securing a Kubota B3030 with hoe on trailer

mazurrj · Jun 13, 2012

I've owned the tractor for 6 years but will be first time i need to haul myself.

should i get 4 come a long chains , one for each wheel . Or two longer chains? What should the chain be rated at.

any other suggestions? its a 4 wheel trailer.

hr3 · Jun 13, 2012

With tractor and hoe I use 1 chain with binder through the loader tube on front then on back 2 10 ton rachet straps on back from the back hoe frame out and back.. I'v never had it move..

Lohman446 · Jun 13, 2012

I tend to use fairly heavy chain for everything though I am not sure of the weight rating - its overrated.

When securing things on the roll-back wrecker you use the winch to secure the rear chains (pull it forward until rear chains are tight). You can accomplish the same thing here. Tighten the rear chains by pulling forward and then use chain binders to tighten the front ones. At that point I throw two safety chains on the front end as well (though you cannot tighten them fully) in case one of the binders (in my case the winch) fails.

Edit: what Chim said is how I was taught. You are required four points of tie down and the winch does not count as a point (though if you chain the front corners you can leave the winch secured as additional). I did not know about the requirements for other equipment as I seldom haul tractors or attachments.

chim · Jun 13, 2012

We move some equipment here in PA and our insurance rep says we need a chain at all four corners plus one for each attachment. He counts one for the loader bucket and another for the hoe. Never mind the bucket and hoe are firmly mounted to the tractor. He also said we shouldn't use the winch on our rollback for load securement. I honestly don't know how much of what he tells us is actual law and how much he adds for a safety factor.

I do recall reading in the PA Codes about the rating of each chain. I can't quote sizes but do remember being surprised by that and the safety chains had to each be rated for the weight of the entire loaded trailer.

glkingar · Jun 20, 2012

I'm no expert but I always use grade 70 chains to tie down equipment. Just my .01. Go to the transportation forum and you will find lots of good info.

Gary Fowler · Jun 20, 2012

Per Federal DOT regs. you can use one chain to attach the front at 2 corners and one at the rear fastened at two corners to secure the load. The chain must be rated at full load capacity so you need to know exactly what the rig weighs. Chains must be stamped with the material grade or they get automatically rated as grade 30 proof which is the lowest grade made. Any nylon straps used must be printed with the rating on it also. The DOT regs dont require that FEL or Backhoe be separately strapped as they quote that you must fix it like an automobile.
I recently hauled both my B 26 TLB (500 miles) and Yanmar 4220with FEL with Bush hog (200 miles) chained front and rear. THe B26 has tie down hooks front and rear on the tractor frame so that is what I ran the chains thru and then used a binder on one side to tighten them. Since I had 2 each 10K nylon straps I went ahead and strapped down the FEL which was firmly setting on the traile by passing one strap over the FEL arms and ratcheting it tight. The other I passed around the backhoe which was raised and locked into position and the swing pin locked in. I really dont think I would have needed tolegally tie in these two "attachments" since they are not really attachments but part of the TLB, but due to comments here on TBN about certain LEO's with varying opinions on interpretation of regulations, I went with the strapping.
I also strapped the tail wheel of the bush hog on the 4220 for safety as that really is an attachment. I went over some pretty good bumps in the road as normal in Louisiana highways with no issues. I stopped a couple of times to check the chains for tightness and snugged up any slack.

Dick · Jun 29, 2012

So the guy I saw yesterday loading his brand new garden tractor at the big box store needed to do more than put the tractor brake on?

rswyan · Jun 29, 2012

Dick said:
So the guy I saw yesterday loading his brand new garden tractor at the big box store needed to do more than put the tractor brake on?

The one that cracked me up was seeing the guy trailering a riding lawn mower .... with elastic bungie cords ....

Too bad it isn't just the thought that counts ....