Bought Tractor!! / Trailer Question

Climber · Nov 7, 2001

Hi All,

Thanks for all of the good advice over the last couple of months! I've learned a LOT!

I finally found a decent tractor in my price range. It's a 1998 B7300HSD, 200 hours, with 54" MMM. Paid $6,500. No FEL, but unfortunately, I could not find one in my price range.

The tractor is in NC, and I'm in PA. I've decided to go down and pick it up. I will probably rent a U-Haul trailer. Can anybody tell me what size trailer I will need?

I can't wait to pick it up. I already have a large grin on my face, and I don't even have the tractor yet! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

--Chris

JATO_RaT · Nov 7, 2001

The UHaul operators around here would pretty much tell me I must rent a car trailer in order to move anything like that. That may pretty much be all they have anyway. Rat...

Von · Nov 7, 2001

Chris,
What ever you get from U-Haul make sure it has a flat floor. I have seen some of their car trailers and they are open in the middle. Don't know if they are narrow enough for a B7300.

Anonymous Poster · Nov 7, 2001

A couple years ago, I asked about renting a large trailer from U-Haul, but they wouldn't just rent the trailer to me {I have my own truck}.

They wanted to rent the whole package to me... their truck and trailer.

Do they rent trailers separately down in PA?

MikePA · Nov 7, 2001

It looks as if the U-Haul Auto Transport Trailer is the only option and according to the picture on their web site, http://www.uhaul.com/towing/index.html it looks like it's got an open center.

Perhaps you could rent an enclosed truck and just drive the tractor into the back of the truck? Some of the U-Haul trucks are low enough that a set of ramps would be all you need.

Perhaps one of the enclosed trailers would work too.

Climber, that's a long haul from Erie (right?) to NC.

TerryinMD · Nov 7, 2001

Yep, you can get your tractor into the back of the truck.

Can you tie the tractor down so that it doesn't bounce around and damage itself or the truck. You are responsible for the damages.

I'd buy a trailer and be done with it.

Terry

GlueGuy · Nov 7, 2001

Chris,

What's the size difference between a B7100 and a B7300? I have a friend with a B7100, and he hauls his B7100 (with FEL and rear blade attached) in the back of his 3/4 ton pickup. His pickup has a rack, and the FEL goes up on top of the cab; resting on the front part of the rack. The rear blade sits a little out the back (a foot or so). He ties the whole thing down with chains. Seems to work pretty well....

The GlueGuy

Climber · Nov 7, 2001

John,

I too have my own truck.

2 years ago, I rented a U-haul trailer for a day. It was $15 per day, unlimited mileage.

I have not checked recently, but I assume they still have something similar.

--Chris

Climber · Nov 7, 2001

Terry,

When you say you that I can get my tractor in the back of a truck, do you mean one of the enclosed U-Haul trailers?

While I would love to buy a trailer, I am really trying to keep costs down right now. (Just bought land & built a house). So I'm looking for a way to use my own truck, and rent something with a fixed cost (not mileage based cost).

Mike: I am actually close to the Harrisburg area, not Erie. I think I can get to where the tractor is in about 7 hours.

--Chris

TerryinMD · Nov 7, 2001

Climber,

No, I meant in the back of a U-Haul box truck. Well, for that matter, even in one of their box trailers. Don't remember to much in regards to tie-downs on the the floor. Neither is made for that kind of drayage.

How 'bout a friend or relative? Being stupid here, you probably have already done that.

Doh!! Have you looked into one of the rental yards? They have trailers to haul around their equipment and may have one that would suit your purposes better.

You'll need to know the distance between the tractors front and rear tires, the total length of the tractor with FEL and the weight of the tractor. There have been other posts which describe loading the tractor onto a trailer i.e. driving on frontwards vs backwards. I may be covering areas already thought out but it never hurts to suggest. Oh year, tiedowns. I'd take them with you. Ya never know....

Terry

Anonymous Poster · Nov 7, 2001

Wow Chris... that is real cheap...

I don't own a trailer, but that would be the way to go... cheaper than plates, insurance, and maintenance and buying one, {I mostly borrow my friends... and I guess that's still cheaper than $15...sorta.../w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif}

Climber · Nov 7, 2001

Terry,

Good idea... I'll check the rental places. I'll also search old posts for the best way to load. I've never had to load/unload before.

Thanks again,

--Chris

Jeff396 · Nov 7, 2001

When I got my tractor I was considering renting a u-haul. The one I came up with was the 12 x 6 open trailer. I think it was under $30.00 for the day. Go out to the uhaul site and you can see a picture of it. The tractor will fit but the ramp in the back is short. I wasn't sure if the mmm would clear in the full up position. You might have to back up to a curb or small hill if it doesn't. Tie downs on all of the u-hauls are a joke. I recently rented an enclosed trailer to move a motorcycle in. The loops on the floor were very light duty and I wouldn't trust them with anything heavier than a small motercycle. The open trailer on the other hand had rails around the top that I figured I would tie the tractor down to. Not sure this was a good idea though. Maybe the tie downs are beefier on the larger trailers but doubtful. I guess these trailers are really primarily for household moving. A thought would be to contact Carver Equipment. When I was working out delivery options with them they had apparently just added a u-haul to their transport fleet. Maybe they could help you with some info. My tractor eventually came delivered on a roll back truck.

Jeff

2001 B7500HSD, LA302 fel, 60"mmm, grass catcher

fractal · Nov 8, 2001

Climber

What size truck do you own?

I have had a bunch of sales critters tell me that I can hook 5000 pounds to the bumper hitch of a 1/2 ton pickup. Well, maybe they can, but I ain't gonna do it. People who seem to know what they are talking about recommend a 1 ton for a b7200 (not much smaller than what you got). I might give it a go with a half ton for 'around town, not too fast, not too many hills', but the thought of having a tractor/trailor weighing more than the pickup pushing me down a steep hill is enough to give one nightmares.

Check with around with the local towing companies. You might find one with a tilt-bed who is 'hungry'. They aught to be able to pick her up for less than you would pay to rent a truck and trailer and chains and ....

scruffy · Nov 8, 2001

Another thought on the rental, is to check Ryder. They will rent the car trailer w/o the truck, and from the ones I've seen, much nicer trailers.

Egon · Nov 8, 2001

Climber:
The tractor and mower shouldn't weigh over a 2000#. A 3/4 ton will haul that easily. Mine has hauled 4000# of bricks with no problems. I'm quite sure a 1/2 would haul the tractor to.
You would probably have to remove the MMM to load up the tractor because of the fender wells. The mower should fit vertically in front of the tractor or flat behind the tractor with the tailgate down.[ take off the grass deflector shield.] The nylon type tie down straps with a ratchet on should hold everything in place and not damage the p/u box. Use chocks on the tractor tires. Also inflate the truck tires to maximum pressure they are rated for.
If possible try and load it all so you can leave the tailgate up.
If overloads bother you check the rating on your truck for Gross vehicle weight and then make your decision. My truck weighs in at 6500# and has a gross capacity of 8800# legally.
Egon

Jeff396 · Nov 8, 2001

Just curious...how exactly do you load a tractor into the back of a pickup? When I got my tractor loading it into the back of my 1 ton never evern occured to me. I was having trouble enough trying to figure out how to unload it from the flat bed trailer it was going to be delivered on originally.

John Miller, I have never heard of a u-haul place which won't rent a trailer separately. Have you seen how many are driving down the highway not being towed by uhaul trucks lately? You probably went to one of those places where your only requirement to get a franchise is to prove you are breathing...and I think they are pretty flexible on that too/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif. I got burned on a truck once that I think was built around WWII at one of those places. They actually told me, with a straight face mind you, that when I parked the truck to use the rock behind the seat to keep it from rolling/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif. Now I make sure I am going to one of the main company rental places where that is all they do. Maybe this isn't what happened to you, but it sure sounds fishy!

Jeff

2001 B7500HSD, LA302 fel, 60"mmm, grass catcher

Anonymous Poster · Nov 8, 2001

Hi Jeff,

My buddy was out of town using his larger trailer {that I needed to borrow that weekend...} I stopped at 2 different U-Haul places and they both basically said the same thing... I got home and called another on the phone... and they said the same thing.

One guy said the odometer on their truck was used to calculate mileage costs in addition to the basic rental rents for truck and trailer... /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

{I asked him why don't they use the trailer axle meter...No reply...}

That was about 3 years ago... maybe they changed the policy locally... /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Kelvin · Nov 8, 2001

The B7300 is the replacement for the B7100 and they are nearly identical in size. I loaned my B7100 with scraper blade to a friend of mine and rather than me pick it up with my trailer he brought it home in the back of his long bed 3/4 ton pickup truck. My tractor did not have the mid-mower on it at the time.

Will that work for the B7300? Probably not. Here's why. First of all, the 54" mid mower won't fit between the wheel wells of a pickup truck. Second, my B7100 had AG tires on it at the time; I'm assuming that his B7300 will have turf tires on it which are much wider and probably won't fit between the wheel wells. I know that when I put turf tires on my B7100 it has a wider stance and the front tires will not fit onto a trailer that is 4' wide. I'm convinced that my B7100 will fit onto the same trailer with the AG tires on; I just haven't bothered to swap the tires to find out.

Pickup Truck Size: I don't know what size pickup Climber has, but I would recommend at least having trailer brakes installed for that trip. If I remember correctly, there will be several mountains crossed between point PA and NC. Twice. And I would much rather prefer renting a trailer one-way rather than dragging an empty trailer down to NC. The fuel savings alone may pay for the additional charge for one-way rental, if there is any.

Trailer Width: The mid-mower is the limiting factor for the trailer width. With the mower off, you should be able to load the tractor on a trailer that has a minimum width of 4-1/2 feet. I don't know what the overall width of a 54" mid-mower is, but I know that a standard 6-1/2 wide trailer will work.

Trailer Length & Number of Axles: I'm guessing that a minimum length of 8 feet should be enough unless you remove the mower and load it separately on the trailer. Based on common guidance from this board, utilize a trailer that has dual axles. This offers more stability on the road, and more importantly, more stability if a trailer tire blowout occurs.

Kelvin

Jeff396 · Nov 8, 2001

I just rented an 8' enclosed while moving recently. I wonder if the difference is that mine was a one way which makes the mileage obvious. I have never rented a trailer to be returned at the same place I picked it up....still seems odd./w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Jeff