Cargo Carrier Question

[dialtone]

I have a dual wheel vanilla 4500Z with the Tough Cut mower. It would sure be nice to have a few tools with me while I work on some rolling acreage I own. I thought a hitch mounted carrier might work, so I came here to see if I could ask about that. It looks as though several of ya'll have done this. And I think that toolbox setup looks awesome.

Can I simply hook up the the 2 inch receiver that's on the 4500Z and not use any of the optional attachments? In the pictures with the toolbox I see there's a bracket setup at the bottom and some brackets connecting to the ROPS bracket. Seeing that, really helped me to see I might need to think this through more.

Then I see some posts about tank sprayers. Oh my, I was happy to see that, because I have a big need to spray herbicides in many areas.

I guess my main question would be if I could simply hook up a 60 x 24 cargo carrier to the receiver that's on the Ventrac. Would I need to support or secure it in any other way if I carried a full 25 gal tank sprayer on it.

If ya'll could post some pictures of the way you have your's hooked up, I really appreciate it.

 

[zmountaineer]

Mine is probably the one that you've seen with the toolbox. I also use a hitch carrier but with my setup my hitch is raised considerably higher and my hitch carrier has a rise to it as well. Putting a hitch carrier on the low factory point would severely limit you in going up any kind of slope...would probably drag. Even with my raised hitch I drag my hitch ball when starting up anything steep.

My tool box allows me to carry virtually anything I would need. I can put a shovel or weed eater on top and a chainsaw in the box with other tools/chains/fuel. I can set a cooler on top as well. I use the hitch carrier to transport the kiddos around and can hold a sprayer with no problem. But, again, my hitch point is higher.

 

[dialtone]

Being too low and dragging wasn't something that I would have thought about. Not until it happened.

Wow, thank you for that tip. It's an awesome thing to pay attention to.

 

[ChiefBodie]

I have an aluminum cargo carrier from Harbor Freight that uses the 2" hitch receiver. I have it on the Ventrac most of the time.

Sometimes it has a weed eater or chain saw in it. Most of the time I use it to gather debris I do not want to mow over using the Tough Cut. I recently bought the DeWalt battery string trimmer and it rides back there also. I can mow right up to the irrigation sprinklers, jump out and weed eat to finish the job, and be back to mowing without ever killing the engine.

 

[ChiefBodie]

One note: if you use the cargo carrier beware of backing up if there is any slope. I learned this the hard way ... fortunately minor damage.

 

[dialtone]

I appreciate all the replies and tips. I bought a 4 inch AND a 10 in riser/drop receiver adapters. I reversed the 4 inch one so that the carrier wouldn't extend a long way out from the tractor.

I installed them before I bought a carrier. I did notice that the adapter would touch the ground when I maneuvered through some areas with rough terrain. I think I'll be glad that I got both adapters when I finally try out the carrier I just got. I hope I'm happy with the 60x24 carrier I got. I haven't had the time to go out to my property and try it out. Was hoping to do that this weekend, but the weatherman is predicting storms for the next few days.

I'll try to remember to take some pictures and post them when I do get out there.