Tractor placement on trailer

[Soundguy]

Well guys it is really easy here to overload someones wallet if not his truck. Talking about a 32 foot gooseneck to put a 6500 load is a little outrageous even for TBN folks. .

Naw... you ain't been around long enough.. I've seen recomendations for a guy to go out, sell his half ton... and buy a 3/4 or 1 ton truck, new trailer, and about 1000$ of towing goodies to haul a 3000# tractor and a 500# mower.

if the search feature wasn't so bad here.. I could probably link to a dozen posts like that.

if there's anything tbn'ers can do.. it's spend other people's money..

( it's talked about on other websites.. )

 

[dodge man]

A simple way to balance the load is to measure bumper height with empty trailer then move tractor forward or back to achieve the same height. Its not perfect but is not bad. Also play with loading backwards and forwards and look for best fit. Then on first road trip pay attention to any sway at highway speed and if you sway, stop and adjust front or back.

I don't think I agree with that statement. I want to see the bumper of the tow vehicle drop at least a little bit after loading the trailer.

My rule of thumb, and of course its just a rough way to load, it to put the rear axle of the tractor so it sits between the axles of the trailer. This is assuming a tandem axle trailer.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I don't think I agree with that statement. I want to see the bumper of the tow vehicle drop at least a little bit after loading the trailer.

My rule of thumb, and of course its just a rough way to load, it to put the rear axle of the tractor so it sits between the axles of the trailer. This is assuming a tandem axle trailer.

See my post #19 about measure height of bumper, then place a couple of 250# guys on the bumper, measure again. Good distance would be somewhere between first guy on and last guy on without trailer attached. Empty Trailer tongue weighs vary a lot depending on axle placement at the whim of manufacturer it seems.

 

[schmism]

you want 10-15% of the total weight behind you in tongue weight.

If you wind up with to much sag in the rear of your tow vehical with that much tongue weight, thats why they made WDH. But even with a WDH you still want 10-15% tongue weight. and adjust the WDH so that your rear bumper height is "correct" (see a setup vid on youtube)

 

[AVIVIII]

a lightweight gn in that size range could easilly hit as low as 3400$, just browsing online. depending ont he exact machines he was hauling.. he may have been MORE than legal..

in a 3500 yes, in a 2500, I doubt it

 

[Soundguy]

in a 3500 yes, in a 2500, I doubt it

well, yeah, that will make a difference.. I was thinking 1 ton for sure..

good catch

 

[whodat526]

While I don't doubt that you have done that, it raises an important issue.

Despite the fact that the truck could do that, doesn't mean that it was safe or legal. You probably had 13,000+ lbs on that trailer, that itself probably weighed 4000 lbs. On a late model truck, you may have been close-ish to the numbers, but no way were you legal. Safety is another issue. While it was without incident, that may not always be the case.

I have a good friend that went to prison on manslaughter charges for an accident that wasn't his fault. He was charged because the 2 pallets of concrete and the bobcat on his trailer put him almost 4,000lbs over what the truck and trailer was rated for when he t-boned a woman that blew through her red light.

Sure, we have all overloaded a trailer or put too much in the back of a pick-up, but theres no reason for you not to make the right choice here.

i was just trying to say his truck would handle the load if my can handle the loads i haul

 

[kootch88]

Thanks for the numbers. I was looking at a 20' and it weighs in at 2750lbs, so I think a 10k is too close for comfort. I may go with a 12k or even a 14k.
But with the comments above I may have to revisit the length now as well. Good thing I asked

Make sure you have a brake controler working correctly.

 

[raeuber]

Naw... you ain't been around long enough.. I've seen recomendations for a guy to go out, sell his half ton... and buy a 3/4 or 1 ton truck, new trailer, and about 1000$ of towing goodies to haul a 3000# tractor and a 500# mower.

if the search feature wasn't so bad here.. I could probably link to a dozen posts like that.

if there's anything tbn'ers can do.. it's spend other people's money..

( it's talked about on other websites.. )

Ahhh, yes over indulgence to the max. Wouldn't I love to buy a 32' GN and just park the darn tractor anywhere on it. But sadly, money is still tight these days and getting a trailer that works for most applications at the lowest cost possible is still somewhat of a priority in my decision. Not that I want to go "cheap", but at least reasonable.
I the most common answers were leaning towards a 14k 20' bumper pull, I will try that size and see how I make out. And yes, I have my brake controller working!

 

[Soundguy]

i bet even a 12k BP 20' would be fine..

 

[raeuber]

i bet even a 12k BP 20' would be fine..

That probably could save me another $300-$400.

 

[jeffsw6]

Thanks for the numbers. I was looking at a 20' and it weighs in at 2750lbs, so I think a 10k is too close for comfort. I may go with a 12k or even a 14k.

My understanding is your load is comfortably under 7000#. With a 12K trailer you have a good amount of head-room. A 10400# should even be fine and you might consider the cost difference between that and a 12K. Many of the "10K" or "9990#" trailers you see are able to be titled at 10400.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I dont think you will find a bumper pull larger than 12K axles and 20 feet in deck length. When you go larger@24 foot gooseneck, your gonna spend more than $300-400 difference, more like $3-4K difference. I am thinking that with my 20 foot 12K gvw bumper pull,that I can likely haul my 70 HP tractor on it with best weigh I can find is 8500 with FEL. 20 foot length is plenty room for balancing also. I guess I could chop 500 or more off by taking off the bucket or dropping the whole loader and getting down to the 6600 spec for the bare tractor with unloaded tires

 

[Soundguy]

i see plenty of 3 axle 30' bumper pulls around here.. small mom n pop car lots use them to drag a couple cars home from auctions. .. of course.. that's about the ONLY people I see using them come to think about it..

 

[Qapla]

We use a 21' double axle bumper pull. It holds the tractor with FEL/BH just fine(see sig for tractor/bh/fel details - bh is on the NH). The machine is not pulled all the way forward but the whole machine fits just fine.

When loaded correctly, the whole thing pulls easy and does not sway.

I am pulling it with a Nissan Titan with a Prodigy 2 brake controller.

 

[CJONE]

you want 10-15% of the total weight behind you in tongue weight.

If you wind up with to much sag in the rear of your tow vehical with that much tongue weight, thats why they made WDH. But even with a WDH you still want 10-15% tongue weight. and adjust the WDH so that your rear bumper height is "correct" (see a setup vid on youtube)

+1 In this case more is better. If 10 to 15% of whatever you are hauling makes the frontend of a 1/2 or 3/4ton light you are WAYYY overloaded. If you don't have enough toungweight you will soon know what duckwalking is going down the first hill. Then you'll either be cleaning your shorts out or be in bad shape from the wreck. CJ