Marveltone
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2010
- Messages
- 1,411
- Location
- Somewhere north of Roseau, MN
- Tractor
- Fordson Major Diesel, McCormick Deering W4, Ford 1510, John Deere L111
I was in a rut. No... literally and figuratively. I'll need my equipment trailer this weekend, but it's full of firewood. No problem... just unload it, right? Yeah. That's what I thought. I was pulling it across the field with my pickup, up toward the house when I sank into a rut (shallow drainage ditch), still hidden by the receding snow. Stuck! No amount of rocking or any other countermeasures would free the heavy load. I unhooked the truck from the trailer, pulled away, parked it and eyed the much smaller and lighter tractor. Well, it does have chains on the wheels, what could it hurt?
Now, to properly set the stage, the tractor is my trusty little Ford 1510. The only added weight is the FEL, winter cab and chains. The trailer in question is a 20', 14k PJ equipment hauler with about two cord of seasoned Tamarack. I guesstimate a total weight of about 9700lbs.
The two questions in my mind were as follows: 1. Will the tractor support the weight of the trailer without doing a wheelie? 2. Will it even move it?
I put the tractor in 2nd range, 1st gear, 4WD and slowly let up the clutch. It moved! Better yet, no wheelies! It pulled the trailer out of the ditch, through the snow, and up the hill to the house. I kept things real slow, knowing full well that the loaded trailer was 3X the weight of the tractor and was able to back it up where I needed and unload the wood without carrying it halfway across the yard. Unfortunately, I didn't think to get any pictures until I had it all pulled up to the house, but you can still get an idea of the size of the load for such a little tractor.
I really need to stop underestimating these powerful little tools!
Joe
Now, to properly set the stage, the tractor is my trusty little Ford 1510. The only added weight is the FEL, winter cab and chains. The trailer in question is a 20', 14k PJ equipment hauler with about two cord of seasoned Tamarack. I guesstimate a total weight of about 9700lbs.
The two questions in my mind were as follows: 1. Will the tractor support the weight of the trailer without doing a wheelie? 2. Will it even move it?
I put the tractor in 2nd range, 1st gear, 4WD and slowly let up the clutch. It moved! Better yet, no wheelies! It pulled the trailer out of the ditch, through the snow, and up the hill to the house. I kept things real slow, knowing full well that the loaded trailer was 3X the weight of the tractor and was able to back it up where I needed and unload the wood without carrying it halfway across the yard. Unfortunately, I didn't think to get any pictures until I had it all pulled up to the house, but you can still get an idea of the size of the load for such a little tractor.
I really need to stop underestimating these powerful little tools!
Joe
