Thank you Tractorbynet

[downsizingnow48]

I want to say thank you very much for the great information on trailering small tractors. I recently towed my Kubota B21 with implements from Virginia to California. Not my line of work, I had no idea about type/size/design of trailer or how to tie down the tractor and implements. Listening to local folks in Virginia I had a range of differing opinions. I studied your forums for several weeks to learn more. In the end I made the trip with absolutely no issues. The setup and load was scrutinized by passing highway patrol officers in 8 states. Here is what I used. Pickup is F150 Ecoboost with 3.55 gears, 7200 GVW, 1350 payload, 15500 GVCW, 9600 tow weight, P series tires @ 44lbs. Trailer is PJ 14k 20' equipment trailer with LRE tires @ 80lbs. Load is B21, scraper, tiller, bucket, tools etc. Total tow weight 8300. Used 4 of Lowes G70 5/16 chains, cutting them in half with abrasive saw to get 8 10ft pieces. Two chains crossing under the front, two chains on the rear, one on the hoe bucket, one on the loader bucket. Plus one on each implement. Used 6200 lb ratchet binders. I used a Sherline tongue weight scale and adjusted the load repeatedly to make sure I had 10%-12% tongue weight. Used an Equalizer 12k WD hitch. Traveling at speed limits up to a max of 70 mph had no issues with bounce or sway. Checked the chains about every 50-100 miles, they loosened up repeatedly during the first two days but after that were tight all the way. Again, big thanks to TBN for being an excellent source of expertise.

 

[Larro Darro]

Welcome from NW Florida.

It looks like you did a great job of hauling. It's always better to err on the side of caution when tying down. Chain is cheaper than lost or busted equipment. Glad you made it.

That is a good looking rig you have there. If I didn't have so many trees, I would check into a cover for my B7500.

 

[timster2]

What kind of mileage did you get while towing and how does that contrast to regular highway mileage?

 

[downsizingnow48]

Regular highway mileage ranges from 17-18 mpg at 70-75mph to 20-21 mpg at 55-60 mph. On the trip daily mileage ranged from 10-12 mpg at 60-70 mph with overall average 10.7 mpg.

 

[troutsqueezer]

Welcome to the Sacra-tomato area. Only two hours to San Francisco to the West, two hours to Lake Tahoe to the East and two hours to Yosemite to the South.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Nice job. You have the perfect setup for that job.

Chris

 

[dodge man]

NO NO NO! You did it all wrong. Taking all those precautions was a waste of time. Your suppose to use one of those trailers that's much to small, unbalance the load, use a couple of tie downs that are meant for a motor cycle, and your truck is too nice and new. Remember, trailer brakes are for girls. Heck, I even bet all your lights worked on the trailer.

On a more serious note, I'm glad the trip went well and you really did do a better job than 99% of the people towing stuff. I'm not saying its a waste of time though.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Thx for feedback. Someone on the forum makes a comment like this: if you are involved in an accident, and people are looking to assign liability, do you want the lead investigator to give you a list of the things wrong with your truck, trailer, and load? Or do you want them to say, this is in compliance with all federal and state requirements. That impressed me. An ounce of prevention etc.

 

[dodge man]

I probably would have hauled it similar to what you did but I would have used ratchet straps for the end loader, I might not have done anything for the backhoe, and I would have eye balled the tongue weight.

 

[downsizingnow48]

On tongue weight, the F150 doesnt have much payload. And this was the first time using this trailer. So I wasnt sure I could correctly guesstimate the (narrow) sweet spot between enough tongue weight for the loaded trailer and too much for the loaded pickup. The limiting factor for this setup was pickup payload.