2305 and drawbar use

fdmars · Apr 28, 2010

How much can you tow w/ a 2305 and a drawbar? does any know how much weight you can put on the drawbar, and the size of the holes for putting on a ball? How well does the locking kit work and what is it's load rating?
I am looking to move a 4,500 pound boat on a tandem axel trailer around at my house, will this set up OK vs a full fledged 3pt hitch set up (costs about 3x as much) Any thoughts are welcome.
Thanks Fred

Gizmo2 · Apr 28, 2010

That is a LOT of weight for a 2305!

dsmau · Apr 28, 2010

If you do move anything like this, I would use the drawbar to keep the weight as close as possible to the wheels. This is what the drawbar is made for. I would personally not do it unless the yard was pretty much 100% flat.
Just my 2 cents.

kennyd · Apr 28, 2010

Maybe I am confused, but The 2305 does not have a drawbar? Only a little hole in a plate mounted to the transmission?

What is the tongue weight of the trailer?

fdmars · Apr 28, 2010

Maybe I am confused, but The 2305 does not have a drawbar? Only a little hole in a plate mounted to the transmission
Kenny you are
Correct, I was going to buy one, and the stabilizer kit for use w/ a trailer ball.
the tongue weight would be about 500 lbs. total weight of pull around 4500 lbs. I am surprised that the tractor cannot pull it. But that is why I am part of this forum to tap into far more experience that mine.
Thanks

Gizmo2 · Apr 28, 2010

I would think the 2305 would pull it on the level, stopping would be the real challenge.

bp fick · Apr 28, 2010

It would outweigh your tractor 3 to 1. That little Deere is a nice machine, but that is asking a bit much. With my similar sized Kubota, I find 2500 lbs to be its max. Even that is almost 2 to 1, so I go very slow on level ground and not very far.

When pulling the fishing boat or pop up camper from place to place around here, it barely knows they are behind it. Approximately 1600 lbs. by way of comparison.

kennyd · Apr 28, 2010

fdmars said:
Maybe I am confused, but The 2305 does not have a drawbar? Only a little hole in a plate mounted to the transmission
Kenny you are
Correct, I was going to buy one, and the stabilizer kit for use w/ a trailer ball.
the tongue weight would be about 500 lbs. total weight of pull around 4500 lbs. I am surprised that the tractor cannot pull it. But that is why I am part of this forum to tap into far more experience that mine.
Thanks

OK, I understand now...Your machine will pull it just fine-you only need to worry about stopping it. The previous warnings of hills should be heeded. Use low gear and 4WD to help control it. Also, be aware there is no downpressure on the 3PH, so the arms can lift up if the tongue weight becomes negative-that could lead to a very dangerous situation.

Do you have a iMatch or other quick hitch?
How often do you plan on moving this or other trailers?

fdmars · Apr 28, 2010

I would not be doing it very often, but a fairly steep paved driveway is involved, your comment on negative weight and stopping is hittting home, so at this point I am thinking it might be a good idea to find an different method.
to all thanks for your thoughts.

bp fick · Apr 28, 2010

Yeah, re-thinking twice is better in deep kimchi once. 4500+ lbs is the very far end of what I would on the back of a subcut. That's just me. With a hill in the equation? I'm left just head scratching.

Barely Smokin' · Apr 28, 2010

I'm a pretty adventurous guy equipment-wise but even I would probably back out of this one. I suspect your tractor would probably handle the tongue weight, or you could use a dolly that would reduce the tongue weight to near zero.

But once you get that sucker on an incline...watch out! Steering, brakes, tire traction....all likely to be overwhelmed. I'd say it's highly likely you'd lose control of that set-up and risk some pretty serious injury in the mix.

FortClatsop · Apr 28, 2010

I moved my 25' travel trailer (about 4000 pounds/350 tongue) out of the shed with the tractor one time. I thought that it would be a convenient way to move the trailer from the shed to the adjacent driveway. Wrong. The lack of visibility was so disconcerting that it freaked me out. You have no idea how much you rely on the mirrors of your vehicle to provide feedback and validation. I was completely blind on the 2305. It was totally uncomfortable and I ended up lifting the trailer too high and ripped the refer vent off the roof. Never have had a problem moving it with the truck. The 2305 proved to be far more hassle than it was worth. Never again.

bp fick · Apr 29, 2010

The flip side of trailer moving with the tractor is this. I have to shuttle a small boat, a utility trailer, and pop up camper around between garages and barns, depending on the season and expected use. I absolutely prefer to use the tractor. The hydro makes control superior even to an automatic transmission and I can sit side saddle on the tractor and see much better. My wife spots and prefers my being able to actually converse with her more easily.

The barn door we use has an 8' door way, which is not ideal, and the tolerances are whisker close. The tractor is the superior shuttle engine for those applications. The visibility and weight issues of a "over sized" RV or very large boat would be entirely different matter.

Barely Smokin' · Apr 29, 2010

Agreed. I use my FEL to move my equipment trailer around all the time. It's extremely handy---very maneuverable. I just hook the chains to the edge of the bucket. I wouldn't want to move anything bigger than my 16' trailer....

orlo · Apr 29, 2010

I have a 2305 and I usually tow with an angle iron rigged up piece on the 3pt with a ball on it. The drawbar 'plate' is too low on the 2305 to be able to lower a trailer with any significant tongue weight on it. I wouldn't worry about the weight (unless you were going up/down steep hills), I'd worry about the tongue weight and the manual states what the 2305 is rated for, 550 rings a bell.

I used to pulled a 6000# (full/maybe 2600 empty) snowmobile trailer around my house with a Craftsman GT5000 garden tractor.

Trailers pull a lot easier than you think on level ground. I can move that same trailer around (on pavement) with a dolly by hand so it doesn't take a lot to move them. Try turning the tandems by hand dragging the wheels and that's where the fun will end.

Pulling a 6000# rolling load on level ground is nothing for the 2305...

I wouldn't do inclines though. Also the comment about visibility for a trailer you can't see 'through' is true. The tractor is a lot narrower than most trailers so seeing around them is tough unless you rigged up some 3' mirror extensions.

Nobody does this (We all should), but if you use your 3pt to tow, you should chain the arms or mounted drawbar down so if you hit a bump the tongue of the trailer doesn't raise up.

megotatractor · Apr 30, 2010

I have a 2210 (early 2305) and I would not attempt 500 pounds on the 3 point. I have a 300 pound rototiller which when dirt sticks to it the front of the tractor becomes very light and difficult to steer. Consulting the owner's manual (weird, huh?) I see the "hitch plate" capacity is stated as 526 lbs. Not sure what that means exactly but sounds like a 4500lb boat is 2 tons too much.

bp fick · Apr 30, 2010

While I stated earlier that hooking up with a 4500 lb trailer, and with a hill involved, that this would be way beyond my comfort point with a subcut. The OP stated he thought this through as well.

However, I gotta believe hitch weight of 500 lbs doesn't limit a subcut like the 2305 to a trailer tow weight of 500 lbs. I have towed 2500-3000 lbs, on flat ground, with no issues, with less tractor than that 2305.

Most OEMs do not publish towing capacity, that I can find. Common sense needs to rule the day anyhow. 2 tons too much suggests the 2305 couldn't pull more than 500 lbs and that just isn't true.

fdmars · May 1, 2010

I agree, seems to be some confusion between tongue weight and total trailer weight. Tongue weight should be 8 to 10% of trailer weight, at least for a car.

Robert F. · May 2, 2010

According to the 2305 manual, the maximum static vertical load for the hitch is 526lbs. That means weight directly on the hitch. Tongue weight. I would think that the tractor could move that trailer weight (4500lbs) BUT STOPPING would be a whole different story. I would not attempt this on an incline unless I had a means of activating the brakes on the trailer. Without trailer brakes this would be a very dangerous proposition and I would not do it.