Hauling a Mahindra Max 28

John32369 · Mar 6, 2015

I have just recently purchased a Mahindra Max 28 with a FEL and a backhoe, now I'm in the market for something to haul it with. I was original offered a trailer with 7 thousand pound axels by the person that sold me the tractor but when I came back I was told by another person that that was too light duty of a trailer and the axels would bow eventually and they said I needed a trailer with 10 thousand pound axels. Which would be the best for my needs?

travlitt · Mar 6, 2015

John32369 said:
I have just recently purchased a Mahindra Max 28 with a FEL and a backhoe, now I'm in the market for something to haul it with. I was original offered a trailer with 7 thousand pound axels by the person that sold me the tractor but when I came back I was told by another person that that was too light duty of a trailer and the axels would bow eventually and they said I needed a trailer with 10 thousand pound axels. Which would be the best for my needs?

A trailer with 7 thousand lb. axles will give you 14 thousand total capacity. Your equipment weighs less that 4500 lbs. The trailer would have more than enough capacity to transport your equipment.

This is my trailer and it has 8,000 lb. axles under it.

s219 · Mar 6, 2015

For a Max 28, you can do fine with a 7K gross (i.e. tandem 3500# axles) trailer. I'd get one at least 16' long, if not 18'. That will leave you with approximately 5000-5500# payload capacity, which is way more than the Max weighs even fully equipped.

I have hauled similar and larger tractors on my 16' tandem axle landscape trailer with 7K gross, and have plenty of margin. I use up all the available length in order to balance the load for good tongue weight.

A landscape trailer is probably fine for a Max, but for larger/heavier tractors you would want ramps, as rear gates on landscapers have their limits. So consider going up to an equipment hauler or car hauler with ramps if you see any heavier tractors in your future. A rear gate was fine for my B2920, but I use ramps or drive on directly when loading my heavier L3200.

May also want to factor in your tow vehicle and what it can pull when making a decision.

Good luck!

s219 · Mar 6, 2015

travlitt said:
A trailer with 7 thousand lb. axles will give you 14 thousand total capacity. Your equipment weighs less that 4500 lbs. The trailer would have more than enough capacity to transport your equipment.

I assume he was talking 7K gross, as 14K (even 10K) gross is way overkill for a Max 28.

Texas Dawg · Mar 6, 2015

The following is from TractorData.com

Tractor 1863
FEL 627
Backhoe 903
Total Weight 3393
Most equipment like trailers have a pretty conservative useful load rating so what you are proposing sounds very reasonable. I have a Max 28XL Shuttle that I tow on a Texas Bragg 16 foot twin axle trailer with the FEL and BH on it with no problem. When I brought it home from the dealer, I also had a 5 foot brush mower and a 5 foot box blade on the trailer as well w/o any problems (other than some very tedious positioning and repositioning to make every thing fit).

John32369 · Mar 6, 2015

So the 7k trailer would work best?

Texas Dawg · Mar 6, 2015

I agree with the others that anything more would just be overkill. If the prices are close however, I would get the heavier duty trailer, because you never know what you will want to haul in the future. If there is a huge price gap, I would get the 7K and feel very comfortable with it.

LD1 · Mar 6, 2015

John32369 said:
So the 7k trailer would work best?

Not really a "best". Either will do the job. The 7k will be a little lighter, and probably a little cheaper to put tags on. But upgrading to a 10k may only cost a little more money now. Do you ever have plans on towing anything else that could weigh more? Load of logs? Pallets of bricks? Full-sized truck?

George2615 · Mar 6, 2015

Yes, as mentioned, your max 28 will weigh in about 3500 lbs or less. even with adding 1000 lbs of attachments you're still at 4500 or less for which a 7K trailer (2-3500 lb axles) would easily handle. Just make sure you get one long enough for your tractor, loader, and any attachment you may haul.
I had a 20' 7K trailer. My Mahindra 2615 HST with loader and brush hog would max out at 20' so there was no room to move forward or back to adjust tongue weight. I've since outgrown the 7K trailer so I had to sell it and bought a 22' 14K trailer.