Ford 4610 trailer conundrum

[ETD66SS]

I bought a 4610SU a couple of years ago.

The rear tire tracking was similar to this 4610 this when I bought mine:

When I put new tires on it, I experimented with the rim/center disc combinations to get the tracking dimension smaller.

I ended up with this as the best I could do without hitting the fenders:

The trailer I want to buy is 78 inches between frame rails.

16 Ft. 8,000 lb. Wood Skid Steer

The 16.9 x 24 tires are killing me here. I wish before I bought new tires I would have searched for rims that accepted 14.9 x 28 tires, but it's too late now, paid over $1100 for that rear rubber.

As far as I can tell, I'd have to remove the ROPS and move the fenders all the way in to get the tires close together enough to fit on the trailer I want?

Any other ideas?

 

[Zebrafive]

How close are you to the fenders? Where would next step in put you?
Is removing the ROPS an option?
Have you tried finding someone with smaller wheels tires and working a trade?

 

[ETD66SS]

How close are you to the fenders? Where would next step in put you?
Is removing the ROPS an option?
Have you tried finding someone with smaller wheels tires and working a trade?

Well, If I buy a trailer that is 82" between fenders, I have no inches left And would probably rub the tires everytime I load/unload.

I don't really need the rops, my land is flat. The canopy is nice for working in the sun however...

I just bought the tires $1100. I think I would get screwed in any trade deal...

Many are suggesting a deckover trailer, but I don't want one of those, first off they are about $1000 more, and the CG of the load is too high for my liking.

I really wanted the skidsteer trailer, and that deck is 3" lower than the equipment trailer, but only 78" between fenders.

I think what I'm going to do is leave the rops on, remove the fenders and flip the rim centers, then see what that gets me as far as width.

If that works, I can make up my own sheetmetal fenders, similar to these:

 

[Jerry/MT]

I bought a 4610SU a couple of years ago.

The rear tire tracking was similar to this 4610 this when I bought mine:

When I put new tires on it, I experimented with the rim/center disc combinations to get the tracking dimension smaller.

I ended up with this as the best I could do without hitting the fenders:

The trailer I want to buy is 78 inches between frame rails.

16 Ft. 8,000 lb. Wood Skid Steer

The 16.9 x 24 tires are killing me here. I wish before I bought new tires I would have searched for rims that accepted 14.9 x 28 tires, but it's too late now, paid over $1100 for that rear rubber.

As far as I can tell, I'd have to remove the ROPS and move the fenders all the way in to get the tires close together enough to fit on the trailer I want?

Any other ideas?

Why not get a wider trailer? You won't regret it. I take it you do excavating work and need to haul your tractor to various locations.A wider trailer that allows you to position your loads for proper balance will give you more loading flexibility in case you are carrying other stuff to the job.

I have a Ford 4610 and when the PO delivered it, he had it on a car hauler that was about 7 ft between the trailer fenders. The front wheel track on mine is adjusted slightly narrower (~6ft?) then the rear wheel track (which is about 7ft IIRC) and he drove the tractor on so that the rear wheels were against the trailer fenders. That's the only way it would fit on that trailer. I don't know how the trailer balanced out with the tractor but he drove it through Seattle traffic at rush hour to our place at that time which was about 50 miles S of his business. he said it towed fine.

We have a 25 ft GN BT flatbed that's 8-1/2 ft wide and I hauled our TD95D/820TL Loader from S of Roswell NM to Montana with our '99 F350 SD. It was easy to load and balance and towed beautifully.
Personally I wouldn't futz around trying to make the tractor fit the trailer. I'd get a trailer that allowed more flexibilty for loading.

Your $'s, your Choice.

 

[ETD66SS]

Nah, I don't own a business, and I probably will not even haul my equipment much, I just want the ability to be able to haul them if I need to.

Right now, I do need the ability to haul my Ford 1620 back and forth between my house and my land for mowing/snow plowing. But that is only 2 hauls per year as the 1620 stays at my house during winter, and my land during mowing season, and it is only 4 miles each way

I am in need of a trailer primarily for moving stuff like logs, picking up stuff I order that may be on pallets or otherwise too bulky for a PU truck.

I won't really need to haul tractors much, but I want the ability to haul the pieces of equip I do have, and I don't really want a deckover for hauling a 4610 or the like with a PU truck, that high center of gravity does not sit well with me...

I'm trying to future proof my trailer purchase a bit.

 

[rambler]

Why are we hauling the tractor, and how are we using the tractor?

You're worried about the center of gravity of the trailer if it is higher, I'd be worried about the narrow width of the tractor if you narrow it up.

Buy a trailer to match your tractor, wouldn't want to deal with trying to fit the tractor to the wrong trailer.

Just my opinion.


Edit: I see we were typing at the same time. If hauling this tractor is not really needed, then I wouldn't worry about it too much. Sounds like the trailer works for all your real needs. Can always hire or rent a bigger trailer in the rare case you need to haul your bigger tractor. Seems like a non-issue. It appears if you take the fenders off you can flip the rims from side to side & it will fit, for that one time haul, so it will be possible.

For me the tractor needs to be the right width and the right tires for the traction I need, and so on - I focus on m tractor being set up to do the jobs I need done, so I guess I'd never set up my trctor in a silly configuration so it could fit on a trailer just in case I someday need to haul it. Looks like you _could_ narrow it up enough to haul once in a blue moon, seems good enough for what you want?

--->Paul

 

[ETD66SS]

Why are we hauling the tractor, and how are we using the tractor?

You're worried about the center of gravity of the trailer if it is higher, I'd be worried about the narrow width of the tractor if you narrow it up.

Buy a trailer to match your tractor, wouldn't want to deal with trying to fit the tractor to the wrong trailer.

Just my opinion.

I use the tractor for general purpose stuff:

Brush Hog
Box Blade
Tiller
Post hole Digger
Other farming needs, etc

My land is not sloped in any way, I never work on an incline except cutting drainage ditches.

As far as why am I hauling the 4610SU?

I'm not. At the moment, I have no need to haul it anywhere... But I don't want to buy a trailer that would not allow me to haul it, ever. Likewise, I don't want to spend an extra $1000 on a trailer to haul the 4610SU, if I have no great need to do so at the present time.

My main question is, with all those U-Bolt locations on the 4610SU rear axle for fender/sway bar locations, and the rim/center combination possibilities, what are my options? Is there a min. allowable tracking width for safety purposes?

I mean, if I make the tires as skinny as possible, with no ROPS, was that not an original option for this tractor? Would there be some kind of roll-over disclaimer with a tractor in a user manual somewhere telling me not to do so?

If Ford sold a 4610 with 14.9 x 28 tires in the rear, the tracking width is already substantially less than I have now. Right?

The most expensive trailer I'm willing to buy will have 82" between fenders, which means as my 4610SU currently sits, may or may not fit on that trailer. That's the conundrum without doing anything to the tractor.

 

[Smallplot]

If only 4 miles and two times a year I would drive it. By the time you hook up a trailer, load, and secure you could have jumped on and driven most of the distance in that time.

What is the wright of your tractor and heaviest implement you would transport? Seems an 8000 lb trailer may be under rated for the haul

 

[dkizerian]

I'd get a wider trailer, just for future flexibility. I've had one skinny trailer for hauling cars, and the day I got rid of it and didn't have to perfectly wedge cars between fenders was a great day.

If your new trailer had a full width deck with the fenders cut into it, you could drive it up till the tires were just against the fenders, but this doesn't give you any flexibility to adjust for weight distribution.

 

[rambler]

I mean, if I make the tires as skinny as possible, with no ROPS, was that not an original option for this tractor? Would there be some kind of roll-over disclaimer with a tractor in a user manual somewhere telling me not to do so?

If Ford sold a 4610 with 14.9 x 28 tires in the rear, the tracking width is already substantially less than I have now. Right?

We typed at the same time twice in a row - I edited the message above but you might not have seen that.

Every Ford manual I've seen has explained the tractor widths and listed the varoius opions, your manual should tell you the info you want. However different from factory tire and rim combinations can alter that a bit.

I get more concerned about using my tools in good ways, than in possibly maybe hauling them some day maybe.

If you are doing a dry run to see if the tractor will fit on the trailer, that's cool. Return the tractor to it's safe, best usefulness configuration.

I sure wouldn't remove the rollover structure, narrow up the tractor as much as possible, buy narrower tires, and _use_ it that way for years, with the thought that someday I might haul it on a trailer.

Narrower rubber tires means less traction.

Narrower wheel settings means it doesn't track as well, easier to tip, doesn't fit some implements as well, mud doesn't clear as well.

No roll over means it's less safe - since you are worried about the safety of a too-high of a trailer, I'd think you would be worried about a narrow tractor without the rops.

Seems you are worried about a situation that is rare to come up, but your solutions make the tractor much less safe and harder to use along the way?

I'm probably just not quite understanding your intentions here - if you are just trying to see how narrow you can make the tractor for a very rare tactor haul, and then returning it to it's original stance that's cool.

It's pretty common to flip the tires around for a haul to narrow them up - the treads are on backwards, but doesn't matter for just hauling it, put things back again when you get where you want to use the tractor. Since it sounds like this would be a once in 5 years sort of deal.....

--->Paul

 

[aczlan]

how much clearance is there between the tires and the fenders? Could you put the "dish" on the other side of the mounting locations on the rim? That looks like it would gain you 4" which would get you on the trailer.
I would not remove the ROPS it protects you from both sideways rollovers and reverse rollovers (pulling out a stump) but the fenders could probbaly be modified to fit if need be.

Aaron Z

 

[ETD66SS]

It's pretty common to flip the tires around for a haul to narrow them up - the treads are on backwards, but doesn't matter for just hauling it

Nice idea

Thing is, I'm not sure in order to do that, that I'd not have to not only flip the tires from one side to the other, but remove the carriage bolts, flip the centers, and remove the fenders.

I have no problems of reverse treads for hauling

This thread was meant to be more about what are my options with the rear wheels on the 4610, permenant modification or otherwise, as opposed to what kind of trailer to buy. I'm NOT buying a deck over, period

As far as the rops, I'd like to keep it yes, but not because I'm scared of tipping, but more for protection from the sun I used Ford 8n's all ther way up to a 3400 with loader without any ROPS while I was a kid and I am still alive.

I will say, that the current tracking width on this tractor seems way too wide. My brother owns a Ford 4500 backhoe from the 70's, and in no way are his tires this wide (Just a guess on my part). ****, if I measured the tracking on my Ford 575D TLB, I bet they are not as wide as this 4610.

Bottom line is, this tracking width seems excessive to me, and I was wondering if I can change it is all.

I know there will be tons of safety ppl coming into this thread telling me I'm gonna die, then after I die bolts of lightning will strike my corpse if I mess with these tires

I guess I need to find out, if a 4610 tractor sold with 14.9 x 28 tires, no rops, what the outside dimension of the tires would be. That I guess would be the theoretical min tracking distance I'd want to use.

EDIT: As I said, before I bought new rubber, I wish I would have looked for 14.9 x 28 tires & rims...

 

[aczlan]

Here is what I am thinking, pull the carriage bolts and move the "dish" to where the arrows are pointing. That should gain you 2-3 inches per side without hitting the fender (and you can pull it if it does).



Aaron Z

 

[ETD66SS]

I'll try that on one tire tonight.

I think it will hit the fender though...

 

[aczlan]

I'll try that on one tire tonight.
I think it will hit the fender though...

Measure the clearance and compare that to the width of the mount & the thickness of the center "dish" that will tell you if it will fit.

Aaron Z

 

[dsgsr]

Well, If I buy a trailer that is 82" between fenders, I have no inches left And would probably rub the tires everytime I load/unload.

I don't really need the rops, my land is flat. The canopy is nice for working in the sun however...

I just bought the tires $1100. I think I would get screwed in any trade deal...

Many are suggesting a deckover trailer, but I don't want one of those, first off they are about $1000 more, and the CG of the load is too high for my liking.

I really wanted the skidsteer trailer, and that deck is 3" lower than the equipment trailer, but only 78" between fenders.

I think what I'm going to do is leave the rops on, remove the fenders and flip the rim centers, then see what that gets me as far as width.

If that works, I can make up my own sheetmetal fenders, similar to these:

The tire problem is why I bought this Tralier.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/private-party-ads/235625-6-ton-equipment-trailer.html

Now I'm selling it and have bought A heavier deckover for my M-59.


David

 

[dkizerian]

I'll try that on one tire tonight.

I think it will hit the fender though...

It looked like there was a bit of room between your fender and the ROPS, maybe that'll be enough to get everything where you want/need it, then ad fenders that attach to the ROPS above the tire?

 

[ETD66SS]

It looked like there was a bit of room between your fender and the ROPS, maybe that'll be enough to get everything where you want/need it, then ad fenders that attach to the ROPS above the tire?

BINGO!

If I remove the bracket on the fender, and drill & tap holes into the ROPS, I can mount the fender right to the ROPS and it will clear.

I moved the center to the outside of the carriage bolt brackets on the rim, and I was hitting the fender bracket, with about 1/2" interference:

Pushing the lift arm all the way towards the tire, it clears by about 1 inch, good enough for me:

I'll remove the fender mounting bracket, and mount the fender to the ROPS, this will give me about 1" of clearance between the tire & fender:

It moved the tire in about 2", so I'll be able to get the outside tire dimension to 78"

The skidsteer trailer I want is 78" between frame rails, and I still believe it's 82" between fenders, so that will give me just enough clearance.

I may flip the center so that the rounded part is outward, and put the center back behind the brackets on the rim, I think this will give me the same offset as I have currently, but I think in looks better if the rounded part of the center is facing outward.

 

[bcp]

I've seen lots of tricycle tractors with drawbars on the front for towing with a truck. It was common with farmers who worked on fields several miles apart. They traveled at tractor speeds between fields but always had both the tractor and truck with them that way.

Some did it the opposite way--the tractor pulled the truck.

Bruce

 

[Ford tractor]

If only 4 miles and two times a year I would drive it. By the time you hook up a trailer, load, and secure you could have jumped on and driven most of the distance in that time.

What is the wright of your tractor and heaviest implement you would transport? Seems an 8000 lb trailer may be under rated for the haul

BINGO!

The skidsteer trailer I want is 78" between frame rails, and I still believe it's 82" between fenders, so that will give me just enough clearance.
.

The trailer you posted about is about 2200 pounds. That leaves 5800 pounds for the tractor. The dry ship weight of the 4610 is just over 5100 pounds. Field ready ballasted it is OVER 8000 pounds.
That 8000 pound trailer would limit you to never hauling anything but the bare tractor -- no attachment. Plus (more importantly), you would need to be hyper aware of where on the trailer the tractor was positioned to avoid overloading one of the trailers axles!

Your first DOT enforcement stop will make the cost of the correctly sized trailer look cheap.

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2793&context=tractormuseumlit