitch... not many of my friends or uhauls that I know of have those setups either. Look at EMIEVEL's tag... 12k unloaded... they're not many stock hitches that can take that load unless you're talking about the late models coming with 2.5" recievers.

I'm not looking quite as heavy as EMIEVEL... I'd be about 6k empty weight, but certainly well over 10k with loaded two rigs, so that still negates any old truck w/ a 2" reciever being able to pick it up from the side of the highway.

-Rob

HEHEH.... pulling a 22' tag w/ WD... If someone has a decient reciever you can simply put the WD hitch in there... It may not be setup 100% but you could reposition it, run less pull on the bars or run it as a regular hitch..

The only people I see properly loading a Goose are people with 3 car haulers where their putting a solid 2-3k or more up on the truck.. Everyone else I see loads their goose with 500# and talks about how great it pulls...

With a proper hitch you can easily put 1500# on the ball.

And if someone needed to pull my setup to get me home. They could easily hook up with out the WD bars, and I'd back my jeep up some to take off some more tongue weight...

I think this debate takes on a different aspect than the normal camper/rv debate where they have little no control over how the weight is carried and have to deal with it.. Unless your on a super short trailer you can easily move a load to +/- TW as needed...

I don't use a weight distribution hitch. I just use Firestone air bags with a stock hitch (class III or IV), however, the only stock hitch I'd tow that trailer with is the 3rd generation Dodge. The new Ford has the big class V hitch and I'm sure that's sufficient.

Unless you are pulling with a 1/2 ton, you can always get the trailer home, even if you don't have a WD hitch. Any 1 ton truck or van will pull the trailer you have described.

Yeah whatever. Let's see you put your truck at a 120 degree angle to your bumper pull.

A 32 foot trailer is capable of towing a lot of weight. For non-comercial drivers this is an issue. In CA, non-comercial people can get a special addition to their drivers license allowing them to tow up to 15k with a king pin hitch (gooseneck). But this does not apply to a tag trailer. Basically you can be legal with a gooseneck and not a TAG.

Yeah whatever. Let's see you put your truck at a 120 degree angle to your bumper pull.

If only you were a drivinggenius instead of just a camarogenius, you wouldn't get yourself into situations which require 120 degree angles. :D

Relax, it's just a joke!

I've logged hundreds of thousands of miles with each type of trailer and (as you know) they each have their respective positives and negatives.

If only you were a drivinggenius instead of just a camarogenius, you wouldn't get yourself into situations which require 120 degree angles. :D

Relax, it's just a joke!

I've logged hundreds of thousands of miles with each type of trailer and (as you know) they each have their respective positives and negatives.
I've just never been in a position where a bumper pull did a better job than a goose, that's all.

Also, with my 35' bumper pull, I can still turn the truck to the steering stop while making u-turns, so I don't know how much sharper you want to turn.



ive towed the trailer in my pic above as a bumper pull,and in that configuration i could just barely turn it around in the parking lot pictured. as a GN i can turn it for room to spare :)

ive not towed it enuff to really speak from experience and agree with the "a GN tows nicer" crowd. in building this trailer i went the GN route largely because of the weight distribution issues. i still think for big trailers that will see a variety of different loads a GN is a better choice since you dont have to load it just right to get optimal tongue weight to have it tow nice.

i agree tag and GNs all have some different + and -,but for a big deck that you may carry different loads on i still think the GN is the better way to go. if it wasnt,i dont think emievel would have all those motorcycles stacked up on a GN. ;)

while a 28-30 foot tag is pretty feasible,a 40-50 foot tag is a whole nother ballgame

Well I own a construction company and have several trailers. If you have the truck to pull it, buy a Goose neck. They are more stable with heavier loads. With a goose neck you are actually pushing the trailer instead of pulling with a tag.

My .02