Loading 3520 on trailer

[LHS Inc]

I'll be spreading 1 ton of lime and 300 lbs of fert tomorrow with my 3520 and I want to carry everything in one trip. I had to buy 40 bags of 50 lb lime and 6 bags of 50 fert and I can't fit it all on the trailer with the tractor. I was thinking of filling up the spreader with about half the lime and whatever the bucket will hold. I should be able to carry the rest on the trailer. I'm not going to put any in the bed of the truck, I can't stand to see a truck sagged down in the back.

My question is one of safety. With the bucket loaded and the spreader loaded should I back on the trailer or drive forward. I'm guessing about 800-900 lbs on the back and the bucket would be 200-250 lbs. Trailer is rated for 10,000 lbs. Thanks.

 

[om21braz]

Depending upon your trailer length, pull truck & hitch type - it probably does'nt make much difference. You should be well within the confines of a 10k trailer with room to spare if the trailer does not weigh more than 3k.

 

[dmay]

The key is the combination of your truck, hitch and trailer specs. What size truck, what class and type of hitch, what type of trailer do you have? Then make sure you position your load so that you are within your truck, hitch and trailer maximum trailer and tongue weight specifications.

Trailer Hitch Classes

If you have a one ton truck and a gooseneck hitch you should not have any problem pulling a loaded 3520 on a 10000 GTW trailer.

If you have a 1/2 ton truck and a rear receiver or step bumper, well I'd say you don't have enough truck and hitch capacity to safely pull your intended load.

 

[ch47dpilot]

However you load the trailer make sure you have sufficient tongue weight. If you have to little or none the trailer will start to fishtail. From somebody who has learned his lesson it's not a fun time especially if the truck and trailer are similar weights. You don't know who's in charge the truck or trailer.

 

[danedgington]

I can't tell you for your exact set up (to your question fwd or backward). If you can back on and then still keep the majority of the weight over the axles and keep your tongue weight correct I would do that. Twice I have seen someone going foward up the ramps with a heavy rear and end up looking straight at the sky...

 

[megaboz]

I'll be spreading 1 ton of lime and 300 lbs of fert tomorrow with my 3520 and I want to carry everything in one trip. I had to buy 40 bags of 50 lb lime and 6 bags of 50 fert and I can't fit it all on the trailer with the tractor. I was thinking of filling up the spreader with about half the lime and whatever the bucket will hold. I should be able to carry the rest on the trailer. I'm not going to put any in the bed of the truck, I can't stand to see a truck sagged down in the back.

My question is one of safety. With the bucket loaded and the spreader loaded should I back on the trailer or drive forward. I'm guessing about 800-900 lbs on the back and the bucket would be 200-250 lbs. Trailer is rated for 10,000 lbs. Thanks.

Best thing to do is pull it on one way and see how much it drops, turn it around and see how much it drops. Then pick between the two.

Or load all the bags onto the front of the trailer, pull the tractor on, set the bucket on tops of the bags.

As for a sagging truck, get some air helper springs in the future, not a bad investment if you do a lot of heavy towing in the first place.

Either way, measure the drop of your bumper just to see which way balances the load the best.