Question about Trailering a 5000 lb Tractor

[Looking4new]

With my Farmall C, I used to wrap a chain around the frame on the right side of the tractor and hook in onto itself at the front and take it to the left front corner on the trailer. Run another one from the left frame rail to the right corner of the trailer. Two chains on the rear axle, one from the right side to the left rear of the trailer and the other one from the left side of the axle to the right rear of the trailer. Cross chained like that, the tractor wasn't going anywhere. The back chains I would put on with a binder and a 4' snipe. Good and tight. The front ones not quite as tight. Still had to use the snipe, but didn't have to use the snipe to get them off.
The new fangled ratchet binders I haven't used. I prefer the old load binders. We call them boomers up here. If you get hit in the head with one, you will know why they are called 'boomers'.

 

[jeffsw6]

The Kenworth and lowboy crowd will never tell you this but as long as your tractor has a working park brake and doesn't jump out of gear it probably isn't coming off the trailer even if you don't tie it down.... we'll haul tractors between hay meadows all the time and never tie one down.


If I'm just going up the road I'll throw a big rachet strap over the FEL and call it good enough.........

That might be good enough if you are a careful driver and so is everyone else on the road, and no deer jump in front of you, and you don't have a tire blow at an inopportune moment, etc.

The reason for securing your load to the trailer is to prevent the thing from flying off and crushing someone if you are in a traffic accident. I had to do a panic maneuver pulling a trailer once, another driver pulled out when he shouldn't have and jumped across 2 lanes of traffic to avoid the cars that were coming for him, which put the guy squarely in my path. Luckily there was no collision but I yanked my trailer around his car so hard there are holes in the walls of my box trailer from tools hitting it.

If I had a landscape trailer instead of a box one, without securing things, there would have been mowers and weed eaters through peoples' windshields that day, and it would have been my fault, not that other driver's, for failing to secure my loads.

 

[Looking4new]

I am older now and have a lot more to lose. I do things the right/safe way and don't take any shortcuts.

 

[shortthrow50]

You said only a few miles. few miles is about 3. For situations like that, i have ony run one chain in the rear and one binder and one chain in the front and one binder on 5 ton backhoe. Nothing over the buckets. Whats the point if you avoid the police on back roads. Machine isnt going anywhere unless you roll the trailer over from driving like an idiot. People are overly strapping down on some fairly light equipment only because the law says you have to. It would take alot to break an approved chain and for a machine to come off a trailer. Like i said, it would take one **** of a nasty accident. Drive slow, pace yourself and dont drive like a complete unsafe asswad like I do:thumbsup:

 

[Soundguy]

i towed thru lousiana down i10 and 12 after katrina.. the roads were mor elike a series of hills. had I not had plenty of tie downs I'd have had tractors fly of fthe back of that trailer. I say bumps were stff jumped up 6" !!! no tie downs is dangerous!

 

[IronHog]

That might be good enough if you are a careful driver and so is everyone else on the road, and no deer jump in front of you, and you don't have a tire blow at an inopportune moment, etc.

The reason for securing your load to the trailer is to prevent the thing from flying off and crushing someone if you are in a traffic accident. I had to do a panic maneuver pulling a trailer once, another driver pulled out when he shouldn't have and jumped across 2 lanes of traffic to avoid the cars that were coming for him, which put the guy squarely in my path. Luckily there was no collision but I yanked my trailer around his car so hard there are holes in the walls of my box trailer from tools hitting it.

If I had a landscape trailer instead of a box one, without securing things, there would have been mowers and weed eaters through peoples' windshields that day, and it would have been my fault, not that other driver's, for failing to secure my loads.

Your right........ a tractor is just like a weed eater.


And everyone should know the proper response to a deer when pulling a load is go right through him........

 

[crazyal]

The first question is when you say "between my properties" do you mean your house and some land you vacation at or between something like rental properties? Secondly what do you plan on using to tow it? Is it a 1/2 ton pickup or a 1 ton dually with company logos on the doors?

I ask because the law is different. If it's for a business then police and DOT will make sure you get it right, and by right I mean as in as the law requires for a commercial hauler.

Around here you need a chain or strap in each corner. Each chain needs a way to tighten it (you can't drive onto a trailer, hook up the two front chains, back up to tighten them, and then install the rear chains with binders) unless the driver has the keys to the equipment and is able to make adjustments while transporting it. That's one of the laws that usually doesn't get applied to your average homeowner.

For simple sake I would use chains on all four corners and try to pull at angles so each chain is pulling in a different way than the others. For 5000lbs I would have no problems using 5/16" gr 70 chain (you can buy US made GR70 5/16"x20' from Lowes for $35). You should try to use one chain per corner. If not then you really want to make sure that if you use one chain to do two corners you set it up in a way where if one end comes loose it will not effect the other end.

3/8" is great but it's heavy and over kill. When I had my 580K trucked 200 miles on the interstate the operator used 3/8" gr 70 in each corner and two chains, one to tie down the loader and one for the rear bucket.

 

[shortthrow50]

The first question is when you say "between my properties" do you mean your house and some land you vacation at or between something like rental properties? Secondly what do you plan on using to tow it? Is it a 1/2 ton pickup or a 1 ton dually with company logos on the doors?

I ask because the law is different. If it's for a business then police and DOT will make sure you get it right, and by right I mean as in as the law requires for a commercial hauler.

Around here you need a chain or strap in each corner. Each chain needs a way to tighten it (you can't drive onto a trailer, hook up the two front chains, back up to tighten them, and then install the rear chains with binders) unless the driver has the keys to the equipment and is able to make adjustments while transporting it. That's one of the laws that usually doesn't get applied to your average homeowner.

For simple sake I would use chains on all four corners and try to pull at angles so each chain is pulling in a different way than the others. For 5000lbs I would have no problems using 5/16" gr 70 chain (you can buy US made GR70 5/16"x20' from Lowes for $35). You should try to use one chain per corner. If not then you really want to make sure that if you use one chain to do two corners you set it up in a way where if one end comes loose it will not effect the other end.

3/8" is great but it's heavy and over kill. When I had my 580K trucked 200 miles on the interstate the operator used 3/8" gr 70 in each corner and two chains, one to tie down the loader and one for the rear bucket.

Thats what i was trying to understand earlier. everyone is giving advise when all states have they own laws. in pa im allowed to use one chain and one binder through the rear and the front up to 5 ton. Every attachment such as buckets needs a seperate chain. but like i said, if im only goin down the raod, i will not strap down buckets and take isolated back roads so the cops wont get me. I guess some states worried about buckets mysteriously detaching themselves off the backhoe and loader haha

 

[crazyal]

Thats what i was trying to understand earlier. everyone is giving advise when all states have they own laws. in pa im allowed to use one chain and one binder through the rear and the front up to 5 ton. Every attachment such as buckets needs a seperate chain. but like i said, if im only goin down the raod, i will not strap down buckets and take isolated back roads so the cops wont get me. I guess some states worried about buckets mysteriously detaching themselves off the backhoe and loader haha

You laugh but I have actually seen drivers who left the engine running on tractors only to find that the lever raised the bucket up and hit things like bridges. So I think it's a "we since there's enough stupid people out there we best make a law for that".

I have hauled my 450c dozer down the road with one chain at the front left and one at the right rear because I was only going a few miles at slow speeds on back roads and didn't have my milk crates of chains with me. I'm sure the safety police gods will strike me down. :laughing: A few miles down an issolated dirt road at 20 is not the same as 1000 miles down the interstate.

 

[shortthrow50]

You laugh but I have actually seen drivers who left the engine running on tractors only to find that the lever raised the bucket up and hit things like bridges. So I think it's a "we since there's enough stupid people out there we best make a law for that".

.

well see, that brings new light. never thought of that. see no evil, hear no evil. it takes one thing like that to happen to bring in a new requirement