Good tilt-bed trailer rental experience.

milkman636 · Aug 19, 2013

My dad turned 82 last week and both he and his old Ford tractor are in need of some TLC. He hasn't been able to get his fields mowed this year. After talking to him about what his tractor needed I got the idea to rent a trailer and haul my little tractor over.

Sunbelt Rentals rented me an 18 Felling FT-10-IT-I tilt bed trailer for the weekend for a grand total of $78.02. That was an all-inclusive price that included the pintle hitch, chains, binders, taxes, and their rental protection? I picked it up on Friday afternoon and dropped it off Monday morning.

The trailer was sweet, and the tilt-bed is a very nice feature for this drive-on/drive-off type of hauling.

I am attaching a couple pics here to satisfy the burden of proof required by our unofficial bylaws:thumbsup:.

It was my first time ever trailering my tractor and everything went smooth and according to plan. The CT335 worked great, the mowing got done, and the kids got to spend a day with Grandma and Grandpa. All was well in my world this weekend. Now to figure out when I can get back there to get my dad's tractor running before snow flies this winter.

With all the busyness in our lives we live too far apart for me to be a regular help to my parents. I never would have imagined myself getting home-sick in my 40's.

milkman636 · Aug 19, 2013

For any detail oriented types out there here is the rundown on performance:

The tow vehicle is a 2007 E-350 powered by a 5.4 with 3.73 gears. The 16’ version of the trailer weighs 2800 lbs. according to Felling’s website, and the tractor with loader and ballasted tires weighs in at 5600#. With 4 chains and binders (and a chair on the return trip) I figure the towed weight at 8500 lbs. The van weighs 6100 lbs. empty and was loaded with my family of 9 and our overnight stuff. Total GCW probably fell somewhere in between 15,500 and 16,000 lbs.

It’s about 150 loaded miles each way of basically flat-land towing. Fuel economy for the trip was 10.7 mpg. Making this same trip in the summer non-towing the van will normally get between 15-16 mpg.

ddivinia · Aug 19, 2013

The more I see them - I want a tilt bed.

D.

milkman636 · Aug 19, 2013

They are slick. Pull one safety pin and push down the release lever, then hop the the tractor and drive toward the back and let gravity tilt the deck down against the cushion cylinders.

Loading is simply drive up the ramp slowly until gravity tilts the deck down and the latch catches. Put the safety pin back in the trip lever and chain the load. Nothing heavy to lift or stow.

It took a couple adjustments on the first loading to get the tongue weight where it felt right for highway speeds, but loading for the return trip was easy because I visibly marked the deck where the loader sat after getting right.