Once again...BX24 Weight

[Skyco]

Put another way: I would absolutely, positively, under no circumstances whatsoever, feel comfortable with my $20,000 machine in a rented trailer with a capacity of 2,500#. No way, no how. Just too small.

I'll second that!

 

[LBrown59]

I just re-did someones driveway for them yesterday. I dropped the tractor off, un-chaining it in about 3 minutes, went to the quarry and picked up 3 tons of stone, unloaded and spread the 3 tons of stone in about 20 minutes, then spent 30 minutes dressing the driveway with the box blade, then loaded the tractor, properly chaining it down in under 5 minutes. The whole thing, including picking up the stone, took about 2 hours. *If I wasn't able to unload the stone with my tractor, I'd spend 2 backbreaking hours just getting the stone off the trailer.

*How do you unload the trailer with the tractor.?

 

[BXpanded]

*How do you unload the trailer with the tractor.?

I don't know how Keithinspace does it, but I remove the rear gate, approach the trailer from the rear, backdrag the material off onto the ground until I have a "ramp" that lets me drive the tractor up on the trailer. Then I just grab it and go! Repair the "ramp" as necessary until the trailer is empty. Pull the trailer forward, pick the material up from the ground and I'm done.

 

[Volfandt]

How do you unload the trailer with the tractor.?

This is one way I unload my 6'X12' trailer.

 

[LBrown59]

I don't know how Keithinspace does it, but *I remove the rear gate, approach the trailer from the rear, backdrag the material off onto the ground until I have a "ramp" that lets me drive the tractor up on the trailer. Then I just grab it and go! Repair the "ramp" as necessary until the trailer is empty. Pull the trailer forward, pick the material up from the ground and I'm done.

That's one way

 

[KeithInSpace]

This is one way I unload my 6'X12' trailer.

Yup, something like that. When I had the 'cheesegrater' rear gate (on my previous 5' x 10' trailer), I had to fortify it with some angle and 2 x 12's or my tractor wheels would just punch right through. Even then, I was not successful unloading it with my machine. I don't recall why...perhaps I just didn't like how it pulled up on the ball every time (no support legs on the ramp like on my big trailer) and worried that something was going to fail catastrophically. Always seems to with me. Don't know why.

With the dovetail, my problem is that the deck is quite a bit higher than Mr. Volfandt's trailer. The fold-down ramps are too steep and the rear implement drags on the ground (BH or box blade). So I have two "approach ramps" out of 2 x 12's that I carry around with the trailer. They get me up in the air a little so I can 'make the turn' without dragging anything on the ground. It ends up working pretty well. I just climb up in there and scoop away.

I have it down to where I can sneak in at a bit of an angle and even scoop everything in the corners along the way and just leave myself with a small scoop at the front of the trailer.

Someday I'll get some high-capacity aluminum ramps to replace my wood approach ramps. They'd look nicer, anyway. And the wood is a little heavy.

 

[LBrown59]

Yup, something like that. When I had the 'cheesegrater' rear gate (on my previous 5' x 10' trailer), I had to fortify it with some angle and 2 x 12's or my tractor wheels would just punch right through. Even then, I was not successful unloading it with my machine. I don't recall why...perhaps

1*I just didn't like how it pulled up on the ball every time (no support legs on the ramp like on my big trailer) and worried that something was going to fail catastrophically.

With the dovetail, my problem is that the deck is quite a bit higher than Mr. Volfandt's trailer. The fold-down ramps are too steep and the rear implement drags on the ground (BH or box blade). So I have two "approach ramps" out of 2 x 12's that I carry around with the trailer. They get me up in the air a little so I can 'make the turn' without dragging anything on the ground. It ends up working pretty well. I just climb up in there and scoop away.
I have it down to where I can sneak in at a bit of an angle and even scoop everything in the corners along the way and just leave myself with a small scoop at the front of the trailer.
Someday I'll get some high-capacity aluminum ramps to replace my wood approach ramps. They'd look nicer, anyway.

2*And the wood is a little heavy.

3* I have two "approach ramps" out of 2 x 12's that I carry around with the trailer.

~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~
1*If the trailer would happen to come off the ball it wouldn't be very nice.
2*I have two 12'' wide 2'' thick Oak planks.
3*How long are these planks?
Mine are 8 feet long.
They are a full 12 inches wide and a full 2 inches thick not 11.5'' wide by 1.5'' thick like milled lumber.
I got them at a saw mill and had them cut to exactly 12'' x 2'' 96''.
Talk about heavy.
I've never used them with the BX23 because I'm afraid they aren't strong enough to support the BX23.
What do you think about the strength issue?

 

[donn12]

keith, any pics of the trailer? i am wondering how everyone fills the trailer. I am guessing some have made side walls out of plywood. Are there any disadvantages to a trailer with non removable walls?

 

[Volfandt]

Yup, something like that. When I had the 'cheesegrater' rear gate (on my previous 5' x 10' trailer), I had to fortify it with some angle and 2 x 12's or my tractor wheels would just punch right through. Even then, I was not successful unloading it with my machine. I don't recall why...perhaps I just didn't like how it pulled up on the ball every time (no support legs on the ramp like on my big trailer) and worried that something was going to fail catastrophically. Always seems to with me. Don't know why.

1*If the trailer would happen to come off the ball it wouldn't be very nice.

Understand completely, one must be confident in their eqt, as I am with mine....
As long as one is within the design specs of their eqt, it should function safely. Of course man made machinery can break at any time so not even going with "over spec'ed" eqt guarantee's complete safety......
In nearly 4 yrs of working the BX23 w/this 6'X12' trailer, I've had ZERO problems, both in transporting it, loading / unloading material on it, and hauling the trailer full of various material around with a ball hitch on a custom made bracket on the BX23's 3PH.
I do not recommend hauling a fully loaded BX TLB w/this setup at highway speeds or during a "rush hour" but it functions fine for hauling my fully loaded BX23 (tractor, FEL, BH & 60" MMM) from point A to point B on my rural roads..
All that said, would I rather have a car hauler trailer, you betcha! It would be more flexible in that it could obviouisly haul autos/pickup trucks as well as larger ag machinery, a Swiss knife solution similar to my BX23 matter of fact but, neither the need nor cost justification exists in my present situation.
Of course I'd never turn down a great deal

 

[KeithInSpace]

This is my trailer when I first built the stakesides. It's not quite as shiny now, but is holding up pretty well. The trailer is so large, I generally run out of weight capacity before I run out of room. 7 CY of triple-shread mulch weighs every pound of 3 tons and that fits in there quite easily. 3 tons of stone barely makes a pile in the middle. The nice thing is that each stakeside panel weighs less than 20#, so I can remove quite easily for whatever reason...which I have done. It all works pretty slick.

About my ramps, I doubled up on 2 x 12's...one 7' long piece with a 5' long piece screwed under it. That leaves 1' of 'single thickness' 2 x 12 at either end where it engages the ground and the ramp with the double thickness in the middle to resist flexing. I chiseled the ramp end so the end "nests" into the metal nicely, so there is actually a left and right ramp. I spray painted a big "L" and "R" on each so I don't have to think about anything.

I have it filled with whatever however. My FEL easily goes over the sides, but it is generally filled by skid-steer or quarry loader, depending on where I'm at. I had something loaded by forklift the other day, which made me feel REALLY good about the removable sides. And I plan on towing a car around sometime in the future. I have only unloaded by the rear (no pun intended).

And I would LOVE to have my small trailer sometimes. This one is just so big and heavy. I have towed it around without any trouble, but putting 2 things from IKEA on it just looks silly. If your trailer works for you, Mr. Volfandt, go with it. My 5' x 10' just didn't cut it, but perhaps I would have felt a little differently about a 6' x 12'. Not to say I don't love my big trailer, though.

 

[Riptide23]

I was at a Home Depot the other day, when I spotted their rental mini-ex in the lot. But what I really noticed was the trailer it was on. It was made by Towmaster, and had I known of them, I would have bought one of these instead of what I have now.

Very nice, heavy duty, massive D-rings, steel deck. No idea on price. But from the web site, they look great. I like the low deck, and tilt feature.

Fact is, the area I have to store a trailer in has as much to do with trailer selection as the capacity, and some folks just don't have the room to store a 16 or 18' tandem axle trailer.

Their 12 footer looks awesome, and I would even tow a BX on their 10 footer without too much reservation...

T-5T/T-5TSL

Pat

 

[KeithInSpace]

Now THAT looks like a good small-trailer solution. It would satisfy the two things that I like LEAST about a 3,500# single-axle trailer...the squishy tires (more sidewall plies in the tires on this trailer), and the lack of brakes.

I would still get the 12 footer so you could properly locate the tractor on the trailer so your tongue weight is right...even more sensitive on a trailer like this with the single axle acting as a fulcrum.

I'd strongly consider sway control with this trailer given the heavy weight and the short length. You could probably get by without a load distribution hitch, but I really like mine.

One interesting thing, though...my 20' long 10,000# capacity trailer weighs about what this 12' long 5,000# capacity trailer weighs. I guess that is the "doubling up" of the structure to support the tilt feature. But you could still get this trailer very close to overweight while trailering a BX24 with the MMM, FEL, and BH installed.

Hot, nevertheless. Always good to have options. Thanks for sharing, Mr. Riptide23.

 

[LBrown59]

keith, any pics of the trailer? i am wondering how everyone fills the trailer. I am guessing some have made side walls out of plywood. Are there any disadvantages to a trailer with non removable walls?

Can't load from side with forks.

 

[KeithInSpace]

Can't load from side with forks.

That was a significant factor in my purchase and subsequent modifications. Similarly, you can't really OFF-LOAD with straps from the side since the lifting height of a BX FEL is limited. I have a 500# outdoor fireplace on my trailer right now that was loaded by forklift and will be off-loaded with my FEL, so it does happen...what I wouldn't give for a set of BXpanded bucket forks right about now...

Since I still can't fork-load near the wheel wells and that is usually where the load wants to be, I'm considering the addition of a winch to the front of the trailer. Then I can side-load a pallat in the back and pull them toward the front.

 

[radioman]

Now there's a thought!

 

[LBrown59]

Now there's a thought!

A trailer isn't a trailer without a winch is it?
With a winch you could pull things toward the front or rear of the trailer.

 

[denap]

How about length...

In practical experience, is a 14' trailer "enough" length to carry a bx24/25 TLB? I've got trailer storage space concerns and want to get a trailer to haul the bx but minimize the footprint. A 5k# or 7k# tandem 14' is about all I have room for.

thx,
-Tom

 

[KeithInSpace]

I'd get the 7k# unit. If it is a flat deck (not a dovetail), then 14' should be fine. Of my 20 feet, 2 feet are dovetail, and when I load my machine, the FEL is a solid 3 or 4 feet off the front of the trailer to balance the load over the axles.

Worst case is your rotating the BH bucket to the side to set the bucket on the deck. And I would strongly encourage you to set the BH bucket on the deck...I think it is law to even chain the bucket down, though I doubt you'd get stopped for it. I know I chain the TRACTOR down, but don't run chains over the FEL or BH buckets, though both are on the deck.

 

[radioman]

Get the 7k no matter what you do. 14 ft is pushing it, you will need to have BH at angle to get it all inside the trailer. I have a 16 because of the BX fel to BH length. Worse case senerio - you could back in on the trailer and have BH over the A frame in front, but this would change the weight placement ratio on the trailer , It would be more like 90/10 which is not good. BH is a good amount of weight and i rather have it towards the back. When I was shopping for trailers, i have thought about the 14 and get the car ramp style , not the landscape mesh gate, i could put the arms between the ramps and the bucket might still be able to touch the floor. I am not sure, but it was a idea i had and i never tested it. I went with 16 since I want to transport BX with implement without the BH when needed.

 

[KeithInSpace]

...you could back in on the trailer and have BH over the A frame in front...

I towed my machine, FEL and BH installed, on my 3,500# 5' x 10' trailer twice. I found that given the dimensions of the machine, I could only balance the tongue weight if I backed the machine on. I had rails, so the BH bucket didn't go over and there was no benefit to manipulating it over the rail since that would have, again, sent too much weight to the ball. I just swung the BH boom all the way to the side and had the FEL bucket sitting on top of the cheesegrater rear gate.

As I said, I did this only twice. Once to pick the machine with newly installed backhoe up and once to deliver for service. The tow was so uncomfortable, I obtained CFO authorization for a new trailer. Of course, this one is a little TOO big, but better than than too small.

The 14' should work OK. Not perfect, but OK. 16' is what you really need. But you'll get by just fine as long as you get the 7k unit and load it right.