trailer safety factor

[ktm250rider]

Would a toyota tundra be capable of towing a JD 4510 with FEL york rake and perhaps a backhoe at some point? Doesnt seem likely to me. Towing capacity is only 6500 lbs. Am I going to have to go with a ford product if I want to tow my tractor?

 

[Slamfire]

If the Toyota can't cut the mustard, I'm sure Chevy and Dodge would love to have your money.

 

[Birdhunter1]

Am I going to have to go with a ford product if I want to tow my tractor?

ONLY IF YOU WANT IT TOWED RIGHT!

 

[rico304]

My JD 4300 weighs 2900 pounds, not counting filled tires and FEL. (Yours must be a few hundred more)
Add any attachment weight, plus around 2000(?) lbs for trailer.
Sounds like you might be moving up to an F-250. Not sure if you have a tow package or not. That tow capacity sounds low if it does.
I think I might wait until next year, but an F-250 is my future as well.

If the weight turns out ok to tow with your Tundra, I still wouldn't tow it until I got the electric brakes set up.

 

[monkeymonk]

F-250 maybe crew sounds good. Don't ya think? NO you cannot tow that with a Tundra (safely)You need at least a 3/4 ton for all that weight for safty and ease. My good budy went to rent a Bota and they refused to let him because he would have been towing with a tundra.Nothing against Yota's they last ut not long if ya tow and haul heavy loads.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Can a Tundra tow the load? Yes. Can it tow the load LEGALLY? I'm not going there.

I had a 2000 Tundra. With a 10,000 bumper pull trailer, I hauled 7700lbs worth of tractor a couple different times. (And I'll NEVER do anything like that again, I promise)

It was all the Tundra wanted, and maybe a little more. No damage, but I sure wouldn't do it on a sustained basis.

Single most important thing to remember? Lighter trucks have lighter brakes.

 

[ktm250rider]

It was going to be one of those 1-2 times a year thing if I got a job that needed the tractor. I think it would be better to just add the tractor delivery to the bill/quotes.

I bought it from a friend of mine who pulled it with a F150. He did it once without trailer brakes. Said after that it was no problem.

 

[roxynoodle]

I rented an Allmand Bros TLB (TYM?) and had no trouble whatsoever towing that with my Dodge 1500. I don't know what all the specs are on the Tundra but most 1/2 ton trucks can handle 7500-8000lbs so 6500 does sound low. You might not want to make a habit of it. If you do it make sure you use a trailer with brakes and have the brake unit in your truck. Also, if this is an automatic transmission (truck), make sure you turn off the overdrive. If it is manual do not use your highest gear. A lot of people ruin their trannys that way. I used a 95 Dodge Ram to tow my horse trailer for years and it got to 201,000 miles before I needed to replace the torque converter. The Ford F250 though is the best buy in a 3/4 ton truck. They don't cost much more than the F150. Properly rigged they can tow a heck of a lot but won't require the commercial plates the F350 does.

 

[knute_m]

Last year about this time, instead of waiting a day for a friend to help, I got impatient.

I towed a slightly smaller tractor, with bushhog, but on a fairly heavy tandem axel 18-foot trailer. I'm guessing the total was 6000 - 7000 lbs.

I only had to go about 6 miles, but it was in the WV mountains with our Ford Explorer. Our Explorer, with a V-8, is probably roughly equivalent in towing to an F-150. I knew I'd never be able to tow it with my half-ton Dodge Dakota.

That trip cost me $1500 for tranny repair.

I sure would suggest an F-250 or Dodge 2500.

Knute

 

[Jarrett]

Last year about this time, instead of waiting a day for a friend to help, I got impatient.

I towed a slightly smaller tractor, with bushhog, but on a fairly heavy tandem axel 18-foot trailer. I'm guessing the total was 6000 - 7000 lbs.

I only had to go about 6 miles, but it was in the WV mountains with our Ford Explorer. Our Explorer, with a V-8, is probably roughly equivalent in towing to an F-150. I knew I'd never be able to tow it with my half-ton Dodge Dakota.

That trip cost me $1500 for tranny repair.

I sure would suggest an F-250 or Dodge 2500.

Knute

Although it has a V8, the Explorer is not rated to tow what a 1/2 truck would.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Although it has a V8, the Explorer is not rated to tow what a 1/2 truck would.

You're right about that! I have a V8 in a Mountaineer (the Mercury version of the Explorer) and it is barely able to tow a trailer and a small tractor. I have a V6 in a VW Touareg and that will tow 7700# a lot easier than the Mountaineer will tow 4000#!

 

[Highbeam]

You'll get a lot of flack and manly grunts from the american truck crowd anytime you wnat to tow something substantial with an import. The Toyota has a 4.7 liter V8, very small, and the truck itself is not a full sized truck so it is kinda like a dakota. It is quite capable of a good many things but I would not want to overload it. If the tow rating says 6500 then I would stick to that.

Now the Tundra is not in the same league as an F150. The new half ton trucks have tow ratings in the 8000 lb and up range so it is entirely possible to do the job with a real half ton truck but they too have ratings.

What you have failed to bring to the table is the actual weight of the trailer/tractor. If you are within the ratings of that tundra then I would tow with it.

You will have a nicer tow with a big manly diesel 1 ton ford but it might not be necessary. I tow a pretty heavy package with my half ton chevy pickup and it does very well. Brakes of the tow vehicle are not relevant since the trailer has brakes.

 

[RedRocker]

You only have to go with a Ford if a Dodge isn't available.
I'd go no smaller than a 3/4 ton truck. Towing is only part of the equation, stopping and manuvering are in there too. Trailer brakes are nice, but they only help, so having a big truck with big brakes is a plus.

 

[Birdhunter1]

The new half ton trucks have tow ratings in the 8000 lb and up range so it is entirely possible to do the job with a real half ton truck but they too have ratings.

I can't speak for Chevy or Dodge but I do know my 06 F-150 (supercab 4wd ith a 5.4 and 3.55 LS rear end) is rated to nearly 8000 lbs. I don't know what they say the max is but I haved towed a Bobcat 325 Mini-ex (trailer and machine was near 80XX lbs.). The truck towed it fine, the trailer had surge brakes and stopping was not a problem. Now if I was towing that load everyday I'd want a 3/4 ton (base V8, V10 or deisel) just for the heavier suspension, but since I rented it I wasn't going to trade my capable truck in on a bigger new one.

Now what do I consistently tow with the set up I have.....an 18' flatbed equipment trailer and a MF135 with whatever I want behind it (though I haven't yet towed the tractor with my 6' landprde bushhog but I know my boxblade is almost as heavy as teh bushhog). The trailer is in the 2000 lbs-2500 lbs range, the tractor is in the ballpark of 4000 lbs. then add in equipment, fuel, whatever tools or other stuff you have in the bed... regardless there is no where I'd hesitate to haul my tractor with the truck and trailer I have.

 

[Birdhunter1]

FYI, on Ford's website they have an interactive towing guide http://www.fordvehicles.com/towing/popup.asp

It lists my truck as an 8300 lbs. towing limit and I will say that it will do it's rated limit very well, though I wouldn't want to do it everyday.

 

[bones1]

So you are telling me I should not tow my tractor-3600lbs with loader and trailer-2000lbs approx with my 2004 Dakota 4x4 V8.I haven't tried it yet and after reading here maybe I shouldn't.

 

[Lou_B]

If your truck is rated to tow 6500# and the trailer/tractor adds up to 5600#, you are within the design limits of the vehicle and it should do the job just fine.

With a 5600# load, your trailer's tongue weight would need to be about 800# if towing without a weight distributing hitch. Your hitch needs to be able to handle that tongue weight or you will have to go with the weight distributing setup.

Lou Braun

 

[roxynoodle]

Be sure and check what your hitch is rated to tow also. Most trucks come with a class 3 and I believe those are only rated to 5000 lbs. I always change mine to a class 5 to be able to take advantage of my max tow capacity.

A Dodge Dakota may very well tow higher than you think. The ones with the R/T package tow nearly as much as the half ton Ram does.

 

[bones1]

Dodge says 4800 with 3.55 gear and 6000 with 3.70 gear. Guess I'm out of luck on this one.I have the 3.55 gear and class 3 hitch.Thanks for the help anyway.

 

[century3045]

My empty trailer weighs 2200 lbs., I believe. My compact utility tractor weighs 3,890 lbs. The loader another 1325lbs. and the woods back hoe another 1,000 lbs. and I keep a set of woods 48" pallet forks hanging under the side. I am pulling off the bumper with my GMC 2500 Duramax diesel and it pulls it very well but sometimes I wish I had bought a gooseneck instead of bumper pull trailer. At the time I hated drilling and cutting in the bed of my new truck.