How far is too far for driving tractor on the road?

[paulsharvey]

I have run my baby Kioti about 1.5 miles several times on the county road, no big deal. I have ran a JD-310 back hoe probably 10 miles down a 65mph US Hwy, and I have ran a JD-544H front-end loader probably 15 miles down a 45/55mph county road. Many contractor (and your local county) run motor graders 25+ miles routinely. Peanut harvest caravans run all over. Even with a top speed of say 25mph, every peice of equipment I've been on gets squirrelly around 18mph, and bounce you to death.

 

[RayIN]

In my state-Indiana, any vehicle displaying a SMV sign or backing up traffic where there are 7 vehicles following; must pull off the road and allow backed up traffic to pass.
How would that figure into driving your tractor 43 miles?
Heck, I'd never try that, and my tractors top speed is 31MPH according the chart on the fender.

 

[rockinbbar]

Rural farm areas should be relatively safe to road your tractor on.

Here, it's very common, as lots of folks are on the road with tractors.

I road my tractors just about everywhere. That said, both of mine will run faster than I feel comfortable running them... They will run 30mph down the road, but it better be very smooth. (I usually run 23-24mph on a smooth topped paved road.)

Can get my tractor to the next location faster that way than loading it on a trailer and messing with that whole process.

 

[mark in portugal]

The original question does not define what is meant by "tractor".
Some are made to be road legal and some are not; some even have suspension to allow higher transport speeds.

Tractors are driving down the road past my rural house all the time.

My tractor is road legal and I have insurance for that too. Still, the farthest I've gone is around 10 miles to the tractor repair shop.

Usually there are different rules for highways than for local roads; bicycles, horses, tractors, etc.

 

[Yander]

If we are talking country roads with moderate to light traffic try it once, the only way to know.

If it isn't a cab tractor, make sure you have plenty of clothing if you're going to do it when it's cool.

The farthest I've done is 20 miles on my tractor at about 15 mph. It wasn't that bad. Kind of enjoyed it. But that's country roads with light traffic.

No way would I do it in heavy traffic or a busy state route.

 

[LouNY]

In my state-Indiana, any vehicle displaying a SMV sign or backing up traffic where there are 7 vehicles following; must pull off the road and allow backed up traffic to pass.
How would that figure into driving your tractor 43 miles?
Heck, I'd never try that, and my tractors top speed is 31MPH according the chart on the fender.

If that's the MF listed on your bio that 31 must be kph you would be lucky to get 17-18 miles per hour on flat ground.
Also I do believe that the must pull over is only when safe to do so, with adequate room.

 

[dieselscout80]

I drove a new IH 1480 combine about 40 miles to deliver it (no header) it would not do 14 mph unless going downhill. It took about 3hrs as I recall.

The 1480’s tires were wider than the wings on our drop deck trailer. The trailer was used to deliver its 30’ header.

 

[DarkBlack]

Where I live folks generally give wide berth to tractors, joggers, walkers, bicycles, etc. It's apparently just a thing here. At the same time some folks don't. But what does the state say about driving that far? I called the Washington State Patrol about driving my tractor on the road. I was told that if I was driving from one gate to another that goes to my property, and that if the property was contiguous along the road, that I would be OK. But driving from one property that I own to another that I own but that are not connected, was illegal. I remarked that I see tractors driving on the county roads on a regular basis that I know are not going from one end of their property to another. The WSP guy said that they are breaking the law and are subject to traffic fines. But I wonder how often this really happens, a tractor getting a ticket. I suppose if a WSP officer saw a tractor making regular long trips they might ask questions. Different states have different rules so it might be good to check.
Eric

You also need to have the more expensive on-road diesel fuel in your tractor to “road” it

 

[bigtiller]

You also need to have the more expensive on-road diesel fuel in your tractor to “road” it

Maybe in your state but not in Iowa.

 

[paulsharvey]

Ok, back to the main point, 43 miles at 12 mph is gonna be a Long ride, 4 times. Uhaul, a car trailer is only like $80 for the day. His machine should be sub 5000 lbs, and he can tow it with a RAV4 or a Crown Vic. Just don't bring "tractor" up when they ask what you are towing, just tell them a 1993 GEO tracker, if the sales guy asks.

Also, it's a rental, so weight rating is a very vague, general suggestion, it says 5280 lbs, but I wouldn't be afraid to put 7500# on it.