Transporting an oversized machine on a shorter trailer

Hi, just wondering what the limits might be for a piece of farm equipment overhanging the back of a trailer. My trailer is an 18' long double-axle trailer with dovetail in the last 3 feet. Pulling using a standard hitch with a Ford F250.
The piece of equipment is 30 foot long, which has a long tongue that can extend forward 4-5 feet over the front of the trailer, leaving about 6 feet extending past the rear of the trailer deck.
It's not a heavy load, just long. Think I can transport this legally? Or do you need some sort of permit? It will be 16 hrs on the road. I'm not a professional transporter... it's just a piece of equipment I'm thinking about getting for my farm that is not close by (Iowa to NJ). Transport using a hired service with a lowboy trailer will be over $3000.

Thank you.
 
I suggest you add lights to the back of the load, you can get lights from Harbor Freight and other sources. You may
also want to relocate your license plate so that it is visible from the rear. I do not believe you will need any
paperwork as long as the overall length and width of the trailer plus the load are legal.
 
Off the top of my head, I think MN has a four foot overhang limit, but it has been many many years since I've checked. Check the DOT sites in the states you will be traveling through on what their requirements are. Sounds like you will be going through Chicago or will have a long detour through Indianapolis to go around that Chicago.

If the equipment is worth it to you the $3,000 transportation cost might be the better choice. That is less than $3 per loaded mile one way, not bad in today's market. Add up your total costs to haul it yourself on a three to four day 2000 plus mile round trip with a truck, trailer, fuel, permits, meals, motels, also include your labor and something for the wear on your vehicles.
 
Check DOT rules but I think with lights and flags you may be ok. But with that much overhang it may want to drag badly going through a elevation change and will swing out really wide during turns.
 
Buy some magnetic mount lights and mount them on the back of the overhanging
part and travel at night, you'll be fine, don't use toll roads. If you overhang
over the back more than 4 feet you need red flags, but if you put lights at the
back the flags aren't needed.
 

Don't even try it!
Depending on the width of the equipment if you extend it over the trailer tongue you may not be able to turn without it hitting the truck.
A 18 ft bumper hitch trailer will have a axle center line with 10-12 ft of deck in front of the center line and 6-8 ft behind, with a 30 ft piece at best you'll end up with a neutral balanced load that adds no weight to the tongue, or even worst a load that's heavier on the back with more swing ratio to the rear than the front.
This will induce what we call the tail wagging the dog, which means the trailer will start wiggling back and forth and you won't be able to control it with the truck, the end result will have you upside down in a ditch.
You need to borrow or rent a trailer at lease 24-25 ft long to haul that load, then you would only have 4-6 ft hanging off the back and you could roll on home with it.
 
The 4 feet of the equipment that would be overhanging the front (toward truck) is just an I-beam so less than a foot wide. But good point that I would have to make sure it couldn't hit the truck.

I'm not sure about weight distribution of this thing. I'm estimating the center weight of the machine is about 18' back from it's front end. This would put the max weight about 2 feet behind the rearmost trailer axle. So Destroked may be right about it wagging the dog.

I would avoid Chicago area even though it would add some distance.

Might not be worth taking a chance using my 18' trailer. I looked for a longer rental trailer but didn't see anything longer than a 20 footer that wasn't a 5th wheel.
 
Here's a pick of the machine. 30 feet from front tongue to back. It's about 5-6 feet wide, and wheels would just fit at slightly over 8' wide.


mvphoto89054.jpg
 

You need a longer trailer for that
Might consider adding a goose neck ball or 5th wheel hitch to your truck, I hate pulling bumper hitch anymore after going to goose neck.
 
Can you take any of the equipment from the back of the unit and place it in your truck bed? This will help with
weight distribution.

When we go west from western Pa, we use I-80 to I-76 to Rt 30 to Rt 14, these are reasonably good roads, and it
takes us south of Chicago and of off toll roads.

Personally, I do not see a big problem as long as your trailer is in good condition and is rated plenty heavy to
handle the load. Our saying is, make it look like you know what you are doing, well secured load, all the lights
work, good tires etc and the officials will not bother you.

You might be able to pick up a load coming east from Iowa, there are usually tractors or parts in Iowa that are
cheaper than Pa and Ohio, I would suggest posting on the Hauling Schedule to see if you can offset some of your
costs.

Good luck
Rich
 



First, consider loading it backwards and removing the I beam even if you need to have the seller cut it off. Second, hire a permit company to plan a LEGAL route for you. You give them the specs of your load and your rig, and they figure it all out for you. Most likely they will route you on the interstates, and you may have to park at dusk, but you will be legal and little chance of going to jail if something goes wrong.
 
I am confused, provided it is less than 102 inches wide, it is not a permit load. Why does he need to contact a
permit company?
 
(quoted from post at 13:47:36 03/09/22) I am confused, provided it is less than 102 inches wide, it is not a permit load. Why does he need to contact a
permit company?


Yes, you are confused. They do more than just arrange permits, they also set routes, and given unusual size challenges they can check the laws of ALL states that you pass through to insure no problems with corners different overhang limits etc. Another major factor is the "sneak through at night or Sunday morning on back roads" mindset. Having an authority check the rules is cheap insurance to make sure that you do it right and not have major problems trying to avoid interstates. I was very pleasantly surprised the first time I pulled a mower conditioner 130 miles when the lady told me that they wanted me on the interstate, when I was worrying about certain narrow places and tight corners.
 
Well because he is over 4 feet off the back end he will need the permit for. He would also need to sign and flag the corners and widest part flagging the rear most of load. Need blinking light for front and then another one on the tail end of load. IF it was me I would block the load up so that I could get it under the 4 foot limit on the back and go with about 6 chains and binders it would set good over the top of the neck on a fifthwheel trailer then need for blocking it up so it will also be below the 13ft 6inch height for back east. Ohio and Iowa will be the worst to get through. It's a long ways out of the way to avoid Chicago /NW IN traffic. OR a lot of stop and go travel to reduce the distance. I used to drive through there 5-6 days a week. And pull oversize through the area all the time. If a bumper pull trailer forget about it will be into the truck.
 
If you decide to haul it and permit it you will need, the length of truck, trailer, and load. Then distance to each axle from front axle to second and so forth then the over all length and space between trailer axles. Load model and serial number with dimensions of load length width and height truck and trailer plates also a planned route for travel for each state. Some states will need an account set up for this. IN is the worst since they will not let you know if the route is refused. IN does have envelope routes that will auto issue for some routes and loads. OH Was a $60 permit a few years ago not sure what they are now. IN was pretty cheap. IL if Farm equipment and has a wheel base will not need a permit. IF you will be back to IA in the same year again get the annual permit only 5 dollars more and good for the year with crazy big dimensions on it. Something like 120 long 15 wide and 14.5 high. OH will be reasonable to get. PA can sometimes be slow. NJ was not bad for me when I got one from them. My wife used to order all my permits for me when I was hauling Oversize. Sometimes she was all day getting them applied for and using alternate routing to get through. On IA annual and IL do check the route you plan to use the day you stat to travel for travel restrictions. DO get the full provision sheets for IN there was an update and if you didn't have toe proper provision sheets it was about $150.00 fine for just the sheets. This has been a few years since I was doing this and has probably changed some. Permits have probably went up in price also. Hope this helps. Get hold of me if you have further questions 989 413 5684.
 
Why not put new tires on it check and grease the Hubs and
pull it home ? I drug a 500 bushel grain cart 600 miles home
45 mph the whole way . I had to get a permit cost a few
dollars and headed down the interstate the tires were cracked
on it but they came the whole way home no problem .
cvphoto119668.png


cvphoto119669.jpg
 
The picture you posted below looks like the machine could easily be towed, eliminating the need for a trailer and reducing your total weight by 4 or 5 thousand pounds.

Could you repack the wheel bearings and install some used highway tires and then pull it home? You may need to remove or reposition some of the low hanging equipment at the front of the machine for better ground clearance.
 
I am sure it has been ignored, but in Pennsylvania you are only allowed to tow farm equipment between farms or farm and point of produce sale, also farm equipment is not supposed to use interstate highways.

I imagine, that as long as you were not impeding traffic and had appropriate lighting, you would not be stopped.
 
(quoted from post at 07:25:46 03/12/22) I am sure it has been ignored, but in Pennsylvania you are only allowed to tow farm equipment between farms or farm and point of produce sale, also farm equipment is not supposed to use interstate highways.

I imagine, that as long as you were not impeding traffic and had appropriate lighting, you would not be stopped.


RCP, that is just a rural internet myth. As long as you are following the applicable rules you can tow farm equipment anywhere you want.
 
Which part is a myth? Unlicensed farm equipment is only to be used between farms and when taking product to market,
that is a fact in Pa.
 
Link not working, not sure why

https://www.dot.state.pa.us/public/dvspubsforms/BMV/BMV%20Fact%20Sheets/Implements%20of%20Husbandry%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
 
Thanks to all. This was a very informative discussion. I finally decided not to get this particular machine (at auction) not knowing for sure how I would get it home, or if I would end up having to spend big $$ on shipping which would limit my bidding. There wasn't enough time to work it all out before auction end. But this is great info as this issue will probably come up again.

I would not dare to try towing the machine this distance (1000 miles) given the 30' length, and parts of the front is only about 4-5" off the ground....it would not take much raising of the tongue to cause the i-beams at the rear to drag. And not sure how stable this would be over 30 mph. This, besides worrying that I might be pulled over for legality issue somewhere, leaving me stuck.

I considered cutting the tongue, but I think I would still have 5 feet or more overhang in the back because the front of the machine gets wide and would limit turning without hitting the back of the truck. But have to check this out further as a possible solution for next time.
 
SV Out west they are a bit more accommodating on some things there and less so on other things. Ag is one they seem to be a bit more accepting on since it is one of the largest enterprises out there. They also have pretty wide shoulders on both highways and interstates in most places. Just some states don't put larger shoulders on them like going from Billings to Roundup MT. That's one highway they forgot to put enough pavement down to paint the white lines on.
 
Thats true . We have a lot more traffic like twenty times the traffic of even 10 years ago out here though . Not sure where I can go to get away from people Siberia maybe ?
 
thank you for posting the video.
that is what the early harvester machines looked like for hazelnuts and walnuts here on the west coast in the 1950s.

only differences being
1. the speed of travel
2. the end conveyor was lower to get under trees
3. the end product was usually in sacks instead of being bulk
 

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