No Need to Trailer when hauling tractor?

[BTDT]

Ah, not so!! You haven't ruined anything. I ask a simple question about diesel running high/low altitude, 8 pages later they are still debating it. QUOTE]

did you ever find the answer you wanted?

I have several pages to choose from, and I have a diesel Ford 1300, runs fine where I am (South of Dallas). Due to problem I had with a 2 stroke motorcycle not running as well at the coast (Gulf of Mexico,Corpus Christi), I was just curious if a diesel would experience the same problem. I guess I could pick and choose according to which side of fence I wanted to be on. Made for some lively discussion though.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

It appears to be a NH Scut with a loader. As I said earlier in the post, it weighs 1885-1894 dry.
The lightest payload capacity listed for a GM 1/2 ton is 1952lbs. 1/2 ton GM payload goes well into the 2000lbs range on some models. The 1952lbs is the lowest rated payload of the GM line.
This tractor is 58lbs less than the lowest 1/2 ton payload rating. Add in the drivers weight and fluids and he is probably no more than 200lbs over the payload rating.
[EDIT: Actually I miss read. The payload for the short box 1500 is the highest (1952), because its the lightest model. The payload for the larger 1/2 ton trucks is less. It goes over 2000 for the 3/4 ton trucks.]
Is it heavy for that truck, Sure it is.
Is it dangerous, I guess anything is dangerous in the wrong hands, but just based on the numbers, I dont see a real danger. I also dont see the tires blowing out or the brakes not being adequate. I also dont believe that load is unstable and I dont believe the front end is "floating". It looks to me like the front end has just as much weight on it after the tractor is loaded as it did before it was loaded.
Those are my thoughts, you dont have to agree, I expect most wont agree, thats fine, i appreciate that. What I dont appreciate is someone attempting to belittle my judgement by touting their many, many years of "claimed" experience when they know nothing more and nothing less than I about the truck, the driver, the tractor or the situation in general.
My appologies for contributing in ruining this thread.

You got SOME of it right.(albiet not a lot) While NEITHER of us are qualified as an expert in the field, I HAVE SEEN FIRST HAND from just a few feet behind, what can happen when you take even a marginally safe load out on public roads. YOU may be a "professional driver" who never makes mistakes and is simpley superior to every driver on the road. What if you cross paths with the WORST driver on the road who disregards the fact that you need increased stopping distance? Why take the chance? Isn't pushing saftey limits right to the brink something a LESS THAN SAFE driver would do? MAYBE the tires will hold. MAYBE the brakes will be adaquate for all the stops you have to make while loaded. MAYBE all of us "average" drivers will be off the road and out of the way. MAYBE the truck will make it all the way home without incident. Or MAYBE not

Pull the trigger, the gun only has one round in it........

 

[JimWalch]

Might have to try this with my 3/4 Chevy to haul my BX23 -Just had my trailer stolen Saturday morning.

 

[daTeacha]

That's never a good thing. Taken from your property or elsewhere? Insured against theft?

 

[john_bud]

i see guys with riding lawnmowers in the backs of there trucks all the time, dont see how this one is diffrent.... (little tinny subcompact want-a-be)

Kaaa-Zing! Ouch! That one hurt. Glad I have a "real" tractor. Uh, well not when sitting next to a Ford 7610 or a Big M series Kubota or....

jb

 

[JimWalch]

That's never a good thing. Taken from your property or elsewhere? Insured against theft?

Yes from my property and on surveillance cameras. Should be covered BUT we will see after the claims people get done with me. I haven't filed any claims for over 26 years. (Knock on wood) Just one that pays and pays and pays ...................

 

[RayH]

You got SOME of it right.(albiet not a lot) While NEITHER of us are qualified as an expert in the field, I HAVE SEEN FIRST HAND from just a few feet behind, what can happen when you take even a marginally safe load out on public roads. YOU may be a "professional driver" who never makes mistakes and is simpley superior to every driver on the road. What if you cross paths with the WORST driver on the road who disregards the fact that you need increased stopping distance? Why take the chance? Isn't pushing saftey limits right to the brink something a LESS THAN SAFE driver would do? MAYBE the tires will hold. MAYBE the brakes will be adaquate for all the stops you have to make while loaded. MAYBE all of us "average" drivers will be off the road and out of the way. MAYBE the truck will make it all the way home without incident. Or MAYBE not

Pull the trigger, the gun only has one round in it........

"Never makes mistakes", "superior", I dont remember saying that. Im far from it. Thats why Im so careful, I constantly remind myself how easy it would be for me to make an error that could cost someone their life. 80000lbs of steel rolling at 60MPH is not very forgiving.
I hate to be the one to tell you this but You have alot more to worry about on the roads than the occasional overloaded pickup truck.
Your basic tractor/trailer takes about 70ft longer to come to a stop from 55MPH than your average passenger car or light truck. Not only is a semi truck not able to stop near as well as a car, its also alot less manuaverable, It doesnt take much to tip one over or to put one into a skid, as you can imagine. With that information in mind, the roads must be horrifying for you.
Yet Tractor/trailers are driven safely every day, millions of miles a day and a lower percentage of semis are involved in accidents than the percentage of autos.
My point is that with a driver behind the wheel that is aware of his vehicles capability, just about anything (within reason) can be operated safely. The little pickup with less than a ton in its bed is no exception. I would venture a guess that even with that load, it can out manuaver and out stop a loaded tractor/trailer.
My perspective is ,if I (and millions of other truck drivers) can safely drive an 80000lbs tractor/trailer 2000 miles a week, this guy should be able to manage 30 miles a couple times per year in his pickup with 1900lbs in it without causing a huge (if any) risk to the motoring public.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

"Never makes mistakes", "superior", I dont remember saying that. Im far from it. Thats why Im so careful, I constantly remind myself how easy it would be for me to make an error that could cost someone their life. 80000lbs of steel rolling at 60MPH is not very forgiving.
I hate to be the one to tell you this but You have alot more to worry about on the roads than the occasional overloaded pickup truck.
Your basic tractor/trailer takes about 70ft longer to come to a stop from 55MPH than your average passenger car or light truck. Not only is a semi truck not able to stop near as well as a car, its also alot less manuaverable, It doesnt take much to tip one over or to put one into a skid, as you can imagine. With that information in mind, the roads must be horrifying for you.
Yet Tractor/trailers are driven safely every day, millions of miles a day and a lower percentage of semis are involved in accidents than the percentage of autos.
My point is that with a driver behind the wheel that is aware of his vehicles capability, just about anything (within reason) can be operated safely. The little pickup with less than a ton in its bed is no exception. I would venture a guess that even with that load, it can out manuaver and out stop a loaded tractor/trailer.
My perspective is ,if I (and millions of other truck drivers) can safely drive an 80000lbs tractor/trailer 2000 miles a week, this guy should be able to manage 30 miles a couple times per year in his pickup with 1900lbs in it without causing a huge (if any) risk to the motoring public.

And MY point is, why tempt fate with something that ISN'T always safe in most normal conditions?

On the way to work this morning, I passed a rolled over semi being righted. It was run off the road by someone who had missed their exit ramp and TRIED to cross over 4 lanes at one time to catch that ramp. Semi driver might possibly have been the best there is for all we know. How did that help him? It didn't. Even with a safe load, things don't always go "your way". If some idiot pulled in front of a semi, do you suppose he would be more considerate of someone in a pick-up truck hauling a tractor? You want to express your opinion "in a perfect world scenario". Ain't happenin'.

With what you're saying, that pick-up MIGHT be able to go 30 miles without incident, IF and only IF..... it has a highly skilled driver at the wheel, and NO ONE gets in his way. And "might be able to" isn't the standard I'd like to see on the same highway as my wife and kids.

I'm not totally oblivious to trucks and their stopping distances. That isn't news to anyone. The roads and those on it AREN'T horrifying to me. What is horrifying is the idea that someone who makes the claim to be a "professional driver" condones doing something so blatantly dangerous. Makes me wonder just who is in those semis......And if they really are as qualifiied as they claim.

 

[Dargo]

And MY point is, why tempt fate with something that ISN'T always safe in most normal conditions?

You know, there are a lot of things I have done in the past that I'd never consider doing now. Besides the ever present threat of a law suit over anything, the simple fact of knowing that I'm pushing limits is now enough to make me realize that I shouldn't do something. I used to way overload my trailer; I bought a bigger trailer. I used to use straps to tie my tractor down on my trailer; I now only use U.S. made grade 70 chain and binders. I used to way overload my pickup; I bought a bigger pickup. Those are things that are not only dangerous to me, but everyone else on the road. I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. The odds are pretty strong that sooner or later, no matter how "careful" (in my book, you are not actually careful at all in some of these situations, but rather reckless) you are, it's going to either bite you or someone else around you; maybe both. Plain and simple, it's just not worth it.

 

[Highbeam]

I'm with Ray, you need to strike a reasonable balance as to which risks you are willing to take each day. If you take none, then you might as well stay home in a bubble. Too many and you'll be dead or kill someone else.

Everybody's balance point is different and I believe that it changes with experience.

If that truck was loaded with proper DOT tie downs and within all the various ratings that GM thought would be adequate for the life of the truck, then the load is fine and legal. A lousy driver could wreck that truck even if it was empty. An experienced hauler could drive it across the country. In any case, a third party hoodlum could rear end the truck through no fault of the truck's driver.