Towing boat with B2920

[tractchores]

When buying my tractor one of the 'jobs' I was hoping I could do with it was to move large trailers around my yard, the biggest being my boat. I store it in a very tight spot by the garage where the ground is soft and its very difficult to get in. To pull it out you're pulling on soft ground and uphill. I put a front-end hitch on my truck to try and get it in before I got the tractor and while I got it in, it was very tough on the truck and I got stuck in the mud!

I searched everywhere and couldn't find anyone moving a good sized boat with a B2x20 tractor, so I thought I would post this in case someone else is considering a similar use. I used my b2920 and a heavy duty 3pt trailer hitch to move the boat. It worked without any issues, the tractor is able to move the boat even over the ruts in the soft ground uphill and it had no issues stopping or pulling the boat on a steep incline on my driveway. The 3pt hitch setup works great because I can just pick up the trailer, move it and set it down again if I need to reposition to make the tight turn. The boat weighs over 6,000 lbs on the trailer. The ROPS is down in the pic due to low clearance caused by trees.

 

[jakell2010]

I would think you'd be fine pulling twice that size boat

 

[s219]

I have been towing my 7x16 trailer with my B2920, both before/after transporting the tractor on the trailer, and moving it around my property with bulk materials (crusher run and mulch mainly). Trailer tops out at 7000# gross when loaded to the max. Works great. Just be sure to leave it in 4WD at all times for better braking, especially with hills!

 

[tractchores]

I got the sense that it wasn't even working, which surprised me at first. So much for 'tow' ratings

 

[herefromthere]

Funny, I was just asking this question while in the Kubota dealer re: my 7k gross car trailer with a car on it. The sales guy said that traction would give before anything on the tractor.

 

[rambler]

1. You won't hurt the tractor.

2. Be real real careful on snow or wet grass or others slippery stuff, esp with those smooth tires. You can pull anything or spin out trying, no harm done. But if you start slipping down a hill, there is going to be a bad result. Be real careful on wet grass going down a hill. Please.

3. 3pt hitches have no down pressure, are you using a limiter chain to keep the hitch from popping up too far? If the boat would get tail heavy going up a hill, or if you carry the hitch a tad high going down a hill & try to stop, it could make the hitch liy up to it's top limit, and perhaps beyond - the results are not good. Use a limiter chain tied down to the regular tractor hitch so it can't come up too high.

4. Hope you have fluid in the rear tires. With the front loader on, your rear end can get light in some situations, and the rig will want to jacknife very easily - going downhill put the brakes on for example.

5. I do stuff like this all the time with bigger ag tractors, bigger trailers. You gotta think safe. You have the tail wagging the dog - this will not hurt the tractor, but you have to have some experience and think ahead and be safe. My comments are not to be taken lightly.

--->Paul

 

[George2615]

I have no doubt your 2920 can pull your boat. I'd be more worried about stopping on hills, wet grass, or loose sand on the driveway since the boat and trailer out weigh the tractor by a factor of 3.

 

[s219]

Funny, I was just asking this question while in the Kubota dealer re: my 7k gross car trailer with a car on it. The sales guy said that traction would give before anything on the tractor.

That's frequently the case with anything you do on a tractor -- it's traction limited -- but there are probably exceptions. At least on soft ground, "forward" traction has always been the limiting factor in my experience.

And as others have noted, this is doubly important to understand when traction is a factor in stopping and working with loads on a big hill. I always put it in 4WD which really increases the effectiveness of the brakes. And I normally keep it in low, which helps limit things to a crawl to begin with.

 

[nspec]

I use my b2630 to move my trailers as well. Way easier than the truck.

3. 3pt hitches have no down pressure, are you using a limiter chain to keep the hitch from popping up too far? If the boat would get tail heavy going up a hill, or if you carry the hitch a tad high going down a hill & try to stop, it could make the hitch liy up to it's top limit, and perhaps beyond - the results are not good. Use a limiter chain tied down to the regular tractor hitch so it can't come up too high.

This is a huge concern - especially with a boat your size. I was moving a similar sized boat, keeping the hitch nice and low for stability purposes. While backing over a berm, the hitch popped up and scared the bejesus out of me. You need to be very careful and aware of this.

 

[RobertN]

I have used all my tractors for moving trailers, but never any that heavy. My old B8200 worked well, as did my old Farmall-A. The TC40 works great, as it is bigger, heavier and higher rated.

Use 4wd for better braking, and a low range. Go slow. and be aware what others have mentioned about the hitching popping up if you go over a bump or go uphill.

 

[countryboycansurvive]

Tow ratings are more about what you can stop than what you can pull.

 

[tractchores]

To respond to a few of the questions: I do have the rear tires filled, which gives good balance on this machine for the loader. The BH subframe is also always on and that's relatively heavy and I'm sure that helps, but i do pop on the BH when moving heavy rocks as that adds a nice 1,000 lbs of ballast.

I've been very happy with the traction of the turfs. It's done fine on grass, snow, ice, and even in mud as long as I'm in 4wd. I've got a VERY steep hill I go up and down a lot, which has tested the traction quite a bit. I find in 4wd and Low I'm in good shape and other than accidentally using 2wd once early on (resulting in a scary slide on ice).

Thanks for pointing out the 3pt down pressure issue. I hadn't thought about it as much, though I did make sure the check chains were tight for this job and kept the hitch low. I also have a BH subrame on that limits the upward movement of the 3pt arms at the very top of their range, but next time I think i'll add a chain to the bottom just in case. The trailer has a fair bit of weight on the front and dual wheels, so that helps it not want to tip back. I definitely always use low range and go very slow. I don't think i would tow it much other than to move it around the yard and certainly not on any serious slopes, while traction seems like its more than enough to stop the boat I've got enough respect for the forces involved to know not to try and push it.

 

[pdowling1]

I have used my BX2200 to move my 8880lb 38' travel trailer around my property. It amazed me how well it handled it, but all the above warnings apply.

 

[FELMOW2320]

I use my B2320 to move my trailers around the yard.My heaviest trailer is my gooseneck dump and it will barely pick it up.

 

[Firefighter Kubota]

This is a huge concern - especially with a boat your size. I was moving a similar sized boat, keeping the hitch nice and low for stability purposes. While backing over a berm, the hitch popped up and scared the bejesus out of me. You need to be very careful and aware of this.

If loaded correctly there should be positive tongue weight, enough to keep it from popping up... Between, boats, campers, flatbed, or a dump trailer I've never had a problem. I have a 14* driveway too...

Sure if you have neutral or negative tongue weight then there will be issues...