Jacks at rear of trailer to eliminate "dip" when loading tractor?

[Worriedman50]

Have purchased a new 18' trailer to haul my Kubota 2800 w/FEL on. I have been blocking the end of the dovetail with timbers to keep the rear of the trailer from sinking and the front from raising the rear of my truck when loading.

Wonder if I could install jacks at the rear of the trailer by welding on the round pipe to a plate and bolt that to the sidewalls of the trailer frame to get a "straight" lift at the dovetail. I imagine that I would need a 5000lb. jack on either side?

Not having said jack in hand, could it be removed from the pipe which is welded to the frame? Using the pin to hold the jack in line during use, then it could be removed from the trailer for the haul, if that is possible. I tend to "snag" things, and would like to be able to remove the jack if possible.

 

[jonyyuma]

How about a small ramp welded on the back of each ramp? When deployed the ramp would have its own brace..I saw one down in Miss. and it worked well for him. of course it would depend on how big the machine is that you are loading?? The ramps were pinned to the rear..

 

[bcp]

Something like these, with a short mounting tube to be welded to the trailer:

Pro Series Round, Pipe-Mount Swivel Jack w/ Footplate - Sidewind - 15" Lift - 5,000 lbs Pro Series Trailer Jack PS1401440303

Pro Series Round, Pipe-Mount Swivel Jack w/ Footplate - Topwind - 10" Lift - 5,000 lbs Pro Series Trailer Jack PS1401460303

 

[Worriedman50]

Something like these, with a short mounting tube to be welded to the trailer:

Pro Series Round, Pipe-Mount Swivel Jack w/ Footplate - Sidewind - 15" Lift - 5,000 lbs Pro Series Trailer Jack PS1401440303

Pro Series Round, Pipe-Mount Swivel Jack w/ Footplate - Topwind - 10" Lift - 5,000 lbs Pro Series Trailer Jack PS1401460303

That is what I had in mind. Would bet I will have to drill out a "keeper" on the supplied tube to make the jack removable, but suspect that is doable.

 

[Worriedman50]

How about a small ramp welded on the back of each ramp? When deployed the ramp would have its own brace..I saw one down in Miss. and it worked well for him. of course it would depend on how big the machine is that you are loading?? The ramps were pinned to the rear..

My ramps are stored under the trailer during road use, so I can not add to them like that.

 

[mikim]

I just use cheap jack stands. carry 'em in pickup. quick & easy.

 

[grsthegreat]

I purchased 2 - 5,000 # trailer tongue swing jacks that came with a welding tube for my 16' trailer. Took less than 30 minutes to install... and work perfect. i can drive my tractor onto trailer without any lifting of the truck or bouncing of the trailer.

I can either swing the jacks up afterwords or pull the pin and remove them to prevent theft of the jacks.

 

[grnspot110]

My 16' Woodworth has "loading legs", 2" sq. tubing drop-down legs that set an inch or tow off the ground until weighted. When loaded, simply back up to relieve the load & swing back up. Same thing could be bolted to an existing trailer with heavy angle iron. Cheap, simple & always there!

Show in the "up" position:

 

[Diamondpilot]

I just use cheap jack stands. carry 'em in pickup. quick & easy.

That is what I do also but mine live in my trailers tool box that also holds straps, chains, and binders. They have came in handy for other things like when I rolled off a front tire of my tractor bush hogging a field. I lifted the tractor with the FEL, took the tire off, took it to the tire shop, and in 1 hours was back to work.

Chris

 

[s219]

I don't think you want to use a tongue type jack whether it swivels or not -- that is the wrong type of jack for the rear. You want something that drops and raises instantly, and uses pins to set the height. It would get old cranking those things up and down all the time.

You want what's known as a drop leg, or stabilizer jack. Here's an example:

Fulton Drop-Leg Stabilizer Jack with Mounting Channel - Weld-On - 28" Leg - 13" Bracket - Fulton Trailer Jack FSJ1-SJ2

That particular one could be welded to the rear frame, but they come in many sizes and capacities. Some flip in to stow, some are vertical, etc. Lots of options, and they are simple enough that you could make your own. There are some variants intended for RVs, but most will work for a range of applications.

 

[salopez]

Try a chock in front of tire of the trailer. It will keep the trailer from climbing

 

[Worriedman50]

View attachment 271043View attachment 271044View attachment 271045View attachment 271046I purchased 2 - 5,000 # trailer tongue swing jacks that came with a welding tube for my 16' trailer. Took less than 30 minutes to install... and work perfect. i can drive my tractor onto trailer without any lifting of the truck or bouncing of the trailer.

I can either swing the jacks up afterwords or pull the pin and remove them to prevent theft of the jacks.

Exactly what I had in mind.

The dovetail on my trailer would allow the pipe to be welded, and the pins would let you raise the jack just enough to clear the ground, then remove, precluding a lot of effort to raise and lower.

Too, being able to take them off, removes one more "knee knocker" from getting around the trailer to tie down the tractor. Mine is a flat bed with stake pockets, which I decided on partially because it makes that activity much simpler than having static rails in the way of getting up and down to attached my chains and binders.

 

[dodge man]

Maybe its just me, but I don't do anything. I've never had a problem, but I've never loaded anything bigger than a car. I wouldn't think you would need anything unless you were loading something really heavy.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have only had it happen to me twice. I was pushing a rock up on the neighbors sons trailer via the ramps and Dove Tail. I am guessing it was about 8,000#, solid granite about the size of a washing machine. As soon as it hit the Dove Tail it raised the rear end of the Dodge 2500 4x4 360 gasser he was towing the trailer with.

The other time we were loading a tracked machine on a 30' GN behind a Dodge 3500 4x4 Diesel and as soon as it hit the Dove Tail and before it broke over onto the flat part of the trailer it kicked the fold up ramps with supports out on the gravel lane and dropped the trailer all the way down to the road on the Dove Tail. The rear tires of the truck were 4' off the ground. Took some careful maneuvering, a 9,000# winch, a BobCat, and my tractor to get the machine back up on the trailer without dumping it off the side.

Chris

 

[bcp]

How about a small ramp welded on the back of each ramp? When deployed the ramp would have its own brace..I saw one down in Miss. and it worked well for him. of course it would depend on how big the machine is that you are loading?? The ramps were pinned to the rear..

Like this?

View attachment 271074

 

[schmism]

I use the small bottle jack that i keep with the trailer for if/when i have to change a tire. the rear of my trailer has a piece of channel welded in just the right spot that makes one think it was put there for this exact reason.

 

[joshuabardwell]

View attachment 271043View attachment 271044View attachment 271045View attachment 271046I purchased 2 - 5,000 # trailer tongue swing jacks that came with a welding tube for my 16' trailer. Took less than 30 minutes to install... and work perfect. i can drive my tractor onto trailer without any lifting of the truck or bouncing of the trailer.

I can either swing the jacks up afterwords or pull the pin and remove them to prevent theft of the jacks.

That is gosh-darn clever.

 

[Grateful11]

Wife has one these trailers where the ramps have a foot on them that keeps the trailer from jacking up in the front when loading. Pretty simple just some small channel welded on.

Hudson Brothers Trailer Manufacturers, Inc, Indian Trail, NC

 

[Sackett2]

I highly suggest cheap jack stands for now.
When we first got the tractor, we were loading it on a slight grade; the weight of the tractor pushed the rear of the trailer down, the back of the truck was lifted enough to render the park brake useless. the truck and trailer started moving down the hill. Dad was smart enough to goose the tractor onto the trailer bed and everything came to a halt..
I bought dad a brake holding tool to lock all 4 truck brakes just in case.
we didn't start using jack-stands until we got the aft rail cutoff, then the trailer started bending during loading and we started using the jack-stands. We realized that with the jack-stands I can load the tractor no connected to a truck.

sometimes the stand gets stuck, just drive forward and let it tip over..

 

[yelbike]

This is how I avoid needing the rear stabilizer jacks. The dovetail on my trailer doesn't sit very high off the ground so I pull up close to the trailer with the tractor, set the bucket on the deck and lift the tractor up, slide forward till the front wheels are on the deck also. Then simply drive forward untill the rear lugs catch the trailer edge and raise themselves up on to the deck and voila!! Up on the deck with out ramps. If the trailer is not attached to a tow vehicle, it works even better, but you must go slower as not to mash the trailer back down on the tongue jack.

I've done this with my jd 2320 ever since I Lent out my trailer and it came back missing a ramp. It doesn't work as well with the jd 2305 ( less ground clearance) so the back hoe must be attached, and sort of have to dance the rear tires on. Not for the faint at heart!!
Don't let the safety police see you.