Frugal or Fatal

[liteblue]

Newbie with a very small tractor (2100# incl. loader), is thinking about buying a single axle 3000# GVW trailer for occasional, local trailering. I plan to pull it with a car rated at 3000# limit.

I've read enough horror stories on TBN to wonder whether pressing the limits of this kind of trailering is pennywise or pound foolish. Any strong feelings, comments, suggestions would be appreciated /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[SnowRidge]

The 3000 GVWR indicates it has no brakes. Am I right? Single axle trailers with brakes are almost always rated at 3500 lbs. Federal law limits trailers with no brakes to 3000 lbs., although some states have lower limits.

I wouldn't be terribly concerned if you had brakes, a minimum of 14 inch wheels, didn't put anything extra on it or in the tow vehicle, and had a good frame mounted hitch on the car.

Don't try it without brakes. Been there, done that, survived it, ain't doin' it again. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[liteblue]

Thanks SnowRidge. You were correct about no brakes . . . but the wheels are 15" and I do have a frame mounted hitch. How does this info change things, if at all?

 

[Dk45_Jeff]

How much does the trailer weigh? My 3000 pound GVW trailer weighs 990 pounds, giving it a cargo capacity of 2010 pounds.

Is the 2100 pounds the realistic cargo weight? Are you including fuel, ballast, spare parts, weight of chains to bind the load, other implements, ramps for loading, excreta.

Does your tow vehicle's 3000 pounds tow limit include a realistic payload in the car? They usually are specified for an empty car with a 150 pound driver and a tank of gas, nothing else. Adding people or cargo will lower the towing capacity.

I wouldn't do it.

I forgot to ask if your car is an automatic? Pulling a trailer can create a lot more heat in an automatic transmission, most cars are not equipped with auxilary oil coolers to dump that heat.

 

[Soundguy]

I'll add that with a single axle trailer.. you have to balance the load 'perfectly' to get correct tounge weight. Vehicle brakes won't do any good if rear end is light due to negative tounge weight.. oe steering will be iffy if rear end is heavy from too much tounge weight. Even with good tounge weight.. hitting a bump will give you a teeter totter effect.. I hauled my yanmar 1700 home on a single axle trailer with no brakes behind a small ranger pickup.. 3.0l.. it was a whiteknuckling experience.. traded the truck later that week and got a real truck 'full size' and real dual axle trailer with brakes..

Soundguy

 

[Clyde]

What is your tow vehicle? Without brakes on the trailer, your tow vehicle will be doing all of the braking. Always look at the worst case scenario that this rig might encounter on the road. A car right in front of you slamming on their brakes and you have no where to go to avoid a rear end collision. Or what about going down the road at 60mph and suddenly there is a stray piece of metal in the roadway. Can you safely manuever around it without flipping the entire rig? If your vehicle is rated to "safely" tow 3,000lbs, and you are towing the max, you are causing undue wear and tear on the tranny, brakes, and engine. Up here in Wisc, if the GVRW is over 3,000lbs, trailer brakes are required. I would have thought this was code all over. If I were in your position, I'd opt to spend a few extra bucks and buy the trailer that you'll feel absolutely comfortable towing down the road with your tractor securely attached. Two axles add to the trailer weight but it makes it easier to balance your load also with a little extra on the tongue weight.

Just my opinion - Clyde

 

[hudr]

in addition to the aforementioned trailer "lackings", Iwould also add that the car suspension is probably not equipped to handle that much toungue weight. weight on a hitch will have more "leverage" on the car and weird things to the susp. geometry. I think you will have so much sway and "road walking" on the highway as to make for unsafe transport. Personally, I wouldn't do it. I pulled an empty 16' two axle trailer behind my V6 equipped '02 explorer and DID NOT like the way it felt at highway speeds. Way too much sway.

 

[liteblue]

First of all, thanks for a the thoughtful and reasonable analysis of my trailer problem. That's why I'm really liking this site. In all honesty, I was looking to convince myself that for occasional usage and totally local driving(under 40 mph), that I could get by with a light weight utility trailer. Even the option of adding electric brakes would still leave the weighting issue unsolved. Thanks for setting me straight. The example of having to make a very short stop, created too many bad images in my brain.

Now I just have to convince the wife that my new tractor also needs a truck and trailer. Ohhhhh Honey.......

 

[rambler]

The single axle is going to give one bouncy, bumpy ride. Not fun. 2 axles are so much better.

Won't you need ballast on the tractor to keep such a light unit working for you - weight the rear end down? I would think your loader tractor, in real work clothes, will be a lot heavier than you list.

Me, I'd do it but I'm familiar with heavy loads, farm trailers that don't need a licence, I live in an ag area that doesn't get upset about slow traffic & farm traffic, and so on. However, I would not be looking forward to the single axle deal, & I would know my car brakes would be on the hot & thin side in only a few trips.

--->Paul

 

[browns40]

Hey liteblue,

Not much to add here--two axles are the way to go... a flat/blowout, load balancing... superior in every way but the added weight of #2...

Check around with landscapers, equipment dealers, construction places... you might be the guy they're looking for to unload the old dbl axle and upgrade to a new one... I ended up with a 12000# rating for $800 from my JD dealer... he didn't want to rewire the brakes. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Not the prettiest, but solid & priced right!

Municipalities are another option--could find a nice truck & trailer combo there... they budget to replace every so often....

Happy tractoring! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif