Dumb question @ towing a backhoe.

Im not new to towing ,dragging using dolleys ect...to get my equiptment home ..but this sort of makes me wonder. I bought a case
580 ck backhoe 10 miles from my shop and all country roads ...the backhoe motor is dead and not running ..has power steering ..if
and when it runs..but I may not be able to get it to run..lets say the loader is up off the ground 4 ft..and I have a brace on
cylinder to keep it up...and the hoe is up all the way and chained ....instead of winching it onto the trailer ..the owner say he
has a triangle like outfit that bolts onto the front of the tractor and he says he has towed it many times to other places...of
course without the power steering the steering is limpf. turning it wont do anything as it just spins..is he right that it will
follow the truck and go around a corner by itself and straighten back up once around the corner???...and if so that probably
explains why I see both front steering cylinders leaking form the shake and shimmy of doing that many times ..just seems like if
someone did try that one would want to unhook the tie rod ends off both power cylinder ends and go VERY VERY SLOW ..Im lost annd
dont want to try it till someone tells me he has done it before...thanks

You could hook lines to the cylinders and pull it with another tractor then use your SCV to steer it as you corner .

I'd ask the previous owner for more details about how he towed it. Maybe you can borrow the "triangle like outfit", let him hook it up.

That's exactly how RVers tow their little cars "four down" behind their big motorhomes. They run all over the country at highway speeds and their little car follows right along.

You do NOT want to disconnect the tie rods. The wheels will be all over the place if you do that.

There are two keys to it working. One is the steering geometry, caster, camber, toe in, etc.. The other is the solid connection between the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle.

The tow bar must be SOLIDLY connected to the backhoe. It can only pivot at the drawbar of the truck/tractor towing it down the road. That is what provides the stability.

They will follow good on the road,and most of the time on corners.sometimes you can get into a sharp corner where the wheels will lay over to full warp and want to stay there.I towed a Lull forklift around town for years that way.It had a factory towbar,and in big print the manual read,do not exceed 15 MPH.That machine was towed from the rear,as that's where the smaller steering wheels were.It was just an Oliver 660?770? tractor turned around backwards.I towed it around with a one ton truck,but it wasn't really happy about it.Coming down certain hills the tractor would try to push my little dump truck around sideways.

A friend of mine had one of the first backhoes on a 8N Ford. Had a 1 ton Chevy flatbed. He had a big bolt welded to the bed. And a hole in.the middle of the bucket. Just pinned bucket to the truck bed. He said didn't make any difference if he lifted tractor wheels off the ground or let them roll. This was in the 50's. Pulled it all over till the early 60's.

Do not disconnect tie rod ends. Does this have a torque converter that could be damaged towing it this way??

The thing you have to think about is the power steering, will it let the wheels turn? if it does what happens to the oil in the cylinder, where does it go and how does it get past the valve. Or hydrostatic steering. Mechanical steering no problems at all. I have a homemade unit for the Ford tractor that has been around longer than I can remember and I am 75. Also have a Factory built one I think was made for a MF 135. Had one on each Ford a 9N and a 2N pilling them together with a B John deere in parade. Did not have hitch for the Deere or would have had it hitched to the A Deere.

Should have a 4 speed between the converter and wheels.

Ihaul tractors and equipment for a living for a dealership and most equipment and machines will turn without the power steering but it will be wider turns and slower speed also due to the gear system between a truck and backhoe. i would chain it to tow your tow vehicle just for safe measure with the tow adapter being on there, I would do it just take it slow and make sure it will turn without being running