Any body installed gooseneck hitches?

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Good farmer friend of mine needs a gooseneck hitch on his Chevy 2500. Couple other shops quoted him 85$ an hour I told him 35$ an hour, so of course I got the job. What I'm asking is how long it may take cause he's on a time constraint. And I am too. I see unbolting the bed, raising it up enough to clear the hitch between the bed and frame rails, then drilling,the hole for the hitch. Bolting the hitch down the bolting the bed back down. Or is this more then a 3 hour or so job?
Reply:Install a B&W hitch and you don't need to remove the bed. Dan D.Manipulator Of Metal
Reply:I guess it would depend on the hitch. I am still waiting for the other half of mine to arrive but it looks like a pretty easy job. I think most shops bill around 4 hours and I was qouted $400 for the install.I don't have to unbolt the bed on the b and w I ordered.First thing you want to do is get the instructions for the hitch.
Reply:I'm waiting on a reply from the client right now
Reply:What your doing in business is called "Leaving money on the table".  Everybody else is at $85.00 and your at $35.00!!!!!! Over 50% less in price??????? WTF!!!!!!!!!
Reply:Client!
Reply:Building client base
Reply:There he goes again!
Reply:The real question is are you building the clients you want? Dirt cheap prices attract cheap clients. Those are the ones who usually want to argue with you after the job, play Monty Hall lets make a deal and renegotiate you after you already have done the work to lower the price, cut corners and blame you when things go wrong. Customers you don't want or need.It's also tough to go from peanuts to a reasonable wage after they are used to you working for chump change. If last year you were charging $35/hr, why all of a sudden are you asking $70 they will want to know. Many simply go off and find a new sucker who is too dumb to charge them what the job is worth. Meanwhile you are probably working below cost and loosing money. If some one is legit and billing at $85 / hour, something has to be really wrong if you can do the same work for 1/2. Either you aren't paying for things you should have like insurance, or you are working at a loss without realizing it.Keep in mind once you touched it, YOU are the one responsible. It won't matter if they wanted you to do it a certain way, or if they bought something cheap and it failed, it's still going to be on you. You'll also find out real quick that the people who are willing to pay the least, are usually the ones who are the 1st to grab the phone and call a lawyer when things aren't right..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I understand that concept. Right now it's friends of friends, word of mouth, and other neighboring businesses. If I know they're shady people I'm either on vacation, backlogged with other jobs, or didn't hear the phone ring. I know that's not a good practice but now days with social media and this small town simply telling somebody no I'm not doing that job will bite you in arse
Reply:Just been told it's a weld hitch
Reply:If its a weld hitch i think you bought one hell of a liability,  good luck.Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Back to your question....I did exact same for free for mudtruck neighbor a few months ago...2009 2500 Chebby truck.It didn't take maybe hour n half using plasma to cut hole that could have been cut with hole saw....then it was simple bolt in stuff where we stopped to pop the top on beers and swap puzzy stories several times.All holes in frame matched with holes in hitch, so it was plug n play with no need to lift bed...all we did is remove rear tires to make it easy and drill/cut single about 4" large hole in bed that matched up EXACTLY with template included with hitch instructions....it was one of those drop below bed hitches that included metal cap to restore bed flush when not towing.I would rate it a 4 beer install for two guys using minimal tools....if they stop to show you cell phone pics and describe the gals in them, then allow more time.He tows 40 footy gooseneck with monster mudtruck and several side by side ATV's on it and all sortsa junk and it does just fine.Last edited by wornoutoldwelder; 04-16-2015 at 05:15 AM.
Reply:Although unlikely with a weld on there might be a big potential problem. That is one reason I went with a lower capacity bolt on unit. There was a guy a while back on another forum that did a semi and fried the computer. He turned it into his insurance as it was like 3 g if I recall.Sent from my SCH-I545 using TapatalkCRIME SCENES, COURT DATES, FUNERALS, RIDING THROUGH THE CITY WITH A BITCH THAT IS JUST BEAUTIFUL IT'S JUST BUSINESS AS USUAL.
Reply:Never seen a weld on gooseneck hitch. Don't tell me it's welded to the frame.                                   MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:What else would it be welded too?
Reply:When I installed my aluminum flatbed on my cab & chassis. I built a sub frame for both sides. Used the holes already in the truck frame to bolt the sub frames to. Built my goose neck system, and bolted it to the sub frame. I’m not big on welding things to the frame if I can help it. Attached ImagesDon’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Double post...Last edited by MinnesotaDave; 04-16-2015 at 08:14 PM.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:Originally Posted by MinnesotaDaveIf my guess is right, it's just the ball mechanism and that gets welded to a frame that can be bolted in.
Reply:I think this is more along the lines of what Harry is thinking.Set it on top off the frame rails, and  do a lap weld....Just a couple welders, big hammers, grinders, and torches.Work will free you.Men in dirty jeans built this country, while men in clean suits have destroyed it. Trump/Carson 2016-2024
Reply:Bevel the edge on the plate, frame rails already have a bevel on them. A few passes of my friend spray arc mig and call it night.
Reply:That was another thing I was wondering about. What do they give you as far as the weld requirement from the manufacturer? I would not spray on my new 58g truck frame.
Reply:Lots of welding is done on truck frames. I welded a hitch on my Hino with 8018 and 1/2" plate. It got the ultimate test and passed with flying colors. Some of the plate bent but it didn't affect the hitch. The frame was too far in from the dump box for the pintle hitch so I made a 6" spacer out of rectangular tubing. I used the same grade 8 bolts the pintle coupler used to bolt the spacer on. There must have been just enough leverage that when I turned off the highway onto a gravel road the bolts snapped when I hit a bump. I  dragged the tandem dually trailer on the gravel for about 20' till I got stopped. I had my Cat track loader and backhoe on the trailer that weighs around 22,000lbs. I used the backhoe boom to lift the trailer back up, removed the spacer from the hook on the trailer and bolted the coupler directly to the truck. I bent and cracked the cross member on the trailer that holds the jack. One of these days I need to fix it. I don't use the trailer now but want to fix it up so I can sell it. There was no structural damage to the main rails for the trailer. I'm just glad it happened on a gravel road and not on the highway.
Reply:Finished the job today. Was a pain in the arse but we got it done. Couple mig passes later and the customer is off and happy and I got cash in my pocket
Reply:No pictures?IAMAW Local 330Airco 300 AC/DC HeliwelderAirco Dip-Pak 200 with Profax spool gunPowr-Kraft AC225Everlast PowerArc 200stBuffalo Forge No.21 drill pressSpeedglas 9100xxAirco, Oxweld, Purox, Victor torchesLincoln Ranger 8No phone was plugged into the stereo. It came out really nice after we finished it finally lol
Reply:Originally Posted by AKweldshopI think this is more along the lines of what Harry is thinking.Set it on top off the frame rails, and  do a lap weld....
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammThat's one of the old style "universal" gooseneck plates.  They need the installation kit to mount them correctly.  The kit consists of heavy angles which are welded to the plate, then bolted to the frame web.  They were never intended to be welded directly to the frame.