Trailer loading plan..

[RadarTech]

Hey folks—
I’m finally going to me moving the equipment on a regular basis…
New property is 25-30 miles down the road so I’ve bought a nice 16+2 trailer.
6k load rating for my L3400, did the math and it should be less than 5k with that I plan to move regularly..

But I do have a few thoughts I want to ask questions about…

The plan is to put the bushhog on the front 5 ft of the trailer- then raise the loader up, drive the tractor forward until the front tires hit the bushhog… and then lower the loader on some kind of wood base that will allow it to rest on top of the bushhog with a beam wider than the bushhog.

Does anyone do this?
I’ve vaguely remember seeing some setups like this on the road.. but now that I’m doing it I can’t seem to find those examples….


Thanks
Jim

 

[4570Man]

Are you hauling another implement on the back? It should work fine to haul it with the bushhog attached.

 

[RadarTech]

I will be hauling a box blade on the back…
The tractor with the bushhog and grapple is 23 ft long from tip to tailwheel.. 21ft without tailwheel counted..
problem is I have nowhere to store a 22 ft or longer trailer and I don’t think I can get it up my current curvy driveway….

 

[JimRB]

Have you done the weight distribution measuring? I assume and could be wrong that my tractor with loader and the 5 foot brush cutter attached to the 3 point hitch with the cutter the last thing on the trailer has the weight more tongue heavy which is preferred to butt heavy. My ideal trailer would be 20 foot for my little tractor, not the 16 foot trailer I have.

 

[Norm W]

Be very aware of your tongue loading. Without sufficient tongue weight the trailer can become your worst enemy. The bush-hog doesn't weigh as much as the back end of the tractor, so your heaveier weight could be behind the center line of the axles.

 

[RadarTech]

Have you done the weight distribution measuring? I assume and could be wrong that my tractor with loader and the 5 foot brush cutter attached to the 3 point hitch with the cutter the last thing on the trailer has the weight more tongue heavy which is preferred to butt heavy. My ideal trailer would be 20 foot for my little tractor, not the 16 foot trailer I have.

Yes. The dealer for the trailer and I are good friends… we talked at length and then measured and I think this will work…

With the bush hog sitting all the way forward, and the tractor driven up on the trailer so the loader is OVER the bushhog, with the loader down resting on a platform over the bushhog, the rear tires of the tractor will be between the axles on the trailer.. actually leaving about 2 ft to the ramps…

 

[seville009]

Not a very technical thing , but what I do to try to make sure that the trailer weight is distributed relatively accurately, before I load anything, I hang a strap from the from hitch so that it’s just touching the ground.

After i load stuff on, I check the strap to make sure that it’s as close as possible to the same pre-loaded length (just touching the ground).

 

[LD1]

Really not an ideal setup or trailer for frequent hauling. You mentioned hauling "regularly"....a few times a year, or even every other month...no problem. But if you are going up there several times a month, I'd be looking at a different trailer honestly.

You're gonna have to play with the loading to find what works best. What gives you optimum tongue weight, and ease of loading and strapping. Not all trailers are the same, axle placement, tongue length, etc. The odds of finding someone on here with the exact same trailer, with the exact same weight bushhog and same tractor is gonna be nil. YOU have to find what works for YOU.

And whats the tow vehicle? If modern 3/4 ton or 1-ton....1-2" lower on the hitch after loading should be sufficient tongue weight. 1/2-ton....2"-3". See if you can get that.

Are you SURE about your equipment weight? How heavy is the Hog and BB? Are your tires loaded. I used to have a L3400 that I used for mowing...It weighed ~5200# Just tractor, loader, and bushhog, no box blade.

Whats the trailer? 7k?

For me, with a light trailer, the concern would be weight distribution. Your "total" weight may not overload the trailer.....but being close to the limit of payload capacity....you can overload a single axle if you dont have good balance

 

[ptsg]

Hey folks—
I’m finally going to me moving the equipment on a regular basis…
New property is 25-30 miles down the road so I’ve bought a nice 16+2 trailer.
6k load rating for my L3400, did the math and it should be less than 5k with that I plan to move regularly..

But I do have a few thoughts I want to ask questions about…

The plan is to put the bushhog on the front 5 ft of the trailer- then raise the loader up, drive the tractor forward until the front tires hit the bushhog… and then lower the loader on some kind of wood base that will allow it to rest on top of the bushhog with a beam wider than the bushhog.

Does anyone do this?
I’ve vaguely remember seeing some setups like this on the road.. but now that I’m doing it I can’t seem to find those examples….


Thanks
Jim

That's more or less how I load it. Although, completely different trailer (axle placement, etc) and mower but should give some ideas to consider.

 

[scootr]

That's more or less how I load it. Although, completely different trailer (axle placement, etc) and mower but should give some ideas to consider.

View attachment 764740

I don't intend to offend. But - I would not haul this load anywhere. There are so many shortfalls it's just a matter of time before a serious problem occurs. The trailer needs a load stop in front and chains not straps. The trailer is too short for this load. It looks tail heavy.