2014 - Volume #38, Issue #1, Page #20
[ Sample Stories From This Issue | List of All Stories In This Issue | Print this story
| Read this issue]
Air Shocks On Gooseneck Trailer Improve The Ride
 |
“I use this trailer to haul both big and small square bales. Any time I think the load needs more support, I just use an air compressor to fill the shocks,” says Bahe. “The shocks are designed for about 7 in. of travel, so whenever I hit a bump the hitch can flex up or down as much as 6 in.
“It makes a big difference on bumpy roads, especially when I’m pulling 10,000 to 15,000-lb. loads,” says Bahe. “It cuts the ride’s roughness down by 50 percent or more by taking the shock at the hitch, rather than letting it reverberate through the truck and its transmission/driveline.”
He unbolted the 2 parts of the telescoping hitch and drilled new holes in them, then bolted the air shocks on either side. Air lines run from each shock to a junction box located at the upper part of the hitch. A pair of safety chains attach to the shocks and to a long bolt that runs through the trailer hitch.
He also mounted a big coil spring off a 3/4-ton pickup inside the hitch to take the brute force of the load. The coil spring mounts on a steel plate that Bahe welded to the bottom of the hitch, and is held in place at the top by a hardened steel bolt that goes through the hitch.
He uses a 1999 GM 1-ton, 4-WD dual axle crew cab pickup to pull the trailer. “At first I tried using a 1989 Ford F-250 3/4-ton pickup to pull it. It had plenty of power but couldn’t handle big load shifts, which is why I went to the 1-ton pickup. However, it isn’t big enough, either, which is why I added the air shocks,” he notes.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kevin Bahe, 1027 13th Ave., Monroe, Wis. 53566 (ph 608 669-7879; kevinbahe@yahoo.com).
Click here to view page story appeared in
Click here to read entire issue
To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.
