Can <40hp compact tractor tow a trailer?

WranglerX · Mar 13, 2022

A side issue is maybe trailer is to big or to small to do job.... My 16ft tandem axle car carrier can certainly be moved by my 25 hp. SCUT but it's a impractical trailer for most of (75%) of my property....

DougMahindra2545 · Mar 14, 2022

Depends upon how fast you want to go, how wide a range of gearing you have, and how good your traction is. Traction depends upon tire type, ground conditions and 4 vs 2 wheel drive. Also, the slope you're pulling upwards on. On most hills around my place, pulling nothing, but being fully loaded with a heavy shovel and backhoe, and fluid filled tires, I need to downshift a few gears. But with 12 gears to choose from, I'm sure I could pull nearly anything reasonable with my 45hp.

ROUSTABOUT · Mar 14, 2022

We pull a couple of tandem dual goose necks and a tandem dual pintle hitch trailer. With tractors. I'm not too good at listening to folks tell me I can't do something.

Michael In Tennessee · Mar 14, 2022

Not exactly a small tractor, but I pull a 7000 travel trailer up a 20% grade with a 48hp Hydrostat Kubota MX tractor. Never use the 3PH. Drawbar or FEL mounted hitch only.

Ken Kegris · Mar 14, 2022

I think if your trailer has electric brakes I would have a toggle switch to apply the electric brakes if you get into trouble, You would not need for flat hauling only when descending steep hills, keep the tractor in 4 wd so the front is also helping to stop the load.

oosik · Mar 14, 2022

Pull from the draw bar. It's not going to be a question of power with the suggested Yanmar. On flat, hard ground it will easily pull a 10,000 pound trailer. It will even pull it up a reasonable hill.

The question is - will it have the necessary traction to pull a trailer thru your slick, wet Miami loam clay. What if you are trying to pull a loaded trailer up a hill - thru this slick, wet Miami loam clay.

Give yourself a break - get R-1 tires and 4WD. You will get the best results set up this way. It would help to have loaded rear tires also.

danny8118 · Mar 14, 2022

My 3038 worked well on my six acres. Hauling wood, brush hogging, etc. I use it to park and remove my sons bumper pull 24 foot camper trailer that he parks on my land.

MHarryE · Mar 14, 2022

Traction is going to your limit. If your pickup is sinking and spinning, aggressive tractor tire tread will help but everything has limitations. If your use is limited, aggressive tires for your F-250 might be a better solution although they can be a real pain if you also do a lot of highway driving. My F-150 has moderately aggressive tires and has much better traction than my F-250 that has a Michelin pure on-highway tread. Turf tires on the tractor might not pull better than the tractor because the tractor is so light in comparison to the pickup.

mo1 · Mar 14, 2022

makey98 said:
Hello. I have small property, only 8 acres with severs acres of grass and creek and then 4 acres of pasture. My land is this Miami loam clay in the Midwest and my stupid truck f-250 is always getting stuck if it is wet at all. Would be interested in compact tractor like the Yanmar yt series or kioti or other modes. Just for some various land uses, moving firewood around and random projects. The question I have is could a small tractor like this pull a 14k bumper pull equipment trailer just around the property? I assume it could empty but with anything in it? I am limited on when I can do any work based on how hard the ground is, either in the middle of the summer or dead of winter. Keep getting my truck stuck and or tearing up the place. Any suggestions? No companies that I have seen ever really talk about how much a tractor could pull.

There are a few discussions about how much a tractor can pull. For example, Deere advertises that the 3D series tractor can pull about 4500 pounds. They also give a recommendation of 1.5 times tractor weight for an unbraked trailer and 4.5 times tractor weight for a braked trailer, but this is for on-road use at full speed. We've pulled a whole lot more than that for hay wagons and grain wagons on the farm, but at about only five miles per hour.

Most likely your limiting factor is going to be tongue weight if driving on dry ground. A bumper pull trailer unlike an agricultural wagon is going to put weight on the drawbar, and your tractor has a limit on how much drawbar weight it can handle. On my tractor, that is listed in the manual, you should look in yours to see what they say. I suspect you would be traction limited where it's wet if you have stuck a truck multiple times. Do note you may need a lot more tractor to pull out a full 14k trailer. I pulled out a four-wheel-drive F-250 pulling a 14k bumper pull trailer loaded with five tons of round bales that got stuck in a field not that long ago. (It was not my truck.) It took a six-cylinder MFWD rowcrop tractor weighing close to what the truck + trailer + bales weighed to do the job.

makey98 · Mar 14, 2022

These are all very helpful thoughts, appreciate the info. I think all the stuff mentioned almost any tractor is more than enough. Seems like any of the tractors I am looking at would be able to easily move the empty trailer around and with some reasonable stuff in it occasionally. I live in central Indiana so no real grade just my property had little swells and dips where the field next door drains into the creek. There are some underwater streams and some parts get so soft and stay soft. I get my mower stuck all the time when I just get 1 foot closer than I should…. Seems like a tractor could help my truck along if I got stuck as well instead of last time when I had to have my wife pull me out with her freshly washed ram 1500. I have never been so ashamed of myself..

. Really I am just looking for an excuse to buy a tractor so maybe if I keep getting stuff stuck my wife will be more than happy…. Got my eye on this Yanmar ym342 now…. Real nice.

Green Acres Homestead · Mar 16, 2022

makey98 said:
Hello. I have small property, only 8 acres with severs acres of grass and creek and then 4 acres of pasture. My land is this Miami loam clay in the Midwest and my stupid truck f-250 is always getting stuck if it is wet at all. Would be interested in compact tractor like the Yanmar yt series or kioti or other modes. Just for some various land uses, moving firewood around and random projects. The question I have is could a small tractor like this pull a 14k bumper pull equipment trailer just around the property? I assume it could empty but with anything in it? I am limited on when I can do any work based on how hard the ground is, either in the middle of the summer or dead of winter. Keep getting my truck stuck and or tearing up the place. Any suggestions? No companies that I have seen ever really talk about how much a tractor could pull.

Mine tractor is an L4740 and 5000 lb is recommended. It could pull more in low range. My tractor is a hydrostatic and 47 hp. A gear tractor would be a bit more. 5000 lb in a trailer on the road in high range is to much on hills. Med range as long as you take your time and not push it is ok. My answer 5000 lb. A bit more in low gear around your yard.

amhicks21 · Mar 16, 2022

As they say, a picture is worth 1000 words. I use either a little tiny b2920 or an l3200 to jockey trailers around without issue. Heres about 11000lbs getting towed around by a 1500lb tractor. Its just very important to stop and turn slowly. We could go round and round about how steep the hill are and how slick and deep the mud is, but the definitive answer always will be that it depends.

Joel/ak · Mar 22, 2022

This little 22horse Massey pulls the mini through the woods all the time. Even the little guys can do it.

Bill Guenthner · Mar 23, 2022

I move my car hauler with a 33HP tractor on very hilly ground. It’s a 7k# trailer. I don’t know if it would handle anything bigger. I can’t back it up a hill unless the ground is completely dry.

check · Mar 23, 2022

Cougsfan said:
I often move my trailers about my property with a ball attachment mounted to my FEL. The reasons for that is I can hook the trailer up easier and faster and I can back the trailer into a tight spot easier and more accurately than I can with the trailer attached to the draw bar.

Same here. Plus I can push the trailer down the road. Just have to pay close attention so you don’t jackknife.

CobyRupert · Mar 24, 2022

Bill Guenthner said:
I move my car hauler with a 33HP tractor on very hilly ground. It’s a 7k# trailer. I don’t know if it would handle anything bigger. I can’t back it up a hill unless the ground is completely dry.

Load some weight on the tongue and you probably can.

ljjhouser · Mar 24, 2022

Absolutely - My Doolittle Tilt bed Ezloader weighs 3700 lbs. I move it all the time with the tractor. It can get the trailer in parking places that the truck cannot.

LD1 · Mar 24, 2022

I haul a 12k dump trailer with about two cord of logs behind either a L3400 or MX5100.

Also use the MX to pull a 12k 22' equipment trailer with a 8000# mini ex around the fields when doing drainage repairs.

Terrain is everything. Most people I know don't set a trailer up for brakes on a tractor. So going down any kind of grade can be sketchy if you have a 11000# load behind a 2500# tractor.

Heck my little sxs can even pull a half cord trailer of firewood. This is a homemade trailer 8' long, 4-1/2' wide and 2' sides

CobyRupert · Mar 24, 2022

It’s ALL about tongue weight.

Load the tongue as much as you can without overloading the vehicle and you’ll have more traction (and sometimes more braking) than you’ve ever had.