Hydro Tractor Size for Pulling Water Wagon

[MickeyDBC]

It looks like it is going to be another dry year around here so I am building a water wagon for watering about 250 young trees. Trailer is a single axle dual rear wheel with electric brakes and a 750 gallon tank. Estimated dry weight is about 1600 pounds and fully loaded about 7800 pounds. 250+ start/stop cycles a weekend will be rough on my shuttle shift 7320 plus harder to see out of the cab (there will be an operator not especially used to a clutch - automatic as it is). 90% of the land is flat, the other 10 percent is not too bad so the wagon can be run emptier. I would like to get an open station hydro tractor to handle these duties but wondering about the size needed. The Kioti dealer thought something around 40HP would be a good size, but double checking with others is always a good idea. A second smaller utility tractor would also be handy around here. Any good thoughts or inputs on this plan?

 

[arrow]

It isn't so much HP as the weight of the machine. Nowadays it seems to go hand in hand that tractor frame size equates with hp figures with 40 hp and more stepping up to a larger frame. I mean you can move that water wagon with 14 hp in a 4000 lb tractor. That unit will outwork (pulling applications) a 38 hp tractor weighing 1900 lbs.
You don't need hp as much as you need weight for starting AND stopping.
The second frame size up Kioti from their "compact" tractor lineup should work fine.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I think a 40 hp Kioti will be fine. They make their tractors heavy just like Branson does.

I would keep it in 4x4 most of the time, so you have "brakes" on front and rear axles. May consider filling the rear tires, to give you more mass to help counter act any shoving around the trailer does to you when full. I've shoved around similar weighted tractors with my Branson, but they were longer and probably wider. I would definitely rig up a hitch from your draw bar, and NOT the 3 pt arms from your 3 pt hitch. Will be MUCH more stable that way.

 

[DieselBound]

40hp sounds reasonable. I was towing a dump trailer loaded with material with a combined weight upwards of 12k lbs behind my NX5510: most was down hill, down a road, a little incline and some on the flats. It would grunt a bit taking off, but once cranked up no issue.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

It looks like it is going to be another dry year around here so I am building a water wagon for watering about 250 young trees. Trailer is a single axle dual rear wheel with electric brakes and a 750 gallon tank. Estimated dry weight is about 1600 pounds and fully loaded about 7800 pounds. 250+ start/stop cycles a weekend will be rough on my shuttle shift 7320 plus harder to see out of the cab (there will be an operator not especially used to a clutch - automatic as it is). 90% of the land is flat, the other 10 percent is not too bad so the wagon can be run emptier. I would like to get an open station hydro tractor to handle these duties but wondering about the size needed. The Kioti dealer thought something around 40HP would be a good size, but double checking with others is always a good idea. A second smaller utility tractor would also be handy around here. Any good thoughts or inputs on this plan?

Horsepower is not what matters. If you try to move/stop an 8000lb trailer with a 1500lb tractor you are asking for trouble. This is pickup truck work. Go buy and old beat up farm truck. Then you have a also bed for tools, accessories, etc.

 

[MESSMAKER]

Going over a grade on wet grass pulling a heavy wagon with a small tractor is, or at least can be, scary as hell.

 

[arrow]

Horsepower is not what matters. If you try to move/stop an 8000lb trailer with a 1500lb tractor you are asking for trouble.

Your first assertion is correct.Your second assertion is also correct but is not his case.
He can make his Kioti comparable to the weight of a half ton p.u.
Load the tires, fel and some other stuff and he approaches 5000 lbs.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

Going over a grade on wet grass pulling a heavy wagon with a small tractor is, or at least can be, scary as hell.

Yep. It's a good way to kill yourself.

 

[TCowner]

My two boys and I had cut about a half of a hay rack of oak firewood and were going down a slight incline in a cow pasture with my New Holland TC40D on grass wet from the previous night's rain. The tractor had the industrial tires which as many of us know aren't the best in the these conditions. The tractor and wagon started to slide so I instructed the boys to jump off as I didn't know how this was going to end. I eventually ended the slide but not before I twisted the wagon tongue and bent one of the tie rods.

So yes, for about 30 seconds (seemed like an hour) I wasn't sure I would survive.

 

[oosik]

My Kubota M6040 when set up to pull my farm wagon will weigh right around 9000 pounds. My farm wagon weighs 1200 pounds empty. I've had the farm wagon loaded with pine logs. Trailer plus logs = 16,000 pounds. It's OK on the flat portions of my property. I will NEVER go down the driveway with the wagon that heavily loaded. There is a valley that my driveway crosses. Into and out of this valley is a real nightmare - even with the tractor in 4WD. I did it once - never again.