How to Determine Clearance of V-Nose Gooseneck Trailer on Short Bed 2020 Chevy Silverado 2500

Question:

Trying to purchase a new gooseneck horse trailer but not sure if cab clearance will be an issue . Truck has a factory installed gooseneck hitch prep package with the “puck” system . The center of hitch is 45” from front of bed. I can only seem to find 2 balls that will fit and if I need an extender the bw coupler extension. Are there any other options ? Would the 10” coupler extension be too much ? The Chevy dealership was of no help. The front of trailer is slightly tapered and coupler is on nose it does sit back under gooseneck a few inches

asked by: Angie Y

Expert Reply:

I'll start off by saying that you won't be able to use a B&W extender # BWGNXA4085 since those are only designed to fit in B&W Turnoverball gooseneck hitches and not the factory pucks on the 2020 Silverado 2500.

It looks like your horse trailer has a V-nose, which is going to help provide a little bit of extra clearance when it comes to making 90 degree turns- so this trailer is a great choice for a short bed truck. In order to determine if you'll need an offset, use the formula below, which will require some basic measurements.

(A + B) - C = Clearance

A = Distance from the gooseneck coupler center to the truck cab. For your situation you need from rear axle center to cab.

B = Offset used. In your situation you need to get distance from center of gooseneck coupler back to the where the V of the trailer is. So basically where it's at it's widest to the center of the coupler.

C = Width of the nose of the trailer divided by 2. Measure where the trailer is at it's widest before it starts to V in.

As long as the clearance is positive and not negative, you won't need an offset gooseneck ball.

If you do end up needing an extender, the B&W Extend-A-Goose # BWTEXA4200 will provide you with an additional 10" of clearance from the cab of your truck and will fit on standard 4" diameter outer tubes.