Equipment Trailer Question

[deere5105]

I have been watching and looking for a deal on a used trailer. Minimum length is 20' and a minimum of 12K rating. I am not looking for stand up ramps as I am concerned they will get in the way of longer loads hanging over the end. My MX6 cutter with FEL installed is about 24' in length. This would be the longest anticipated load. I found this 22' trailer rated for 14K on craigslist. I like the over the fender style. Can pull 8' disk on this trailer without having to let it hang off the back. Asking price on this unit is $2450. I am a little concerned about the pintle hitch. Will be towing JD 5303 MFWD with Ford F150. 5303 is a recent purchase and towed it approximately 400 miles with this truck and borrowed car hauler style trailer. Had no problems pulling it. Looking for some feed back on this style trailer. Will try to post side pictures. File currently too large. Thanks.

 

[Diamondpilot]

That is a lot of trailer for a F-150. I have no doubt a newer one will do the job if equipped right so if the trailer is decent and the price is right jump on it. I would offer $2000 cash. If he does not take it walk and he will be calling you by the end of the day.

Chris

 

[Dmace]

You can get a hitch ball that will accept a pintle hitch for your truck's 2" receiver. I like these because you can still use it with a traditional 2" trailer coupler as well as a pintle hitch.

What I don't get is why you want a 12k-14k trailer to haul behind a F-150 that probably has a tow rating of 8-10k lbs...
If you need that much trailer to haul your tractor then your probably overloading the truck. Also, you should find the weight of the trailer since a trailer like that is probably over 2,000lbs empty leaving you with little left of that towing capacity for the load.
Deck-over's are nice since you get the extra width and no fenders to worry about but they also tend to be 12-20" higher than traditional trailers making your load top heavy and more apt to sway, plus harder to load since the ramps will be either steeper or longer.

IMO, I think that's too much trailer for a 1/2-ton truck, it won't tow as easily as a car hauler type and will be heavier.

 

[Verticaltrx]

I agree with others that its too much trailer for your truck. Not sure how that trailer is setup, but most pintle hitch trailers put a lot of tongue weight on the truck. Even on a trailer like that 1000-2000lbs of tongue weight isn't out of the question. Great for a heavy 1-ton or 2-ton truck but not a half ton. I would look for a bigger truck to haul that tractor regardless of the trailer.

 

[deere5105]

Just run some numbers and used an estimated 1000 lbs for JD 522 FEL since I don't know the exact weight. Tractor, loader and loaded rear 16.9-28 tires comes to approximately 7300 lbs. My truck is rated for 10,000 lbs. I don't do a lot of towing and don't plan to with this trailer/tractor/truck combination. I would not expect to travel more than 20 miles one way for 95% of the expected use. I wanted to buy a trailer one time and not have to upgrade later. I do however expect to be replacing my truck periodically and thought that if I had a problem with the tow vehicle that I could address that then. I considered a truck upgrade, but honestly don't tow enough to justify it. I had no problems towing this tractor up some pretty good grades on the 400 mile trip home on a 18' 12K rated car hauler. If this was a ball hitch trailer I wouldn't be concerned. I just have never dealt with the pintle type and have always thought they seemed heavier on the tongue weight.

 

[Egon]

The pintle hitch can be removed and a ball type hitch weld on in it's place.

 

[Bikewanderer]

I have been watching and looking for a deal on a used trailer. Minimum length is 20' and a minimum of 12K rating. I am not looking for stand up ramps as I am concerned they will get in the way of longer loads hanging over the end. My MX6 cutter with FEL installed is about 24' in length. This would be the longest anticipated load. I found this 22' trailer rated for 14K on craigslist. I like the over the fender style. Can pull 8' disk on this trailer without having to let it hang off the back. Asking price on this unit is $2450. I am a little concerned about the pintle hitch. Will be towing JD 5303 MFWD with Ford F150. 5303 is a recent purchase and towed it approximately 400 miles with this truck and borrowed car hauler style trailer. Had no problems pulling it. Looking for some feed back on this style trailer. Will try to post side pictures. File currently too large. Thanks.

A few things:

1) Stand up ramps usually have a leg that goes onto the ground to support itself when loading equipment on it. When loading heavy equipment you NEED to support the back of the trailer somehow. I broke my old trailer in half loading a skid steer. I now have removeable stand up ramps and just got a longer trailer to solve the problem you mentioned.

2) You need a long trailer with equipment. Short trailers don't have many places to tie down and especially with an undersized tow vehicle getting proper tongue weight will be very important. I can fudge a bit with my dually and tongue weight - you can't. Make sure it's plenty long to allow you to get chains on it at the proper places. Remember you can't chain across the wheel wheel.

3) I paid $3295 for a 20' lamar 14k gvwr trailer brand new with spare tire and LED lights in the spring. Your $2495 might be worth it, but if the brakes are shot you'll spend every dime of the money you saved and still have an old trailer.

4) I hope you're not towing far with that truck. You'll be playing near 10k lbs.

 

[rd_macgregor]

The trailer looks like it has a couple of supports for the back during loading, though they might be better if they were swing-up (so they don't get whacked off if you go through a sharp dip).
I agree about replacing the pintle with a welded on ball hitch.
BOB

 

[VTFireftr]

If your trailer is over 10K pounds, your will need a CDL A to transport anything!

And that is way too large a load for and F-150.

Good luck.

 

[deere5105]

I do realize the load is at the limits of the tow vehicle. I do not anticipate more than 100 miles annual towing with this set up. I want to insure that the trailer is capable of handling the load and if down the road see I need a larger truck address it then. This trailer is about 7 hours and 450 miles away. Most everything in this size is around $4500 new locally. Figured 12K as a minimum, but if a 14K used could be had for a deal then consider it. This one worth fooling with or keep looking?