Trailer loading plan..

[streamin]

Do yourself a favor like I did years ago, best investment is a tongue scale. Amazon for $128 by Sherline. I started with a 20ft trailer with 7K axles towing 1500 miles twice a year with an F250. Towed well but once I had it loaded a bit off and it was so nerve racking and dangerous. With that scale I get it right every time. A couple years later I wasn't making that trip anymore so I sold that trailer. I bought a 16ft for other things mostly but wanted to have it big enough for a local tow with the tractor if needed. It was ok but with the bucket on the deck I could not get quite the balance I needed so I had to bring the bucket up over the front pipe. I just wasn't happy so a year later I sold it and bought an 18 ft with 7K axles. But My tractor is 50hp and bigger so that is what works for me.... buy the scale!

 

[Longhorn24]

I totally agree with Scootr and streamin. You must live in a very gentle area without any drivers which will cut you off trying to get ahead of the "slow" truck and loaded trailer or any other impatient or rude driver and your tires, brakes or what ever will never fail you. The load stop is critical as well as more straps of chains to hold down your load under even a mild 2-3 G force impact or emergency stop. As for checking weight make sure your not exceeding the total gross combined weight rating vehicle weight as shown on you driver's door data plate. A no expense way to check your weight is to go to a scrape yard or landfill and then keep the receipt with a picture of the system on the scale. I never had anyone charge me for checking. Any LEO (Law enforcement Officer) would have every right to pull you over suspecting an over weight condition. It would be to your benefit to be able to show that your within the GCRW. If your not your insurance will not cover you and you could end up in a terrible legal battle as well. I used to be young, good looking and smart, now at 79 I am still good looking, no longer young and a lot wiser from all my mistakes, car, truck and helicopter crashes (only one was my fault, car). Thus ends the lesson. P.S. Recommend larger trailer with load stop.

• GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating): The maximum weight of your fully loaded vehicle and trailer combined.

Loaded Tow Vehicle + Fuel + Passengers + Cargo + Loaded Trailer Weight Only exceed this knowing it will be at your own risk!

scootr​

 

[rxk9394]

First off good on you for asking the question to start with. Nobody's born knowing this "stuff" and when it comes to trailers and hauling you cannot be safe enough.

One question I didn't see answered was whether you had fluid filled rear tires or not. As mentioned already you do not want the trailer tail heavy. Search for "Tongue weight safety demonstration" on Youtube and in 1.5 minutes you will understand why.

What I would do is mount the bush-hog on the tractor, use the f/e loader to put the box blade as far forward on the trailer as possible, drive the tractor on the trailer with the f/e raised to go over the box-blade and if needed even curl it down to rest on the trailer tongue trying to get most of the weight forward of the trailer axles.

Last thought on straps vs chains. Regardless of which you use, always have a fail-safe so that if one of them breaks, there is still something holding that load from coming off or coming into the rear of the truck in an emergency situation. The older I get, the more I embrace the concept of a fail-safe in so much of what I do...

Stay safe, take care, and best of luck.

 

[Ken1234]

I may have missed the point here but it sounds like you want to move the tractor, with rear tires filled with ballast, have a FEL and a bush hog in one trip. I have had to do this over a 37 mile distance. I called a local towing company who had the appropriate skid bed, drove it on, they 'tied' it down and in an hour it was at its destination and unloaded. I just told them the tractor weight, bush hog weight and total length (about 24 feet) and they came with their 28 foot truck, charged $150 and I was done.

Take care and let us know how it turned out - Ken

 

[Bentrim]

From someone that worked for a dealer and hauled all kinds of farm machinery on trailers. I see some good recommendations listed here, but here are my recommendations.
1. use a chain on the BACK of the tractor. Why? You can stop faster than you can pull out, If you would get in an accident (hopefully not your fault) you want the tractor to stay put and not end up in the cab with you. Be sure you hook the rear chain to a solid part of the tractor and trailer.
2 Tongue weight. Be sure the tongue has some weight on it. You never want the trailer to "steer" the truck. Yes the rear of the truck should look loaded.
3. When tying down a tractor loader do not tie the loader or an attached implement instead of the tractor, tie only the tractor pulling one frontward and one rearward, even if you use one chain on each side, on each end. The loader does not need to be tied down it is mounted on the tractor, The bucket can also be left "in the air" it does not need to rest on something.
4 The boss would get very upset if I ran a chain over the middle of the tractor or over someplace that would scratch the paint, if it was very noticeable. Either find a spot under the tractor or hooks that are well attached to the tractor.
5 Be sure all implements are tied down so they can't move.

When I hauled a tractor even big ones (100 to 150 horse) I tried to balance the load so the back wheels of the tractor usually centered over the last axle of the trailer, smaller tractors usually centered between to over the rear axle.

I have hauled lots of machinery hauled, none ever fell off.

Most of all Check your load often, drive like you want to get there in one piece, and be careful.

Have a wonderful day

 

[hslogger]

From someone that worked for a dealer and hauled all kinds of farm machinery on trailers. I see some good recommendations listed here, but here are my recommendations.
1. use a chain on the BACK of the tractor. Why? You can stop faster than you can pull out, If you would get in an accident (hopefully not your fault) you want the tractor to stay put and not end up in the cab with you. Be sure you hook the rear chain to a solid part of the tractor and trailer.
2 Tongue weight. Be sure the tongue has some weight on it. You never want the trailer to "steer" the truck. Yes the rear of the truck should look loaded.
3. When tying down a tractor loader do not tie the loader or an attached implement instead of the tractor, tie only the tractor pulling one frontward and one rearward, even if you use one chain on each side, on each end. The loader does not need to be tied down it is mounted on the tractor, The bucket can also be left "in the air" it does not need to rest on something.
4 The boss would get very upset if I ran a chain over the middle of the tractor or over someplace that would scratch the paint, if it was very noticeable. Either find a spot under the tractor or hooks that are well attached to the tractor.
5 Be sure all implements are tied down so they can't move.

When I hauled a tractor even big ones (100 to 150 horse) I tried to balance the load so the back wheels of the tractor usually centered over the last axle of the trailer, smaller tractors usually centered between to over the rear axle.

I have hauled lots of machinery hauled, none ever fell off.

Most of all Check your load often, drive like you want to get there in one piece, and be careful.

Have a wonderful day

TennnnnnFourrrrr!

 

[ljjhouser]

From Bentrim:---Most of all Check your load often, drive like you want to get there in one piece, and be careful.

This is one thing that I always forget to mention but is very important. It seems that no matter how tight straps or chains (especially chains) are when you leave, 20-30 miles you will find them a little loose for comfort and need to re -tighten. I use chains and binders and always re adjust binders as I start a trip.

 

[RadarTech]

4 meters or 13 ft.

that’s what I was thinking..

Mine is 18 ft with a 2 ft dovetail.

Thanks!

 

[kenbgbill]

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

I have a Kubota BX 25D and it take every bit of my 16’ trailer. If you can afford it, I’d suggest going 18’ with at least 7k load or 10k axels. Nobody ever said they wished their trailer was smaller! My $.02.

 

[kenbgbill]

I have a Kubota BX 25D and it take every bit of my 16’ trailer. If you can afford it, I’d suggest going 18’ with at least 7k load or 10k axels. Nobody ever said they wished their trailer was smaller! My $.02.

 

[RadarTech]

A few notes—
1. Tractor has loaded tires.
2. I moved it before with a borrowed 16ft just the box and loader. That trailer was an overbuilt landscape trailer… it had 3500 lb axles, but brakes on 1 axle only. And the tractor had 10-12 inches to spare. It carried it well… but didn’t like the braking with only 1 axle. I used 4 in strapped and not chains. It moved 25 miles each way. Down a mountain with a 6% grade on the interstate (check Saluda Grade, NC) and a crazy curvy road.
3. The new trailer has the same 3500 lb axles, brakes on both.
4. The new property is down the same mountain, but into SC.. nothing crazy on curves like lake lure on 108 and #9!
5. This will likely be a regular occurrence… BUT I might be leaving the bushhog down there… SOME..
6. I’m in the market for good chains and binders… where for a good price for good gear but not a bank breaking price.. I think harbor freight is untrustworthy… but change my mind!



Thanks to everyone for the advice and info!

 

[Bill Carpenter]

It is the weight of what you carry plus the inertia of when you stop. That stop could be an accident. You want everything to stay where you put it.

 

[RadarTech]

I have a Kubota BX 25D and it take every bit of my 16’ trailer. If you can afford it, I’d suggest going 18’ with at least 7k load or 10k axels. Nobody ever said they wished their trailer was smaller! My $.02.

I was looking at that… but decided to not load the truck to max..
The trailer is 16+2 dove.. effectively an 18…
Also I really don’t want to “tempt” myself pulling anything but this tractor.. no Skid-steer, no mini ex..

 

[seville009]

A few notes—
1. Tractor has loaded tires.
2. I moved it before with a borrowed 16ft just the box and loader. That trailer was an overbuilt landscape trailer… it had 3500 lb axles, but brakes on 1 axle only. And the tractor had 10-12 inches to spare. It carried it well… but didn’t like the braking with only 1 axle. I used 4 in strapped and not chains. It moved 25 miles each way. Down a mountain with a 6% grade on the interstate (check Saluda Grade, NC) and a crazy curvy road.
3. The new trailer has the same 3500 lb axles, brakes on both.
4. The new property is down the same mountain, but into SC.. nothing crazy on curves like lake lure on 108 and #9!
5. This will likely be a regular occurrence… BUT I might be leaving the bushhog down there… SOME..
6. I’m in the market for good chains and binders… where for a good price for good gear but not a bank breaking price.. I think harbor freight is untrustworthy… but change my mind!



Thanks to everyone for the advice and info!

Look on Craigslist for chains and binders - usually in the heavy equipment or farm machinery section.

 

[shady brook]

If you're friendly with the trailer salesman and he wants the sale, he should be able to let you take the trailer home or one of similar dimensions. Haul a few different unloaded trailers of different lengths and weight ratings and see how they work for you to get where you need them on your property. Load your setup on the trailer a few different ways and check to make sure you get at least 2 to 3 inches of rear squat on your truck. Measure at the rear and front wheel well arches before you load up. If you have over sprung rear suspension it may not squat a lot, but you will be able to tell if you have to much tongue weight if the front lifts by more than a couple inches. Every tractor setup is slightly different so every time you load a new combination you'll need to test load to check balance. I have a 40hp New Holland and 6' bush hog I haul on an 18' deck 12,000 gvw. I have to back on with the hog attached and the tail wheel ends up spun towards the tractor and sits just behind the hitch plate to get proper tongue weight. So centerline of the body of the cutter is partially forward of the front of the front of the trailer deck. I know you have the box blade to haul too so your setup idea sounds good, but you need to check balance. Make sure you have an as close to level and flat location to park the truck and trailer setup when you are testing balance. Also make sure you have the correct hitch (ball) height so the trailer sits dead level before you load. It's easier to see the trailers weight balance if it's level to begin with plus it will carry the weight better. You are going to be right there weight wise so it needs to be level for even axle weights. You really may want to look at a little heavier gvw. Grass packed on the bush hog and mud on the tractor will add some weight. Your tires and suspension will have a much longer life if they aren't always at their limits. The trailer will haul better to. Sorry for the long story, but I have seen a lot of sketchy setups (maybe even done a few...) and if you're going to be making a lot of trips the extra gvw will be worth it. You only want to buy 1 trailer, I've seen lots of people have to sell the trailer and upgrade after they hauled a couple times. Good luck.

 

[Kschwennsen]

I always use chains and binders as straps can get cut. You may not trust Harbor Freight but they are all made in china so go for the cheapest, they still have to make grade testing. As long as you have the 10-15% tongue load, your fine with load distribution. 1 chain and binder is required in WI but may differ state to state. I would just put a couple of blocks on the brush hog and rest the FEL on them. Check your tires as well, low/damaged tires can put you in the ditch or off the mountain it sounds like. Check your suspensions as well, bad shocks almost took me off the road last night!

 

[Dakota_male]

If it hasn’t been mentioned yet, I worried about loading and balancing my trailer load and found a neat tool called Betterweight. It works excellent to measure tongue weight and can even tell how much you’re hauling. I also use it to with my wdh .
Have a look at .https://www.curtmfg.com/betterweigh

 

[Dakota_male]

When loading tractor or mini X, I open my phone app, drive onto the trailer until I see 850- 1200 lbs on the phone app scale. Set my wdh bars and you can see the load on the front and rear wheels.

 

[scootr]

I downloaded a trailer weight app on my phone. Looks like my trailer is overloaded.

 

[Joe Batt]

It depends on where you are. I towed an old gravity wagon 40 miles at 15 mph with my Subaru and saw about 4 other motorists. No concerns. When I haul my race car from Indiana to Birmingham AL, I use a 1-ton van and a real trailer with real tie downs and secure it for roll over. If your 25 miles includes interstates or highways, I'd find a friend with experience to double check your work. Even posting pictures, we can miss things, like attaching to something that should not be used as an attachment point.

I bet @ptsg never hits 80 mph with that trailer, like some of you will on US interstates.