OP
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- Sep 27, 2005
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It's a standard car hauling, tandem axle open trailer with 3500 pound axles and trailer tires with about 1750# capacity each, matching the axles. It's strongly built and can handle the weight. The 16' bed (not counting the tongue and hitch) is enough to place the tractor pretty much where I want it, and still have a good angle on the tire down straps. It has electric brakes, but I don't have a controller on the pickup.
My son and I have done a fair amount of sports car racing in the past (too busy right now), and I've towed cars in the same weight range as the tractor for thousands of miles with that trailer, usually behind the motor home (that's where the brake controller is mounted). The axles are positioned for the car and gear. It's not set up ideally for the tractor, but it's what I have.
I'm really down on the fringe with the tow vehicle. It's a Dodge Dakota with V6 and 5 speed, set up with the 3.22:1 differential, which is pretty bad for towing. The capacity with a receiver hitch (which I have) is 4,000 pounds. I'm right on the edge of that with the tractor, FEL and loaded tires , and the weight of the trailer. I haven't weighed them, but the TC18 is around 1400+ pounds without the loader and loaded tires, so I'm figuring around 2000, and the trailer weighs around 1500 or so - maybe 2000. Normally, with just the tractor and FEL, it's a pretty comfortable tow. Since I'm not using the trailer brakes, I really have to think way ahead on stopping, but interstate towing at 70 mph is very comfortable - as long as I have the tongue weight just exactly right.
You can do searches on tongue weight, but it's a tricky subject. One theory says that you should have 10% of the trailer's load on the tongue; but many vehicles are restricted to no more than 300# tongue weight. It can be tough to interpolate the two requirements.
Usually, the first time I tow a different vehicle, if I'm going to be towing it frequently or for any great distance, I'll actually get out a bathroom scale and measure my tongue weight. I strive for about 200# to 300# of down weight on the tongue. I adjust my straps for that position, and mark down the strap adjustments so I can return them to that spot later if I tow different vehicles. I didn't go to that much detail with the tractor because I only tow it a max of 45 miles on slower secondary roads without much traffic, but I fooled around with it until I got good balance. The problem yesterday was that I had all that extra weight, plus it was raining cats and dogs, and I just didn't take the time to move it back and forth to the sweet spot. It only takes a couple of inches to be off.
Plus, the weight of that 6' box blade brought the trailer and load above what the Dakota is supposed to safely handle. I had a little too much tongue weight, too much weight for the truck, and no trailer brakes. The streets were wet. If I used a little too much brake, the unloaded front truck tires would slide. It was hairy. I never should have done it. But, I took the back way, avoided traffic, stayed in 3rd gear to help slow it down, and didn't go above 40 mph, and then only if there was no one behind me. In the couple of times I was holding up traffic, I pulled over and let them past until it was clear behind me again. I was in no hurry. Do not try this at home unless you have a lot of trailering experience and are a little nuts.
There are entire books written about how to properly trailer. One advantage of towing a tractor is that it has no suspension, so you don't have to worry about how to attach it. With a car, if you attach by the axle, the cars bounces, and if you atttach to the body, you worry about compressing the suspension (not something we liked to do with the race cars). Most people pulling tractors use chains and chain binders. I use straps because I have them. I use a four point setup - two axle straps and two ratchet straps, each rated at 10,000 pounds. With the axle straps properly adjusted, I attach them to the rear and move forward until they're reasonably tight. Then, I release the brakes and use the ratchet straps on the front to pull everything really tight, then set the brakes again. Finally, I put a safety chain on both front and rear, not really tight, but enough to (hopefully) keep the vehicle on the trailer if the straps should fail.
Definitely get a trailer with brakes. I like electric brakes a lot more than surge brakes. One of these days, if we go racing again and start towing long distances, I'm going to convert my trailer over to electric disk brakes. If I was towing the tractor every day, or for long distances, I'd get another trailer with the axles set in a better position. I'd also get a bigger truck and install a brake controller in it. Rule of thumb - what you're towing should not be heavier than what you're towing it with unless you have a load equalizing hitch.
I won't apologize for the length this time - this is a really important subject.
My son and I have done a fair amount of sports car racing in the past (too busy right now), and I've towed cars in the same weight range as the tractor for thousands of miles with that trailer, usually behind the motor home (that's where the brake controller is mounted). The axles are positioned for the car and gear. It's not set up ideally for the tractor, but it's what I have.
I'm really down on the fringe with the tow vehicle. It's a Dodge Dakota with V6 and 5 speed, set up with the 3.22:1 differential, which is pretty bad for towing. The capacity with a receiver hitch (which I have) is 4,000 pounds. I'm right on the edge of that with the tractor, FEL and loaded tires , and the weight of the trailer. I haven't weighed them, but the TC18 is around 1400+ pounds without the loader and loaded tires, so I'm figuring around 2000, and the trailer weighs around 1500 or so - maybe 2000. Normally, with just the tractor and FEL, it's a pretty comfortable tow. Since I'm not using the trailer brakes, I really have to think way ahead on stopping, but interstate towing at 70 mph is very comfortable - as long as I have the tongue weight just exactly right.
You can do searches on tongue weight, but it's a tricky subject. One theory says that you should have 10% of the trailer's load on the tongue; but many vehicles are restricted to no more than 300# tongue weight. It can be tough to interpolate the two requirements.
Usually, the first time I tow a different vehicle, if I'm going to be towing it frequently or for any great distance, I'll actually get out a bathroom scale and measure my tongue weight. I strive for about 200# to 300# of down weight on the tongue. I adjust my straps for that position, and mark down the strap adjustments so I can return them to that spot later if I tow different vehicles. I didn't go to that much detail with the tractor because I only tow it a max of 45 miles on slower secondary roads without much traffic, but I fooled around with it until I got good balance. The problem yesterday was that I had all that extra weight, plus it was raining cats and dogs, and I just didn't take the time to move it back and forth to the sweet spot. It only takes a couple of inches to be off.
Plus, the weight of that 6' box blade brought the trailer and load above what the Dakota is supposed to safely handle. I had a little too much tongue weight, too much weight for the truck, and no trailer brakes. The streets were wet. If I used a little too much brake, the unloaded front truck tires would slide. It was hairy. I never should have done it. But, I took the back way, avoided traffic, stayed in 3rd gear to help slow it down, and didn't go above 40 mph, and then only if there was no one behind me. In the couple of times I was holding up traffic, I pulled over and let them past until it was clear behind me again. I was in no hurry. Do not try this at home unless you have a lot of trailering experience and are a little nuts.
There are entire books written about how to properly trailer. One advantage of towing a tractor is that it has no suspension, so you don't have to worry about how to attach it. With a car, if you attach by the axle, the cars bounces, and if you atttach to the body, you worry about compressing the suspension (not something we liked to do with the race cars). Most people pulling tractors use chains and chain binders. I use straps because I have them. I use a four point setup - two axle straps and two ratchet straps, each rated at 10,000 pounds. With the axle straps properly adjusted, I attach them to the rear and move forward until they're reasonably tight. Then, I release the brakes and use the ratchet straps on the front to pull everything really tight, then set the brakes again. Finally, I put a safety chain on both front and rear, not really tight, but enough to (hopefully) keep the vehicle on the trailer if the straps should fail.
Definitely get a trailer with brakes. I like electric brakes a lot more than surge brakes. One of these days, if we go racing again and start towing long distances, I'm going to convert my trailer over to electric disk brakes. If I was towing the tractor every day, or for long distances, I'd get another trailer with the axles set in a better position. I'd also get a bigger truck and install a brake controller in it. Rule of thumb - what you're towing should not be heavier than what you're towing it with unless you have a load equalizing hitch.
I won't apologize for the length this time - this is a really important subject.