Apparently a mdt truck is required to pull a 14k trailer?? Is your trailer overloaded when you haul your tractor? My wimpy 55hp is 11k with the grapple and box blade on it. surely you are heavier than I am. If your tractor weights 14k 12k for tractor and loader, 2k for mx10 and your trailer weighs 4k, you are a loaded weight of 18k. Using your pin weight of 20% (which your truck could take much more) your over your trailer axle weights. theres obviously different thought processes on this but I've yet to kill any nuns and my set-up works great. The dozer weighs 15k but I don't use this truck to haul it very often compared to my deere and mower. Had one panic stop when someone was texting and pulled out in front of me. Everything was fine, I was frustrated because I hate slamming on my brakes but I was nowhere near to a jack knife it was smooth.
If you see me coming down the road, might outta take it to the ditch to avoid certain disaster.
Brett
Edit--I'd like to see what penn dot would try and write me for. Tires are in weight, all axles are good. 4 pts of contact plus implement are chained with appropriate chain/binders. If they did it would be for dust on a light lens or breakaway not having it own separate attachment point vs hooking it to the safety chain hook.
AN MDT is def not required to pull a 14.5k gn. I just happen to use it to pull it. The MDT is very well suited to pulling a 6 horse GN with a dual front tack that has the axles at the very rear of the trailer and fully loaded. My FIL won't even pull it with his duramax dually unless its empty and he doesn't like doing that. Too much pin weight. The international, however, eats its up and asks for more.
AS far as the tractor, no the trailer axles aren't overloaded because I can carry all the pin weight that trailer can throw at the truck. The 5083E specs out at around 7400lbs bare. 1600lbs of beet juice, 1700lbs for the loader 400lbs for the bucket. I leave the mx10 off because its to wide to transport hanging over the edges of the trailer(102" wide trailer, 11'6" mower). So we are right around 11,100 or 11,200 just for mud and chains or what not. Now the trailer weighs 5400lbs by its self. 11200 + 5400 =16600lbs If we take 25% off of that, we get 4150. SO, 16,600-4150=12450. hhmmmm that seems to be less than 14.5k? but maybe my math is off here???? Oh wait, 12450/2=6225/axle. HHmm that math checks out too. In all reality I put the bucket either all the way up against the front edge of the trailer or I put the bucket on the GN to try and get MORE pin weight for better traction. Seems my math works out there Brett. The truck rear axle is spec'd at 17klbs so I'm golden there too. There is night and day difference in the 1 ton light duty pickup and the MDT hauling that same load. I had a one ton SRW cummins that was only good for 23k combination. I was well over that with the gn and tractor and the pin weight was very heavy unless the tractor was placed exactly right. I have to keep checking my mirrors to make sure its back there and with the air ride, its smooth as can be.
Also, in PA at least, you must follow the manufacture's GCWR. They don't care what your hooking up to even if its a 53' step deck with dual 20k axles, what ever the sheet from the factory says you can tag for that is it. If your factory GCWR is 30k, I apologize, but I seriously doubt it. There have been hot shot drivers pulled over left and right here trying to skirt the laws and they get hammered.
I am not saying I have never done things to make something happen, but when someone comes on here asking for a recommendation, we should very clearly take the route of being legal because we have no idea what the person asking the question has as far as capability. I think getting a 1 ton for a bx is ridiculous but hauling over the GCWR isn't safe either and you will have liability problems if you cause an accident. Can it be done from time to time, absolutely, should we recommend it? not at all. Get the right tool to do the job and don't take short cuts.
There are more and more idiots on the road texting today and not paying attention. I try to drive defensively and hope I never lose my trailer brakes, but even if I did, I have more than enough truck to do the job and then some. If you are comfortable towing at or above the max rating of your truck so be it. That is your choice.
HK-Most people make do with what they have. If you have the option to get a big enough truck to run a proper set up with the correct weight distributions, its in your best interest to do so. This subject is beaten to death by every expert on this board. About the only way to get more disagreement is to bring up the CDL requirements or if a bp or gn is better.