Truck & Trailer ideas to tow 14,000 and be under 26,000 pounds

[RandyT]

20% tongue is a lot. And 6400 is really a lot. I only get 12.5% added to GVWR on my Barbie trailer

Gooseneck recommended tongue weight of 15-25% so not outside normal.

 

[Hay Dude]

20% tongue is a lot. And 6400 is really a lot. I only get 12.5% added to GVWR on my Barbie trailer

Well you have to remember, that trailer wasn’t designed for a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup. It was designed for a 4500-5500 with a lot higher pin weight.

 

[LD1]

I have seen gooseneck trailers advertised with something like a 16,900 weight rating with 7K axles

Yup. Most often a pair of 7k axles gets a 14k rating.

And if the mfg is lazy, they give a payload capacity of 14k minus curb weight.

But sometimes you see a pair of 7k axles gets a 14.9k, or 15k or even higher rating. This is assuming tongue weight.

Sometimes a pair of 8k axles gets a 16k rating....sometimes it's even more.

My gn, before the sticker sun faded and is no longer legible.....listed a pair of 11.2k axles....12-ton capacity....and a 29,xxx gvwr.

It's all about load placement/balance/distribution.

In terms of what you can "legally" haul.....don't go over any individual axle or tire rating.

For most people....axle ratings minus trailer weight equals payload capacity gives a pretty good margin of error not to overload

 

[AnotherBueller]

I'm planning/thinking long term on what I need to buy. I'm in the process of buying my late brothers farm that's 60 miles away from my place. The two main reasons I'm doing this is that I believe it will significantly increase in value over time, and while I'm waiting to sell it, I want to make it a hay farm so I'm not dependent on finding people to buy hay from every year.

I need something to haul my tractors there, and then to haul hay back here.

My backhoe weighs 14,000 pounds. I'll only need it there to clear mesquite. I might leave it there for awhile, so there is the option of hiring somebody to haul it there, then haul it back when I'm done. I might also rent something local and have it delivered, but I'm not excited about that option.

My 70hp cab tractor weighs 9,000 pounds

My 65hp open station tractor weighs 5,000 pounds

So far I don't have any haying equipment, but whatever I buy, it will be a small round baler that I have enough power to run.

The 26,000 pound weight limit is something I want to stay under so I don't have to get a commercial drivers license. I had a Class A when I lived in California and I don't want to do that again.

My original plan was to find an older 3500 Ram diesel with a flatbed trailer, but the truck and trailer GVWR is way too high. Now I'm wondering if I should look at a 3/4 ton truck? and should I consider gas instead of diesel? Towing would be pretty straight each way. 45 minutes on Interstate 20, and 15 minutes on two Country Roads that's all flat land driving. It's not something I'll do every day, and probably just once a month except when haying and hauling hay two or 3 times a year depending on how much rain we get.

The less I spend the better, but it needs to be reliable. I'm nervous about a diesel truck with DEF. I'm also nervous about so many used diesels that have been Deleted. And I wonder if there is enough power with a gas engine? Finally, I'm hesitant to buy anything with single rear wheels. I'm sure they are capable, and I'm probably just worried about nothing, but I have it in my head that a dually is a must for towing heavy loads. Am I wrong? Am I dealing with enough weight to require dual rear wheels?

Since I'll be off pavement when on my farm and my brothers farm, I think that I need 4wheel drive. I don't need or really want 4 doors, or even the extra cab. I think that I'll save weight with a 2 door, single cab truck. I've been trying to find GVWR on different models of trucks, but they seem to be pretty generic in what I've found so far. Is there a lower GVWR on a single cab truck over a 4 door truck that can still haul a 14,000 pound backhoe?

Thank you

I have a '94 F-350 Diesel crew cab long bed 4X4 SRW that weighs in at 7,200 lb with ~300 lb in the cab. Per Mo state police my CGVW is what ever my plate says. Ford says I can tow 14,000 lbs.

 

[Bearsixty7]

I have a '94 F-350 Diesel crew cab long bed 4X4 SRW that weighs in at 7,200 lb with ~300 lb in the cab. Per Mo state police my CGVW is what ever my plate says. Ford says I can tow 14,000 lbs.

Where does Ford state that at? Most SRW pickups before 2000 are 10k, a rare few are 12.5K max towing capacity.

 

[AnotherBueller]

Where does Ford state that at? Most SRW pickups before 2000 are 10k, a rare few are 12.5K max towing capacity.

It was in the literature that came with the truck way back when.
It said 12.5K with a manual and 14K with an automatic.
Truck has the heavy duty, towing and snow plow packages.

Edit 1-9-23: Cleaned data sticker with a tooth brush. Truck does not have a CGVR GVWR - 9200lb, Front AWR-4600lb, Rear AWR 6084lb. No Combined Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. VIN 1TJW36K2REA14656. XLT Lariat Crew Cab SRW.
If anyone has better knowledge than I do (and my memory is getting old) please let me know. CHecked with my son and he reminded me tha we went across the scales at 7,200lbs going to cut firewood and came back across the same scales at 14,200 lbs with 1 1/3 cords of green red oak back in the '90s.

 

[aircommuter]

Like someone else said just a truck. My friend went daily oner the Santa Cruz because of the higher rate fir his backhoe over in Silicon Valley. He had rails on a cab and chassis truck.

 

[charlessenf]

Towing would be pretty straight each way. 45 minutes on Interstate 20, and 15 minutes on two Country Roads that's all flat land driving. It's not something I'll do every day, and probably just once a month except when haying and hauling hay two or 3 times a year depending on how much rain we get.

Did you price the hauling charge(s)?
Twelve hauls per year to a farm you intend to sell at a profit plus an unspecified number of trips to haul the hay.
Do folks buy hay where this farm is? Do folks cut and bale hay for others where this farm is?
What would the hay be worth (cash money) in a good year?

What would you expect to pay for the tow vehicle? Would you have to purchase a trailer as well?

What you want to look at is your Return On Investment. To do that you need to know these various costs as well as the alternatives mentioned.

You own the new farm, so lease it out, let someone else raise hay like your brother (I imagine) did. You get regular income to cover you mortgage payments and taxes, so what the hey are you doing buying new vehicles an schlepping hay about?

 

[charlessenf]

Avenger,

Interesting that we live in the same state ( and I think, in the same county) and got different answers (interesting but not surprising).

I reached at to The Washington State Patrol Commercial Enforcement division with the same question and was told that it didn’t matter if it was not for hire or for hire, if I was over 26000# on Washington roads and highways I needed a CDL unless I had the AG exemption.

Kind of wonder which answer is correct:

Try your state AG - or, you could search the statutes which are ONLINE. You could ask the WSPCED which statute they had reference to for a starter. Cops are not necessarily legal scholars, but the should be able to point you to teh statute they would write on any citation they might write, right?

 

[stumblinhorse]

Try your state AG - or, you could search the statutes which are ONLINE. You could ask the WSPCED which statute they had reference to for a starter. Cops are not necessarily legal scholars, but the should be able to point you to teh statute they would write on any citation they might write, right?

You would think with all the confusion, simply removing the word “commercial“ would help. Seemingly Nothing commercial about it. Just call it something simple like heavy operator license.