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

[Sid Post]

I think that’s something to be proud of. Your dad must have thought you were an impressive young man. I remember my dad letting me drive at 14.

At 13, I was driving our 1-ton Ford dually work truck ~16miles each way to fuel the tractor and do basic maintenance so, I did have a lot of experience on public roads for someone my age. I also drove a wheat truck to town some when I was 14 and 15 which most would call a 2-ton or 2.5-ton truck with a 20' grain bed.

 

[Sid Post]

A 14k machine on a 14k trailer is way overloaded. As @Fixastuff said 14k means GVWR not payload. Most of those weigh at least 4k. That is why I bought a 18k trailer so I could load my 14k machine on it.

I see it all the time. Dual 7k axle trailer going down the road way overloaded with a skid steer and more.

I had a ~25 year-old haul a rented 25,000# escavator out for some work on my property with a Chevy 2500 Silverado with a really good trailer. I'm glad I wasn't on the road while he pulled that. That trailer easily weighed 6,000# if he had flat or someone pulled out in front of him or pass and then signal a right turn, it would have been a catastrophic crash that likely would have killed people.

I know I have personally had three really close calls with people pulling out in front of me. One was leaving town in 45MPH zone that transitioned to 55MPH with a D4 Caterpillar on our Gooseneck trailer. Literally, as soon as this darwin award contestant pulled in after passing us, all we saw were brake lights and a turn signal with on-coming traffic. If dad didn't take the ditch with that heavy load, that person would have died as we crashed into him and pushed into on-coming traffic on the curve and taken out who know how many people on their way to town.

Dad and I topped a hill to find a lady fully stopped on the highway staring at an upside-down car in a pasture about 150 yards off the roadway. With oncoming traffic, pass on the left wasn't an option and dad took the ditch again, this time hitting a concrete embankment with a culvert which was completely knocked out of the ground and was thrown on the roadway!

The third really memorable one was coming down a long hill in Nebraska pulling a Combine with a Wheat truck. So a Darwin award candidate in a lime green Ford Courier pickup pulled out of the wheat field in front of me while I was doing about 75MPH on the 'flat' and coasting to slow down some accelerating down the hill to keep the trailer and combine from pushing me (the brakes were weak). I lost sight of that lime green pickup below the hood of my truck. I didn't feel contact but, would I in a heavy truck with a combine in tow compared to a lightweight mini-pickup? A 1/2 mile later, that same lime green pickup departed the roadway at speed into an open wheat field with a huge cloud of dust! I didn't notice any damage but, things happened very quickly. When we stopped for lunch, I checked the truck which was white for paint rubs or other signs of contact and found none. God or some Angels saved both of us that day because I had hit the pickup and rolled it in front of me there is no way I would not have jack-knifed with a 30' header from the bed of the wheat truck and a huge combine off the trailer impaling and crushing us.

Ask me again why I insist on good brakes and tires? Brakes and tires will save your life and prevent a lot of Darwin award candidates from suing you for their mistakes.

 

[Sid Post]

They don't want the liability. And there is no definitive answer either.

Your average 14k bumper pull trailer probably weighs 3000#....and a well balance load can probably have 2k tongue weight

In theory that allows an actual payload of ~13k

Now if the trailer mfg states that.....

And some jackwagon double stacks pallets of bricks as far forward as possible on the trailer....they are probably overloading both the truck, hitch, and front axle. And they don't want to assume the liability because they told you the payload is 13k.

Even so.... Some trailers DO list it. They give you a tire information sticker similar to trucks that says something like "max cargo and payload shal not exceed......" Which is usually just the sum of the axles minus the tare weight of the trailer. But technically you can legally haul more if you account for tongue weight

My BigTex 14PI is ~3100lbs without chains or any mud.

Weight distribution is required to tow safely. Yes, you want weight on the tongue of the trailer so it doesn't POGO going down the road and will stop safely but, 1~2,000lbs is plenty. Also, remember that the load will often shift forward over time going down the road as well if you travel very far. Even though you use a cheater bar on those chain booms, there is still tension enough to let a heavy load creep forward some. That's why you see a lot of trucks pulled over checking the tension on chains and straps. Straps especially tend to stretch and become loose so, you are being foolish if you don't stop and check them periodically. It generally takes me ~200 miles to get straps to settle down and stay tight.

 

[Sid Post]

I’d like to see that in writing. I just looked again. I could drive his plow truck if the township road superintendent declared a “snow emergency” but that’s the only exclusion I could find. I’m pretty sure either of the two dump trucks are rated over 26,000 pounds and they have air brakes.

It varies from State to State. I know in Dallas they had the bus mechanics get their CDL for insurance cost reasons.

 

[LD1]

I know people often mention the tow vehicle and being able to stop a load as a reason to have a bigger truck....

In reality, the trailer should be able to handle it's own braking regardless of tow vehicle. And a trailer rated for a 25k excavator, simply activating the trailer brakes should drag the truck to a halt rather quickly.

I can pull my 3000# dump trailer empty, or my GN with a D3 dozer in it (~24k) and my stopping distance is the same

Not that I am advising anyone to tow a 25k excavator behind a 3/4 ton (because I don't see how it's possible for a properly balanced load)....but what's the difference in towing 30-35k with a 7500lb truck, vs towing 80k with a 15,000# semi? If anything the ratio of truck vs trailer is better with the 3/4-ton.

 

[Sid Post]

The Federal government has certain exceptions for farmers when it comes to license. That being said you have to check with your home state to 1. see if what you are doing counts as being a farmer. 2. What special license or endorsements you need if over 26,000lbs (GVWR or actual). 3.If you are a farmer what type of vehicle registration you need. Under the feds and MAP21 each State had to have 1 way to identify farmers to take advantage of the exceptions. Some use the license plate, some use a form to be carried in the vehicle... For the weight you are carrying if you have too small of a truck you will just wear it out and or break something.

It all depends on the State. Several (I think more than half0 have a licensing requirement for vehicles over 26k (GVWR or actual) that includes RV's. It is up to your home State.

Dad had a friend tagged for Thou$ands in a weight fine in New Jersey hauling his travel trailer. All trailers were forced to cross the scales and guess what, that monster 5th wheel travel trailer combined with a Ram 3500 dually was over 26K#'s.

Seems like his fine to the state of New Jersey was $3200.

 

[stumblinhorse]

Agree with @LD1. Everything you haul should be within the specs of what you are hauling it with and it should be safe. It is a given that people these days see a truck and trailer coming and jump out in front assuming you will keep them from getting to their important business, whatever that is. With the power of todays rigs it is very easy to pull 15k around with a 3/4 ton and 20k with a 1 ton. The one thing that I see that makes me cringe is what people are putting on a bumper pull trailer. Somehow in the last few years, manufacturers are putting hitches on at the factory that weren’t even thought possible. I put on a Reese titan class 5 on my 01 3/4 ton so I felt safe with my bumper pull, and that thing was stout and heavy. Now that is like half of what my 16 Ram can have attached to the bumper hitch.

 

[Sid Post]

I'm sure of the current Ford F-350's but, the F-450/550 have a 3" receiver.

Most Diesel Rams (not 4500/5500) have a 2 1/2" receivers with a sleeve to reduce it to 2". The problem my friend has with his Dodge pickup is not the tow vehicle but, the receiver ball he sticks on it. Yes, it is a 2 5/16th ball but, the tube connecting it to the pickup is not rated the same as the ball! Like a chain, the weak link is where the problem is so, not necessarily the tow vehicle or trailer!

And yes, my solid 30K# ball receiver hitch for my 2" and 2 5/16" balls is not the weakest link but, they also cost more than the 2" receiver hitch with 2 5/16" ball from Walmart.

 

[RandyT]

Agree with @LD1. Everything you haul should be within the specs of what you are hauling it with and it should be safe. It is a given that people these days see a truck and trailer coming and jump out in front assuming you will keep them from getting to their important business, whatever that is. With the power of todays rigs it is very easy to pull 15k around with a 3/4 ton and 20k with a 1 ton. The one thing that I see that makes me cringe is what people are putting on a bumper pull trailer. Somehow in the last few years, manufacturers are putting hitches on at the factory that weren’t even thought possible. I put on a Reese titan class 5 on my 01 3/4 ton so I felt safe with my bumper pull, and that thing was stout and heavy. Now that is like half of what my 16 Ram can have attached to the bumper hitch.

Something I have also been wondering. Years ago anything over 600# tongue or 6K trailer required weight distributor hitch. And the main reason was to keep from unloading the front axle weight. So how are they preventing that unloading with the new pickup trucks that don't require weight distributors towing 15K.

 

[stumblinhorse]

I'm sure of the current Ford F-350's but, the F-450/550 have a 3" receiver.

Most Diesel Rams (not 4500/5500) have a 2 1/2" receivers with a sleeve to reduce it to 2". The problem my friend has with his Dodge pickup is not the tow vehicle but, the receiver ball he sticks on it. Yes, it is a 2 5/16th ball but, the tube connecting it to the pickup is not rated the same as the ball! Like a chain, the weak link is where the problem is so, not necessarily the tow vehicle or trailer!

And yes, my solid 30K# ball receiver hitch for my 2" and 2 5/16" balls is not the weakest link but, they also cost more than the 2" receiver hitch with 2 5/16" ball from Walmart.

Yup in 01 the Reese was all there was with a 2 1/2 receiver. No one that saw that thing knew they existed. So my 16 uses the same 2 1/2 receiver. But the titan is rated for 10k. There is no limit for my 2016. Only the capacity for the truck…