How long of a trailer do I need

[Whitnel]

I might be picking up a L3240 with a 6' bushhog tomorrow. How long of a trailer do I need to safely get everything home. I have a 16' (14' flat with a 2' dovetrail) that I haul my jeep on but think that will be too short.

I have not see the tractor yet and don't know how long the the tractor with loader and bushhog will be. Can someone help me out with what they use for theirs?

 

[KU Gator]

I would think the best answer is 20'. I trailer my B2920 with FEL and 5' brushhog on a 16' trailer like you have and I have about 18" off the back of the trailer. That is the rear wheel on the brush hog, so I put a flag on it. That is with the bucket of the FEL in the trailer, not up over the tongue. My ramps stow instead of like some that go upright, so the overhang isn't a problem for them, but if I bought again, I would buy an 18' trailer.

If you are going a pretty short way and this is a one time carry, not regularly trailering, you could maybe make it work if you ramps aren't a problem and if you are willing to put the bucket out over the tongue. I don't like that much tongue weight though as that moves the tractor pretty far forward.

Also, again if the trip is not too far, could you make two trips, one with the brush hog and a second with the tractor? But getting the hog off without the FEL might be a problem.

 

[Grandad4]

I might be picking up a L3240 with a 6' bushhog tomorrow. How long of a trailer do I need to safely get everything home. I have a 16' (14' flat with a 2' dovetrail) that I haul my jeep on but think that will be too short.

I have not see the tractor yet and don't know how long the the tractor with loader and bushhog will be. Can someone help me out with what they use for theirs?

The tractor is probably a minimum of 10 feet front to back. A 6 foot cutter is at least 6 feet, plus a couple for the tail wheel. The FEL sticks out about 3 feet in front. That's 21 feet. You'd want some margin to balance the weight... looks like your ideal size is something like a 24 footer! You could make do with less if it's a one-time move... lot's of people do. Bigger issue is you'll be hauling maybe 7,000 lbs of tractor, not counting the trailer, and you'll want a pretty respectable tow vehicle to handle the load safely.

 

[Whitnel]

The tractor is supposed to weigh 3200 to 3700. I think the loader will be about 1000. Don't know how much the cutter is.

I have a F250 with a 7.3 so towing will not be an issue. The trailer has 3500 lb axles under it. If I only pick up the tractor and loader I should be fine. I might buy the cutter at a the local Kubota dealer. That would solve the length issue and cut down on some of the weight.

 

[Grandad4]

There have been threads over the years about Kubota weights being quoted light in the specs. Measured "dry" without fluids and I don't know what all else. It's just a seat of the pants opinion and I could be wrong (hey, it happened once in 1973... I remember it well :laughing, but I think your rig will weigh out something north of 5k, not counting the cutter or other rear attachment. If your trailer has axles for 7k, you'll probably be OK as long as you don't plan on catching air over the railroad crossing :thumbsup: Your 16 footer is definitely going to look overwhelmed.

Congrats. on the new L3240. Great choice! Best of luck with the delivery and as you use it. Pictures are encouraged!

 

[dstig1]

I have an L3130 with loader and no bushhog. It barely fits on my 16'. I wish I had a 20'. You are going to be hanging over even on a 20' with that setup. The other catch is if you have filled rear tires or not. That adds over 1k lbs to it. You will find that to tow that setup regularly, you will be overweight on a 7k trailer, and will need a 10k or bigger to stay under the GVWR of the trailer. Especially with filled rears. And if you are using a loader filed rears are a must, IMHO. Mine clocks in around 8000-8500, including the trailer (10k-16' lowboy dual axle), loader, filled rears and a skidding winch on the 3pt.

Also watch the hitch as with a regular weight carrying hitch setup, you will be over the rating on the receiver, if it is the stock Ford one. Double check that as they are rated 5k weight carrying, but a lot more (mine is like 11-12k) with a weight distributing hitch setup. I use a WD setup, but you could also buy a higher rated receiver instead.

To give you an idea what I mean on the length see below. There is nothing on the hitch (edit- I meant on the 3pt) but a set of forks is sitting at the front of the trailer (right side in photo):

 

[Whitnel]

Thanks guys.
It loooks like I will be loading it like dstig1 has his. With the back being a dovetail the loader should be able to sit flat on it.
Loaded tires were not mentioned on the ad but would be nice if there were already filled. It is something I will be looking into.
I will also be looking for a larger trailer in the future. A 20+5 gooseneck would be nice. I have always wanted one I could put a camper on the front and haul the jeep for weekend trips then take the camper off and haul a larger load as necessary.

 

[dstig1]

You could always put the BH in the bed of the truck, or on another vehicle for the trip home. No way it will fit on the 3 pt if you back it on like I do in the pic. You can make do if it is just one trip home, as long as everything is safely secured and within GVWR, GCWR etc. If you are doing it all the time, then yeah you will need something much bigger.

The other thing to watch is balance. I can put mine in one spot only and cannot adjust to tweak the tongue weight at all. A longer trailer allows you room to do that.

I really think you will need to detach the BH for the trip home, unless you rent/borrow a much bigger trailer.

 

[PapaPerk]

You need a 20 footer. I have an 18 but the hog hangs of the back at least 2 feet.

You can always make two trips. One for the tractor and then one for the hog. U can unload the hog with your new tractor by backing up the trailer ramps and hooking up the 3 point.

Good luck!