Getting your truck ready for a heavy-duty hauling typically entails getting a gooseneck hitch installed. This heavy-duty solution gives your truck more stability. It also ensures that the stress from the heavy load is more evenly distributed throughout the frame of the truck.
However, such a heavy-duty solution is going to cost you. Expect to pay out anywhere from $800 to $1500 depending on the brand of the hitch, your truck, and the shops’ prices.
Keep in mind other factors are also at play as well. For instance, the labor cost of installing the gooseneck hitch will vary. Shops in the Midwest, for example, will charge less. Whereas places in more densely populated cities will charge more.
Even then, smaller shops will typically charge less. You also need to think about the towing capacity of your truck and the features you want in the gooseneck hitch.
The best bet for your money will require you to research multiple brands, and shop around between mechanics. In order to make a good decision before purchasing the materials, you should understand how a gooseneck hitch works.
Keep in mind that different gooseneck hitches will have varying installation procedures. Some will require modification of the truck frame itself, whereas some others are slightly less intrusive. With that said, let’s learn what a gooseneck hitch is.
A gooseneck hitch is a hitch installed directly over the trucked of the truck. This differs from traditional hitches, which provide for towing past the bumper of the truck. The purpose of this placement (in the truck bed) is to more evenly distribute the stress of the load across the truck frame.
Since the towed package is so heavy, a more evenly distributed load means a safer ride and fewer points of failure/problems. This also means the load capacity of the gooseneck hitch is greater than traditional hitches, thus allowing more to be towed with the same truck.
Keep in mind that gooseneck hitches can only be installed on more heavy-duty trucks with flatbeds. Even if your light-duty truck has a flatbed, you probably won’t find any gooseneck hitches that are compatible with it. This is for a good reason since anything less than a heavy-duty truck shouldn’t be hauling major loads anyway.
With this in mind, goosenecks are typically for hauling commercial loads and should be done by drivers with plenty of experience. So, if you’re just looking to haul a boat, pull along or something similar, consider more recreational hitches and towing options. Goosenecks are mostly reserved for serious loads only.
There is a multitude of gooseneck hitch brands and options to choose from. Just like anything else, the more feature a gooseneck hitch offers, the more expensive it will be. Most hitches will come with an installation kit as well. However, in some limited cases, you can find the hitch itself and nothing else. This may or may not save you money since the shop you use will then need to cover the additional materials.
The least expensive option will be an above-bed trailer hitch for around $300. This option is mounted onto the truck bed and does not require any modification whatsoever. This type of install will give you a towing capacity of 25,000 pounds, a good deal above Class V.
However, you should keep in mind this option will take up a lot of space in your truck bed. The good news is the above bed option is typically designed for easy installation and removal. In some cases, you may not even need to hire a shop for this task. Even if you do, the labor costs will be drastically less.
Another option is the fold-down variety of the above-bed gooseneck hitches. This style allows you to fold the hitch itself down for added convenience. However, this comes with an added price of $100-$200, like the one shown above. So, you’ll end up paying a minimum of $400 for this style and shouldn’t be surprised if you hit $500. That’s the price of convenience.
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Then there is the below bed gooseneck hitch. Starting around $500-$600, you can get this style of hitch plus the installation kit from several different brands. This style of hitch also surprises most with its true cost. Although it may only seem like it’s a few hundred dollars more, the real cost is in the labor to install it.
This style of the gooseneck hitch cannot be installed unless done by a professional shop. The labor alone will quickly raise the price depending on the time, expertise, and brand.
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Once you settle on a gooseneck hitch style, it will be time to factor in the installation costs. Typically the above-bed installation time will take one hour or about one hundred bucks from any reputable shop. Below-bed hitches, however, will cost a bit more in labor.
Since these hitches require more work to install, you’re looking at closer to two or three hours of labor. Since the average hourly shop cost is $100, that means another $200-$300 in labor alone.
What that means is an average price of $800-$1,500 for a gooseneck hitch with the installation. That all depends on the style and brand, however. If you opt for the above-bed option, it will run you about $300, and most often then not can be installed by yourself.
If you do go to a shop, expect about $100 in labor. The fold-down above-bed option is more convenient but runs in at $100 to $200 more expensive, or runs at about $500. Again, expect $100 in labor if you take it to a shop.
The most expensive yet strongest option is the below-bed option coming in around $500 to $600. The labor expected will run around three to four hours, or $300-$400. So the overall cost of the below-bed option is actually $800 to $1,000. With all of this in mind, there are still more expensive options with other features and durabilities.
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