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

[Rustyiron]

Eddie that trailer you have pictured can't be 96" in between the rails. 102" is the maximum legal width and I believe that all you can squeak out of a deck between the wheel (and fenders) is in the 80" range.
Ramps on a "deckover" with a std beavertail can be real assuring the your loads not going to roll off the back.
Be careful with your "just one strap" thinking, especially for 60 miles. This is one of the easy to spot reasons for Johnny law to pull you and snoop around.

Sorry Eddie, I never heard of such a trailer and don't do fb.

 

[4570Man]

I wouldn’t want a 116 wide trailer. It’s already hard to keep a 102 trailer from dropping off the side of the road which it does frequently when you have to maintain your lane because there’s traffic in the other side.

 

[nisaacs]

That trailer would be too specialized for most uses. The fixed load ramps are too close to the ground for off highway. With the axles clear to the rear, a load of hay will give you some heavy pin weight. 20' is also kind of short.

 

[Hay Dude]

Get a Kaufmannnnnnnnnn!!!!!!

 

[JESSE1]

Thank you for the suggestion, but I don't think it's a workable option. I'll need to be able to haul different things back and forth, along with hauling livestock. I already have a 16 foot cattle trailer, so the truck would be used for two different types of trailers.

I'm also leaning strongly towards getting as low a trailer as possible. The higher everything is, the more effort it will take to hold it in place. This is a picture of what I'm liking the best. It's 22 feet long, it doesn't have any folding or slide out ramps, you just drive right up on it, and it's 8 feet wide between the rails, so I can fit two round bales between the rails and not have to strap them down. I'm thinking 10 bales with one strap on the back, and then 4 or five more on top that I'll have to strap down. Strapping down round bales takes forever!!!!

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

This dealer is pretty close to where I live. He's asking $9,650 for a brand new 2023 and it's at 21,000lb GVWR, 5,700lb empty weight, 15,300lbs carrying cap with three 7,000 pound axles.

View attachment 777992


View attachment 777993

That triple axle trailer is used for loading a tractor with a rake or hay baler behind it. Keeps from having to haul the tractor and baler separately. Farm use only because it's extra wide. The people that bale my hay have them and they can quickly load a tractor with rake or baler and move to the next field. All the load on the rear of the trailer but that's why the axles are set so far back. You may want to consider a 102" wide low profile trailer with drive-over fenders.

 

[JESSE1]

This is the type I'm thinking about. I would get at least a 28'. 102x24 Gooseneck Equipment Hauler - trailers - by owner - vehicle...

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

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'm next door in AR. I don't have a CDL. I don't hesitate to drive a Kenworth, low boy, 40000# Trac hoe. D7 dozer. Mack tri axle dump truck, never been stopped. Texas is about the same. I checked it out once. I'm near Texarkana so going over that way tends to happen occasionally. Louisiana I only dabble around the edge. They wanted me to run down near Baton Rouge and pick up two skid steers. All the 1 tons were busy and the Kenworth was available, but I didn't go. I might have snaked on down there in a 1 ton and pulled it off. But not in a big truck in Louisiana. I'm thinking their limit is 10,000# on commercial vehicles. I do not like the way Louisiana state troopers work in packs. Every day when I came home from welding gas flange pipe in Shreveport, there was six trooper vehicles at Dixie inn. One on the overpass with radar and two catch vehicles on each side on the ramps.

 

[RandyT]

I am confused by a few statements about CDL. I don’t haul anything for money. I haul to save my money. 26k means nothing if you don’t do it commercially. If you don’t have DOT numbers the only thing you will get stopped for is failure to secure something properly. But that is even a stretch. My trailer is rated for 18k and I run a Dodge 3500 SB SRW with 3.42s and a 68rfe.

Just because you are not hauling commercially doesn't mean the vehicle isn't regulated as a commercial vehicle in your state. In IL a pickup truck with a GVWR of 8001 or more is classified as commercial by the state even not used for income. So a pickup towing a trailer with a combined weight of 26001 or more is commercial regardless of use.

 

[stumblinhorse]

Just because you are not hauling commercially doesn't mean the vehicle isn't regulated as a commercial vehicle in your state. In IL a pickup truck with a GVWR of 8001 or more is classified as commercial by the state even not used for income. So a pickup towing a trailer with a combined weight of 26001 or more is commercial regardless of use.

Glad I don’t live in IL. Seems like a lot of bureaucracy since almost all 3/4 ton and up trucks are over 8001 GVWR. It would surprise me if every 2500 truck was registered commercial. But seems like a great way to charge/tax people without them knowing.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm really enjoying this thread and everyones advice. Thank you!!!

Since I'm just in the looking stage of things, and trying to learn as much as I can before I commit to anything, everything is on the table.

I just saw this truck on FB. 2009 Chevy Silverado 3500 2 door, 4 wheel drive, flat bed, Duramax engine with 112,000 miles for $26,000. If I was ready to buy, I think this is just about exactly what I'm wanting.

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

Once I buy a truck, I'll become more serious about the trailer. I'm still liking that 22foot Tiger farm trailer the best, but since I don't have any experience with anything, I'm also sure that it's more of an emotional attachment then a knowledgeable one.

Here in my area of Texas, and I'm guessing it's common all over the state, are people hauling hay in hay trailers that are two rows wide. The guy I'm buying 20 bales from next week for my brothers place hauls with one of them. Ten bales lined up side by side that he pulls with a Chevy 3500 truck. Five foot bales put him at least 120 inches wide. The guy that I buy my hay from for my place hauls 18 round bales in two rows. I've bought 6 foot bales from him, which was at least 144 inches wide. He feels that's pushing things, so now he only delivers 5 1/2 foot bales, which is 132 inches wide. He's been doing this for years, and I see so many other people doing this, I have to think that it's something that they are not getting pulled over for. I also have to wonder how the hay trailer companies can sell these things if they are illegal?

I forget if these bales are 6 foot or 5 1/2 feet, but this is him delivering hay to my place.