Towing manure spreader

[canoetrpr]

I'm sure that this is a silly question but I'm pretty new to trucks and towing. I've got an eye out for a manure spreader (single axle not big) and want to be in a position to two one home if I pick one up at an auction.

Have a Ford F150. Do I just need a standard ball mount without the ball and a drawbar pin or some other type of setup?

I might tow it from upto an hr or so away so I have to be able to do it safely at 55-60 mph.

I imagine I also need a safety chain.

Would appreciate any information.

 

[horsinaround]

Agricultural tires used on manure spreaders are not designed for high speeds. It is likely if you towed it that fast that far they would fly appart.
Also, depending on the condition of the spreader, it might not make it that far. Before you go any distance at all, make sure it is greased really good.
I brought one home towing it, but I took back roads and went slow. Stop and check for heat in the bearings.

 

[Willl]

I'd trailer it.

 

[Duffster]

You just need a blank ball mount with a hitch pin and SAFETY pin.

Get a hitch pin that fits as tight as possible in the tongue and hitch holes.

60 mph will probably be a little fast but 40-45 mph is perfectly acceptable.

Safety chain is probably a good idea.

Keep in mind a manure spreader is basically a trailer so it will tow quite well.

 

[LoneCowboy]

They don't tow very well and if I just bought one, i would certainly trailer it. You have no idea if the wheels are straight, the bearings are greased, the lights work, etc.

Just pull it right up (or hook the front to the FEL) and push it right up some ramps.
chain it down, then get it home.

 

[QRTRHRS]

If it looks roadworthy then tow it. You may want to take a grease gun along and pump a couple of shots of grease into the axles if it has fittings. Take along an assortment of hitch pins so you have one that fits good.

I have towed a couple home, one was a NI 3639 with balloon tires. Danged thing was wider than my dually but pulled better than some of the trailers that I have had.

 

[BarryinMN]

I bought one last Fall about 1 hr away. Owner said it was greased & used it for dump runs cleaning up before the family farm auction.

Made it about 7 mi and bearing failed then heat cracked the hub. This one has truck tires (1) new on it.

Wasted the day trailer fetching to carry it and 1/2 another dropping off & picking up at a Blacksmiths to cut off & replace the spindle hub...

 

[canoetrpr]

Dang. sounds like I should be towing it. Now that would not be a problem if I had a trailer - but a trailer is going to have to wait until another day. Perhaps I should start asking around who might have a trailer I can borrow here.

 

[LBrown59]

Dang. sounds like I should be towing it. Now that would not be a problem if I had a trailer - but a trailer is going to have to wait until another day. Perhaps I should start asking around who might have a trailer I can borrow here.

Lending a trailer is not a good idea.

 

[Renze]

55 to 60 mph is too much for a muck spreader with no suspension, nor brakes, unless the road conditions are very nice, straight and smooth.

The failing bearing mentioned by Barry in MN, can happen in any occasion. The bearings wouldnt have been in such a great shape anyways. They get some strain from the speed, but they only have to carry 1/5th of the rated load when empty. When Barry would have trailered his spreader home, it would have probably broken within 5 loads.

Why do you want to do the trip in an hour anyways ? just keep it slow so that the spreader wheels maintain contact with the road, and bring your wife and a picknick basket with you, and enjoy the scenery !!

 

[astrohip]

Keep in mind a manure spreader is basically a trailer so it will tow quite well.

Since the OP didn't specify what kind of manure spreader it might be, your blanket statement may be off the mark. I have a manure spreader that would definitely not be highway towable. It's designed to be pulled behind a tractor. It has no lights, no plate, no safety chains and there is nothing about it that would make me assume it is street worthy. There may be spreaders that are designed to be towed, but mine ain't one.

I would trailer it.

 

[Duffster]

Since the OP didn't specify what kind of manure spreader it might be, your blanket statement may be off the mark. I have a manure spreader that would definitely not be highway towable. It's designed to be pulled behind a tractor. It has no lights, no plate, no safety chains and there is nothing about it that would make me assume it is street worthy. There may be spreaders that are designed to be towed, but mine ain't one.

I would trailer it.

Off the mark, huh?

Unless it was designed to be pulled by horses what other than a tractor would it be used with? That certainly doesn't mean it can't be towed by a truck on the road. A log chain is all you need for a safety chain, plates LOL, lights are easy if that is a concern.

The OP specifies a single axle and not very big so I do have a pretty good idea of what he is talking about.

Please post a picture of your spreader that isn't highway towable.

Here is a picture of one I helped my FIL bring home from an auction ~50 miles away.

 

[astrohip]

Off the mark, huh?

Unless it was designed to be pulled by horses what other than a tractor would it be used with? That certainly doesn't mean it can't be towed by a truck on the road. A log chain is all you need for a safety chain, plates LOL, lights are easy if that is a concern.

The OP specifies a single axle and not very big so I do have a pretty good idea of what he is talking about.

Please post a picture of your spreader that isn't highway towable.

Here is a picture of one I helped my FIL bring home from an auction ~50 miles away.

My manure spreader is a little bitty baby compared to yours. And I think you can see it wasn't designed to be towed on a hwy. We have no idea if the OP was talking about something my size, your size, or other.

 

[Duffster]

My manure spreader is a little bitty baby compared to yours. And I think you can see it wasn't designed to be towed on a hwy. We have no idea if the OP was talking about something my size, your size, or other.

What do you pull that with. A pedal tractor?

If I bought one of those at an auction I wouldn't tow it or trailer it. I would just put it the trunk.

I guess I was giving the OP a little credit by assuming he wasn't asking about pulling a "spreader" like yours behind a pickup at 60 mph.

 

[chh]

I had a NH spreader with a 16' bed on it for several years. It had good tires/bearings on it and I towed it 60 miles or so home at 45 to 50 mph with no problems. A good hitch pin with safety pin and a safety chain off of a batwing brushhog where the main safety considerations. I also timed it so the whole trip would be in daylight.
When I sold it the guy I sold it to towed it home the same way.

 

[chh]

My manure spreader is a little bitty baby compared to yours. And I think you can see it wasn't designed to be towed on a hwy. We have no idea if the OP was talking about something my size, your size, or other.

I talked to a guy about one of those that he had advertised on Craiglist the other day. I knew it was small, but when he said we didn't need a tractor to set it up in a p/u bed that he and I could lift it easily I knew it was even smaller than I thought and too small for me.

 

[canoetrpr]

LOL! Duffster - a spreader about the size in your picture is what I am looking for - anywhere from 130 to 200 bushels. I feel better now. Sounds like I am good to go if I find one around ~50 miles or so. I'll take the back roads.

 

[MarkLeininger]

I feel better now. Sounds like I am good to go if I find one around ~50 miles or so. I'll take the back roads.

My insurance won't cover me towing anything that isn't licensed. No one plans on having an accident, but if you have one pulling an unlicensed vehicle with no suspension, no lights, no brakes, and tires that have the words "not intended for highway use" tattooed into the rubber, you'll have lots of time to read the tractor forums while you're in the county prison.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Now I know where most of our daily contributors come from.

Chris

 

[Duffster]

No one plans on having an accident, but if you have one pulling an unlicensed vehicle with no suspension, no lights, no brakes, and tires that have the words "not intended for highway use" tattooed into the rubber, you'll have lots of time to read the tractor forums while you're in the county prison.

Not true.

It is a implement of husbandry and falls under completly diffferent rules.

Implements like this are towed everyday around here.