Rosewood Trailer Weight?

[ahlkey]

I just purchased a used 25ft X 8ft Deckover Tri-axle trailer rated at 20,000lbs. It has 10" I-Beams throughout as well the cross beams but they are 3ft apart. It also came with a large Weight Distribution Hitch rated at 15,000lbs (tongue 1,500), breakaway kit, and G-rated tires but only uses a conventional 2-5/16 setup. It was used for hauling logs to a Sawmill, which is my same intent. Likewise, I plan to add a log loader (14ft boom & grapple) that weighs 2,000 lbs so I am concerned by overall weight as well as tongue weight. I know I need to get it weighed but does anyone know what it might run? I also believe I should convert to a combination Pintle/ball hitch for heavier loads. I plan to use my F250 with V-10 engine to pull small loads under 12.5K and my F650 with CAT engine on larger loads. If log loader and trailer runs 7,000lbs alone it sure doesn't give much room for a load under a CDL. However, my F650 is a flatbed truck so I will swing the boom 360 degrees and load the flatbed. The F650 is rated at 26,000 and has rear end air suspension.

Here's the issue. I would like to cut back the trailer by as much as I can , maybe 1,500-2,000 lbs by cutting off 6 ft from the back as well as the front corners to extend the "Y" tongue to 6ft from 40" inches. I do not need to carry the large ramps and over time would remove large sections of the wood decking. Does anyone have any experience in reducing trailer lengths? Would it hurt performance on the trailer? What do you think of the idea? Attached is picture of the trailer.

 

[tlbuser]

4000 - 4500 lbs is my guess, based on what my 20' tilt deckover weighs. And looking at the Hudson and felling trailer sites, I might be low.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I am guessing its in the 4,000# range as a low end. I pull quite a few boats with 2 5/16" ball setups ranging from 10,000# to 25,000#. I will tell you anything over 14,000# is too much for a F-250. I had to step upto a F-350 for the heavier loads and upgrade my hitch to a 2.5" unit like the newer Superdutys have. I actually broke the factory 2" hitch on my 2004 F-250 with just over 15,000#. The hitch was only rated at 12,000# so it was my fault.

Good luck and stay safe. Get real hitch equipment, not the stuff you buy at WalMart. Go to a good RV or Trailer dealer to get what you need.

As for trailer length the basic rule of thumb is 60/40. You need 60% of the load in front of the trailers axles and about 40% aft. This is not a set hard rule but will get you in the ball park.

Chris

 

[ahlkey]

Thanks for the information. I agree I will not pull much with the F250. If this trailer only weighs 4,000 lbs I will be very happy. However, I have a small dump trailer that weighs 4,100 lbs so I was thinking this will go at least 5,000 lbs. Before I modify anything I will bring it over to the scale. The first option of not trailering the ramps and eliminating some of the deck boards right away should help. One problem you mentioned is the 60/40 ratio which if I cut off six feet then the trailer could be out of balance? Will have to investigate that further and maybe just cut off 3 feet or so... It will be an interesting undertaking. Thanks again

 

[Diamondpilot]

Thanks for the information. I agree I will not pull much with the F250. If this trailer only weighs 4,000 lbs I will be very happy. However, I have a small dump trailer that weighs 4,100 lbs so I was thinking this will go at least 5,000 lbs. Before I modify anything I will bring it over to the scale. The first option of not trailering the ramps and eliminating some of the deck boards right away should help. One problem you mentioned is the 60/40 ratio which if I cut off six feet then the trailer could be out of balance? Will have to investigate that further and maybe just cut off 3 feet or so... It will be an interesting undertaking. Thanks again

I personally would not cut anything off of it. You will be sorry later. It will also kill the resale. Just limit your load to keep the weights in check. Cutting 3' off will save you maybe 750#. Not worth it and you will do more harm than good. I would rather be 750# heavier than out of balance any day of the week and with a short trailer balance is hard.

Chris

 

[ahlkey]

I agree I would like to keep the trailer as it but all the mobile log trailers on the market similar to what I am doing are only between 18-20ft and this one is 25ft. With the tri-axle it does seem that it will make it more difficult to cut off though. Really won't know for sure which way to go until I get it on the scale. The heavier it is the less product it can carry which does up to big dollars. The plan is that I would split the "log load" between my flatbed F650 and this 20K trailer. Total capacity would then be 5-6 cords of green wood or around 12-14 tons.

 

[ahlkey]

Talked with the State Patrol office of enforcement and well as the DOT about CDL requirements and found out that as long as I transport produce including raw forestry produce (logs) for FARM use to the sawmill or pulpmill within 150 miles I am exempt from the CDL. If I haul for a neighbor or anybody else than that is for hire and I need a CDL. I still need to have the proper farm truck & trailer plates.

Well this means I can maximize my truck and trailer and be ok and it will not require cutting off anything to reduce the weight. This is good news as I hated to do that and as was pointed out may put the trailer out of balance. With my truck at 26,000 gvwr and the trailer at 20,000 gvwr I am back to moving between 12-14 tons of logs or 5-6 full cords of green pulpwood.