Small tractor transport..

[Willl]

Willl- Whot izzat

It be my grubber.

[AndyMA]

..I'm pretty sure Homer was talkin about the springs and tires of the tractor being squeezed by over-tightening of the securing mechanism.. Not the hauling trailer.. Seems we have a coupla different sets of suspension in this situation..

Willl- Whot izzat wicked lookin piece'o'gear ya have in yer avatar.? Looks mean.!! I like it.!! d:^) Schneeky..

I reread and I think you're right. It will add forces to the tractor tires and axles, though not weight.

Andy

[driver444]

When you tighten chain binders on a tractor on a wood deck trailer, the boards actually bend slightly, and the tires squish down. you ABSOLUTELY ARE adding weight to the tractor tires and axles. I wasn't referring to the trailer axles. That will be constant.

DOT does require that all attachments be resting on the deck, such as hoes, loader buckets, and dozer blades. Also, tractors have a max weight rating on their axles. When you put a backhoe on it, and leave the boom up, along with the chain force, its gonna put you close to, or over that rating. And as I said before, a 1000 pound hoe weighs alot more than that when its bouncing. for example, I can CARRY 2 80LB bags of concrete, but I can't CATCH them!

[Schneeky]

I can CARRY 2 80LB bags of concrete, but I can't CATCH them!

..Excellent analogy.!! I don't s'pose ya have that DOT doc handy do ya.? I'd be curious to see it.. Izzat a state specific thing or Fed.? Inquiring minds wanna know.!!

Willl- It looks like something from the "Alien" movies.. The profile shot definitely gives it a more menacing look.. Good photo eye.. Although I did notice it looked to be unused.. I could almost smell the fresh paint way over here.. d:^) Schneeky..

[driver444]

I don't have the DOT regs handy. There are federal and state regs, and not all states are the same. The states can make their own laws, as long as they don't trump the federal law. The federal law is the minimum requirement. One example is that some states want chain binders on the driver side so you can monitor them in your mirrors, and some states want them on the other side so you're not standing in traffic on the side of the highway if you need to adjust something. I always went driver side.

I will admit that using 4 chains is the IDEAL & LEGAL way to secure equipment. There is definitely more "redundancy" there. On some bigger equipment, I've used chain binders and no chains at all. I'd put one binder at each corner, and they reached from the piece of equipment directly to the tie down plates on the trailer.

Also I want to correct what I said about "adding weight." You are not "adding weight" when you tighten chains. You are applying forces. Those forces, however are in fact downward forces, which do have exactly the same effect as adding weight, as far as the tractor's tires and axles are concerned.

[Soundguy]

Without rehashing everything that has been said.. .. etc..

I like 1+1 tiedown per 10' of load, plus 1 tie down per implement.. front or rear. one of the tiedowns I like to put over the trans. i also like to do front and rear corners.

Use a tiedown that is rated for the full weight of your load, if possible.. especially if you use ratchet binders.. or poly / nylon straps. On an average cut with a laoder and mower, it's easy to use a minimum of 5 tie's and just barely be safe... ( more to be legal for comercial applications.. )

soundguy

I used to haul equipment for a living. There is alot of flexibility on chaining things down, and everybody does it differently, but a couple basic principles.

On a small tractor, (mine) I put a clevis through the draw bar hole, and run a chain through that, and run another chain through (around) the front bumper assembly. The rear chain pulls rearward, and the front chain pulls forward. You don't really want the chains pulling down vertically, as this can allow some forward or backward movement. On the rear, you could also go around the axle shafts with 2 separate nylon straps. That's another option.

If you have a loader, put it all the way down. Not really necessary to chain that too. It won't go anywhere, but you can if you want. Won't hurt.

Also, if my backhoe is attached, (there may be some disagreement here, but this is my feeling) I lay the boom down on the deck so the extra weight is not being carried by the tractor. Then I chain that to the deck too. A 1000LB backhoe bouncing down the road at highway speed can't be good for a small tractor, or the pivot pins for that matter.

One thing you Never want to do is use hydraulic pressure to secure a load. For example, don't throw a chain over the loader, and the 3point hitch, and lift up on them to take up the slack and tighten the chain. The hydraulics will leak down, and the chains will be loose where you get where you're going.

Lastly, try not to overtighten the chain binders. Tightening them draws the tractor down, and literally adds hundreds of pounds of weight to your axles and tires. Don't go crazy. And stop to check your chains periodically on long trips.

[jstrasser]

Good information.

If you can't find it locally, these guys have some nice tiedowns, etc..

Towing | Recovery | Repo|Service Truck Equipment and Supplies - AW Direct

[some zilch]

as per DOT rules, any hydraulic attachment (loader arms, backhoe boom, TPH implement) musy be also chained down. For a small tractor. I would have two chains holding the machine down, one holding the FEL down, and one holding whatever is on the back down. I haul heavy equipment on a daily basis, and i do know what is required

[Soundguy]

Yeah.. that pretty much exactly jives with my post #16.

For hauling.. I'm a fan of having nothing move while you are driving...

soundguy

[jk96]

..Where do ya stand on nylon vs. chain.?

While I only used nylon straps until recently and felt they were adequate, I recently bought a set of chains and binders and can tell you I feel much safer with them over the straps now that I've used them.