Pulling a Boat with a Tractor

[TomSeller]

I am in the closing process of moving and buying a 2 acre place on the water with a concrete boat launch on the property. I don't have possession yet and I don't know how steep the ramp is, but it is on the steeper side. Little bit of chicken or egg in that I don't know what size of boat I'll get. I am thinking small L size tractor will be more maneuverable than my F250 to get the boat in and out of the water and the shop it will live in off season. Anyone know of rules of thumb for weight of tractor (4wd), weight of boat and slope of ramp?

 

[nybirdman]

I move my 2500# boat with a Rhino that weighs 600#,any tractor should move one with ease.Your only problem launching may be traction.

 

[DrRod]

Don't have any real data to contribute but I will offer an alternate way of looking at it. Its not so much what will pull it but what will stop it.

My ATV is rated at 900 pounds of pulling power. I can say that I've pulled more. But the key is, once its rolling, can you stop it. And with a steep, wet ramp I would think traction, braking power, and relative weight would be most important.

 

[Fawken]

Years ago I had a 22' inboard outboard and used to launch in our pond with the little Ford. I know it's crazy, but I sometimes get bored. No ramp and I only got stuck once. It was a 2-wheel trailer and it sank in mud to the axles one time. Took the tractor plus a 1/2 ton P/U to jerk it out. With a ramp it would have been a breeze.

 

[TomSeller]

Don't have any real data to contribute but I will offer an alternate way of looking at it. Its not so much what will pull it but what will stop it.

My ATV is rated at 900 pounds of pulling power. I can say that I've pulled more. But the key is, once its rolling, can you stop it. And with a steep, wet ramp I would think traction, braking power, and relative weight would be most important.

I think you are correct. Going down the ramp the engine should suffice but I'll need good brakes to stop if I need to. The sand stays off the ramp for the most part.

 

[s219]

We do it all the time at my mother in laws. Their ramp is fairly steep and narrow. My wife's uncle has a Deere 3005 and so far it has done fine, though I have to say the gear transmission is a PITA compared to how much easier I know a HST would be. 4WD is a must for both braking and forward traction. They have a large pontoon boat with a fairly big trailer, and the tractor handles it fine. And it's way easier to maneuver to put back under their pole barn than a truck would be.

I use my L3200 to move my 19' boat around on a trailer on my property, but rarely use it at the ramp because it's 1/2 mile down the street and it's a public ramp with all sorts of morons around. Feel better having a big truck there. But I know the L3200 could do it just fine.

 

[Raspy]

The tractor is the way to go. You won't have to go in so deep as to have the wheels under water, you can so easily see the hitch and they are so maneuverable.

A boat dealer where I used to live only had a tractor to launch all their boats and the ramp was steep and had a big drop off at the end. Worked great and was fun to watch.

If your tractor is really small, you might have to avoid using a hitch on the three point arms to keep the front wheels down, but if you can use them, you can easily hook up and adjust the height of the prop or rudder by lifting or lowering the hitch ball.

 

[firemech]

We own a marina with a fairly steep ramp. We us our two Kubotas exclusively to move boats at our facility. The 2320 gear works well with boats up to 18 ft. (bare gear drive tractor with loaded rear tires. Wish sometimes we had more weight in the front. The previous 7510 with loaded tires and loader subframe was awesome). Anything larger we use the L3400 HST. Keep the 2320 as a gear so our guys who don't always think to shift to a lower HST range can't smoke the transmission if trying to pull a large boat up the ramp. Only real issue with the 2320 is sometimes when putting the boat in line it up then let it roll until the boat hits the water. If you stomp the brakes on the way in things can get exciting!

 

[tractchores]

I move my boat all the time with my B2920 and it weighs somewhere in the vicinity of 6k - 7k lbs on the trailer. No issues with moving it or traction even on a fairly steep hill. Launching should be no problem if its a paved launch, just make sure you are in 4wd. I use a triangle type hitch receiver that connects to the 3pt arms and top link and that works well - just make sure to use the safety chains and if you have surge brakes on the trailer lock them out.

A lot of marina's here use tractors to launch and pull boats of all sizes with no issues. I would recommend having front weights or a FEL on if there's a lot of tongue weight so the front end maintains traction.

 

[bcp]

Unless I had another use for a tractor, I wouldn't buy one just for launching a personal boat or two. (Well, maybe an old, cheap tractor. )

Use almost anything powered and braked for your level movements, and up and down the ramp with a medium speed winch.

Or:



Get fancy and build a marine railway that carries the trailer and boat down the ramp sideways.

Bruce