Water Wagon Tow Capacity

[NevadaMOGuy]

Hi All,

New owner of a BX-25. Awesome machine.

So far, beside a little yard cleanup moving rocks and mowing, I've planted 230 trees and installed a 8" x 20' culvert across a gravel drive way.

I am also a new owner of 40 acres, a bit overwhelming sometimes, and have plans to plant fruit trees in the future.

I've been using a little 30 gallon tow behind sprayer with my Sears lawnmower to water the new trees.....yes....there are a lot of refills.

With the last summer making everything so dry to worry about fires and with the addition of new trees with more to come I've been looking at water wagons. To be able to move water around the property.

My question is what would be the max size water wagon I could tow with my BX?
The terrain is slopping terraced pasture for about half of it and slight sloping for the rest, not much actual level land...it all slopes down to the creek.

Two manufactures I've been looking at are Kiser and Water Dog in the 300 and 325 size....could I do 500 / 525?

Thanks.

200 & 300 gallon Kiser Water Wagons - ATV, UTV & Compact Tractor

Water Trailers: WaterDog 325 Gallon Water Transport Trailer

 

[MossflowerWoods]

WELCOME to TBN!

I don't have an answer, but I like this thread.

I've been looking (not hard, my money's all spent for now) for an Army Surplus "Water Buffalo" so I can haul water up to the pastures until I can get a well dug up topside.

Thanks for these links. I will hoe one of the smart guys answers your questions so I will know also!

Be well, Happy tractoring!
David

 

[Smallplot]

NavadaMOguy here is my two cents. Your BX25 is listed on Kubota's sight as weighing 1,542 pounds. Water weighs 8.34 pounds. 200 gallons will weigh 1668 pounds without adding the weight of the trailer. Simple physics if what you are pulling weighs more than you it will push you down a hill. I would not do more than 60 gallon (and that would still be pushing the envelope) if I were you (still 500 pounds of water). With the bigger tanks you really need a tractor and not a lawn tractor i am sorry to say. My answer is based on years of farming and pulling around a 250 gallon sprayer behind a 100 hp tractor (on hills can still get a little hairy at times).

 

[NevadaMOGuy]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the quick replies.

Smallplot, I see your reasoning but I think 60 gallons of water might be a bit to conservative for the BX-25.

60 gallons at 8.34 pounds is around 500 pounds. I think the backhoe itself weighs more than that.

 

[yooper jim]

Oh .......... Nevada
Look out for the safety police! They are lurking.:laughing:
Jim

 

[Smallplot]

True on the weight of the backhoe but it is attached solidly to the unit and not attached at a single hinge point. The weight of the backhoe is static - it does not change or move around. The water will slosh around in the tank - dynamic - causing more force than just the 500 pounds. This dynamic water movement acting on the single hinge - the hitch pin- can have disastrous results. In my opinion you have this new tractor and I am sure it is a fine machine but it has its limits just like any tractor out there. Those limits are not always can it pull this much or not. You have to think about the total package. I agree with you if the ground is flat but as you described it, sloping terraced pasture, tells me it is not flat. Another thing to consider is your brakes. Will they be able to safely stop double or more than the weight of your BX25 repeatedly if you go with a larger tank or in an emergency situation? Give your dealer a call and ask their opinion. Some at Hartzler Equipment should be able to answer this question honestly taking into account your BX25's specs. Good luck and keep us updated with your choice and how it performs for you. And be safe.

 

[check 6]

We have had a very dry summer here in Central Texas so I have been watering neighborhood trees. My set up is my 50 gal sprayer on the rear three pointof my BX2360, a 30 gal drum filled with water in the FEL and I pull a single axle trailer ( trailer hitch on the back frame of the sprayer) that I have put a 65 gal plastic tank filled as well as a plastic 50gal drum 3/4 full. Yes our ground is basically flat but the tractor plus all that with no problems. Love the sprayer as I have a hose with a pressure nozzle on it so I can spray off the leaves. Sprayer uses a wobble pump arrangement off the PTO . The sprayer set up also gives me 50 gals capacity to attack possible brush fires as I can spray up to 30 feet.

 

[Danner]

I have a BX26, and my manual says it can tow 1760 pounds. I suppose your BX25 is similar. Looks like 200 gallons would be about right. There's a margin of safety built into these specs, and assuming you aren't going to run it at other extremes (steep hills, high/low temps,/long periods, etc.), I think you could go 300 gal. without too much trouble.

BTW, those Kiser wagons look pretty nice, I could use one down here in TX right about now.

 

[gwdixon]

I have a BX2200 and tow a 450 gallon water wagon. It is really all it can handle with turf tires. The slightest change in elevation and the HST labors - have to go to low range.

My land is fairly level so hilly country would be a nightmare. I'd recommend a tank size of about 250 gallons or so for safety and functionality in the hills.

BTW, I planted 208 tree seedlings in my 600+ tree orchard and the seedlings require three full loads and five hours to water them. Watering was done every three weeks in the hot dry California summer.

Refilling the tank from two water hoses takes 30 minutes.

The photo is when it was brought to the farm from purchase.

 

[KubotaSam]

I pull a trailer with 200 gallons of water and a pump (another 30 or so pounds) behind my B7100 with no problems.

 

[kf4uda]

Looking at the specs of your BX25, it weighs 1542lbs. The Kiser 200 gal trailer full of water weighs 2389lbs. On level ground I am sure it would work ok. On hills and slopes I think you could get into trouble very quickly.

Kiser specs shows the empty weight of the 200 gal trailer to be 690lbs. Using that number and adding 100 gal of water puts you at 1524lbs. Which matches the weight of your tractor fairly close. So my vote would be a max of 100 gallon or so tank on a trailer similar to the Kiser.

 

[wrooster]

You can tow 6000 pounds with a BX... in high range. I read it right here on TBN:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/217396-towing-bx24-25-a.html

Wrooster

 

[amaxwell]

You can tow 6000 pounds with a BX... in high range. I read it right here on TBN:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/217396-towing-bx24-25-a.html

Wrooster

Towing is easy! STOPPING on a hill is a diffrent animal !!!!!!!

 

[Kevinc2004]

Sloshing water will move much more than its own weight. On a hill it COULD turn you over! A farm sprayer made a BELIEVER out of me on a much larger tractor!

 

[wrooster]

Towing is easy! STOPPING on a hill is a diffrent animal !!!!!!!

I attempted to get your point across in that thread, to no avail.

Wrooster

 

[LD1]

You have a little tractor and I think 300 gal would be overkill on hills. I agree with others that it is not good practice to tow more than the weight of the machine on hills. Even though it CAN be done, the risk goes up exponentially with increased weight.

Simple physics if what you are pulling weighs more than you it will push you down a hill.

That makes no sense to me:confused2:

Too many variables. If the hill is steep enough, a 2lb trailer will push you down the hill. Heck, the tractor may push its own self down the hill with the tires locked up if the hill is steep enough.

And if the hill is only like a 1% grade, double the weight might not even push you down the hill.

There are just too many variables for a blanket statement like that to be valid.

But like I said though, I wouldnt tow more than the tractor weighs on any kind of hill at all.

And actually, your BX manual should list a MAX trailer weight. And that (as others have mentioned) is based on braking ability, NOT pulling ability. You tractor can pull WAY more than it can safely stop.

 

[Singlemalt]

Check your owners manual/tractor specs.

My L 3710 (37 horsepower) was only rated for a 5000 pound trailer load.

 

[Verticaltrx]

If the owners manual says it can safely handle an 1800lb trailer, or whatever the number was, then that's what I'd shoot for. The implement limitations in the Kubota manual are pretty conservative, so I'd feel safe with what they recommend. My gut feeling is that a 100-150gal water tank would be plenty, but depending on the trailer you might get away with 200gal. One other thing is that you want a standard trailer type rig that will give some tongue weight. With a 4 wheeled wagon setup there is no tongue weight and it won't give any increased traction on hills.

Oh, and as to the poster who said it isn't safe to pull anything heavier than the tractor, that just isn't true. My B3200 is rated to pull 3300lbs (per Kubota) and it only weighs 1800lbs. It handles that much weight well, even on moderate slopes. The key is to have plenty of tongue weight to maintain traction.

 

[mdelmarcelle]

Do you have access to any trailer that you can load up with some sort of weight and experiment with? Might give you a sense for what you can comfortably handle on your property.

And I concur with the folks that disagreed with the claim you are not able to pull anything heavier than your tractor. Think of semi's on the road. Their trailers typically weigh much more than the tractor. While the weight of the trailer is typically partially transfered to the rear axles of the truck, there are those trailer setups with several axles with only a relatively small portion of the weight on the rear axle of the truck. An even better example would be a train. Trains pull several times their weight. The cars the train pulls have their own brakes, but the train must have substaintial traction to even get the train moving.

 

[Smallplot]

You have a little tractor and I think 300 gal would be overkill on hills. I agree with others that it is not good practice to tow more than the weight of the machine on hills. Even though it CAN be done, the risk goes up exponentially with increased weight.



That makes no sense to me:confused2:

Sorry about that I have grown up around tractors and farm equipment and don't explain myself well at times. Guess I should have said it differently, my bad!. Considering his property is terraced am guessing there is a pretty good slope or else there would have been no need for the terraces. When going down hill, he will not be pulling the load but holding it back. Of the 1542 pounds listed as the weight of the BX25 only a portion of this weight is located at the rear tires. Too much trailer weight can push the rear of the tractor sideways even while traveling in a straight line and only makes it worse with water sloshing around in a tank. The heavier the tractor the less chance of this happening.
Might also add that a tractor is designed to perform at certain levels which have maximum limits. But why work your tractor at the maximum limit, it will only cause increased wear and tear on the machine leading to shorter equipment life and larger repair bills.
Many people on here have purchased a tractor only to find their original purchase was not big enough to handle what they need it to do. NevadaMoGuy may be in this category if he is wanting to pull a couple hundred gallons of water across his property. This all depends on his property, condition of the land, and how often he will have to do this.