1/2 Ton Pickup can haul tractor?

[GeneD14]

First, let me preface this post with my saying I'm not hellbent on going overboard on saftey. I just try to be SAFE. I've got too much to loose by NOT being safe. In all likelyhood, so do all of you.

Throughout this thread, and all the others that have touched upon this topic, I keep hearing "phrases" like, "Plan your stops", "Start slowing down earlier than you would if the truck was empty", ect.

What happens if someone else on the highway does something you didn't "plan on"? They might not know your "plans". A 1/2 ton truck just doesn't have the brake capacity for loads in excess of it's intended cargo. Trailer brakes, in most cases are intended to help slow their intended weight rating, but won't stop quickly in a panic by themselves. They rely on the trucks brakes to do the lions share of braking. Exceed the trailer brake rating and you'll wonder if the trailer even has brakes in most cases.

Most any truck will finally get a load up to speed. It might burn up the tranny. It might wear out the engine. It might do a dozen things. What it WILL DO, is NOT STOP SAFELY in an emergency.

Then let's go to the over-matched suspension components. Shocks, springs, ball joints, frames, ect, are barely enough WHEN THE TRUCK IS NEW. Throw 50,000 miles on a pair of now worn shocks and what happens when you have to swerve to miss a muffler laying in the road? How about that 4" deep chuckhole you didn't see until it was too late to move over? Can that over-matched AND SLIGHTLY WORN suspension handle it? Maybe...maybe not. Are you willing to take that risk? How about mom in the minivan with a load of kids going to soccer practice that's right next to you? Are you willing to bet THEIR lives? If you are, you don't need to be on the highway at all, MUCHLESS towing an overloaded trailer with and overloaded truck. (or even one loaded to with-in ounces of it's capacity)

Tires? SOME 1/2 ton trucks will have adaquate tires for a reasonable load. Most I've seen DON'T. A good many will have no more than typical passenger car tires. And most of the time, those tires AREN'T new. Anyone care to tell me how a worn tire has the same carrying capacity of a NEW one? What about when that worn tire hits that muffler we were talking about earlier? BOOM! And now you have an undersized truck with a blown tire, pulling an overloaded (or at least loaded to the absolute max) trailer at highway speeds. Even an expert driver won't generally fare well in that scenario.

It's not about being able to tow a load 99.9% of the time without mishap. It's not about "can I get away with it?" It's about the chance your cutting corners might kill someone else.

The DOT is slowly beginning to crack down on commercial and NON commercial vehicles towing trailers. It's taking time. Eventually they'll limit or prohibit unsafe or marginally safe towing with light duty trucks. There's a reason why the DOT (on federal AND state levels) are doing such. And it ISN'T about you wearing out your transmission.

It's about deadly highway accidents.

IT ISN'T SAFE.

Hire someone with a truck/trailer that's big enough, or even a wrecker service with a rollback. Don't fall for the "well, it's only this one time" excuse. It only takes one fatal accident to up-end YOUR life or the life you take.

I think that sums it up pretty good.

 

[bloody_peasant]

As a related issue, something I saw on the road the other day made me do a double take and then a triple take.

I saw a F-350 pulling this car hauler, but this wasn't the normal car hauler, it didn't have just one car one, nor two, but THREE!!. One of them was a mini-van and the other two were mid-sized cars. The hauler looked like one of these deals: http://www.trailersforless.com/loadtrail/auto_transport.html

Is the F-350 capable of pulling 3 full sized vehicles on a trailer like this? My instinct tells me that has to unsafe. A couple of days later I saw another hauler like this with 3 vehicles on it, but it was being pulled by a big rig.

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Well after reading the specs on the F-350 maybe its not as bad as it looked, Ford lists their max trailer weight from some of the F-350's depending on how its equipped at 16,000 pounds, so maybe it could do it safely.

 

[bones1]

"Well after reading the specs on the F-350 maybe its not as bad as it looked, Ford lists their max trailer weight from some of the F-350's depending on how its equipped at 16,000 pounds, so maybe it could do it safely".I still think that's pushing it.That trailer has got to weigh 5k and 3 cars also.IMHO.

 

[GeneD14]

"Well after reading the specs on the F-350 maybe its not as bad as it looked, Ford lists their max trailer weight from some of the F-350's depending on how its equipped at 16,000 pounds, so maybe it could do it safely".I still think that's pushing it.That trailer has got to weigh 5k and 3 cars also.IMHO.

I see those 3 car trailers up here everyday behind 1 ton dually pickups. I'm guessing if each car weighed 4,000 that would be 12,000 total plus a 4,000 lb trailer would put them right at 16,000 lbs towing weight. They must be DOT legal or I don't think we would see so many around.

 

[N80]

I have a 2003 F-150, 4wd, SuperCrew with the Triton V8 and towing package. It is rated at 7,500 pounds.

I have towed my L4400 that weighs right at 4000 pounds with loaded tires on a (rented) heavy duty trailer with inertial brakes that probably weighed 2000-2500 pounds. So I was getting close to the limit.

With the tractor in the right position on the trailer, the rear of the truck did not squat enough to see it and it was still very pleasant and easy to drive. Going up hills at highway speeds (55mph) it would occasionally down shift but not often. You could feel the load back there when braking and you do have to start braking earlier but braking was still firm and controlled. Had to break suddenly once (not emergency but more than normal) and it handled just fine, ABS did not kick in.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well it performed (and I am a very cautious person). I think it could handle its max rated load with relative ease. Being the cautious type, I would not exceed the max rating though. If I needed to haul it with the loader and the mower it would be over the trucks rated max.

 

[sandman2234]

Back in 1992 I built a 33' car hauling trailer for a guy that bought a new dodge one ton with the cummins in it. Truck weighed 7,000 when they got the new angle deck on it, my trailer weighed in at 4350, after he insisted I put a steel deck on it. (Already bought the aluminum to do it). He was hauling 3 conversion vans on it(remember how big they were in the early 90's)
and after the second trip called me to find out how much it would cost to lighten the trailer up some. I charged him $750 and dropped the weight to 3300 pounds by changing out the deck. I got to keep half the aluminum I was going to put on it, and all the steel that I removed. All in all, a nice deal.
Anyway, he was within the law, and the truck handled it well.
Last time I saw the trailer, it looked rough! Wore out one truck, at 435,000 miles and was over a 100K on the second one. All he ever hauled was conversion vans for the first 350,000 and after that, what ever he could find.
David from jax

 

[LBrown59]

The hauler looked like one of these deals: http://www.trailersforless.com/loadt...transport.html



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quote]
I followed one of these down the road the other day.
It was empty but sure looked werid following it from behind.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I see those 3 car trailers up here everyday behind 1 ton dually pickups. I'm guessing if each car weighed 4,000 that would be 12,000 total plus a 4,000 lb trailer would put them right at 16,000 lbs towing weight. They must be DOT legal or I don't think we would see so many around.

CDL's are required for total weights over 26K. Most of these "hot shots" stay under the 26K limits with 3 cars. They still must have proper insurance and tagged wieght for the truck. Most F-350's have 20K CGWR's but the newer one's go up to 26K. So yes, most of those trucks (03 and below),are technically overloaded.

Most folk don't understand the ratings from the manufacturer. Those ratings assume 1 driver that weighs 150# and a full tank of fuel. My old F-250 had an 8800 # GVWR and a CGWR of 12K. The lower GVWR was due to the 3.55 rear end gearing and a 185 HP 7.3 diesel. My newer 03 F-350 dually is rated at 20K CGWR and 11,500 GVWR. Much more truck.

In essence, I would not tow that much that distance with an F-150.

 

[patrick_g]

My tandem trailer weighs about 2000# and is rated for 12,000#, limited by the axles. Electric brakes and I tow with a 1ton Cummins powered dually. I don't like to even approach my max weight because things get hard to control when you push them to the max. I have HD everything, overloads, air bags, 19.5 rims and tires and on and on but there is always some BOZO who will cut you off and hit his brakes and it is up to you to not run him and his family down in their cute little made of freezer wrap rice burner. If you are going to be doing this a lot, buy a real truck, at least a 3/4 with decent ratings for towing. If it is a one shot. FORGETABOUTIT There are too many better ways to do it without severe risk. Pat

 

[HRS]

Dustin, I've read through the replies and I found only one that mentioned loaded tires. Have you considered this with the 6K tractor. If not, your tractor is heavier than you think. Also, there is a lot to towing that you learn as you get into it. A trailer with axles heavy enough to handle your load will weigh in at over 2K easy. It should have electric breaks on all four tires. Next you need to purchase a break controller and weight distribution hitch, $$$. Then, as someone else eluded too, increase your insurance. By the time you purchase all this, and consider the damage you might cause to truck etc., it will be a bargain to have someone with the correct equipment to move it for you. Such companies do exist. It cost me $200 once to move a camper I had no truck for 150 miles to a remote property that it sat on. Better yet, is there not another tractor near you that you could purchase instead of moving this one.

Since you have a F150 I will tell you that I do move a little TC30 and implement with such a truck. The trailer is equipped as mentioned above, yet my tractor weighs only 1/3 the weight of the tractor you are considering. Additionally, I will not load the tires of mine for concern for the additional weight. I looked hard at tractors that weighed twice mine before I went the TC route. Considered them to be too heavy then for my truck and am glad I did, they would have been. A 6000 plus K tractor would be like pulling a mountain behind a F150, no matter how it is equipped. I've towed for several years now, and tow up to 100 miles one way every so often. And there is no doubt in my mind that my TC is all my truck can handle, even if the book says that it sould be able to handle more. With my experience, I would not consider putting a tractor that big behind an F150 and expecially not for a distance of 500 miles. I've even considered having the rearend changed on my truck to handle my 5k package. Your truck is not geared properly for loads that heavy. Like I said, you learn a lot when you start towing.

I hope this helps. Good luck.