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Minimum size trailer for my tractor?

RedMF40

RedMF40

Well-known Member
Any suggestions on a good quality trailer to haul my tractor occasionally? Don't want to go huge and I understand the weight limit but just looking for some real world experience here. Been hitting the auctions lately and if the right one shows up would like to buy. Thanks for any help.
mvphoto33126.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 21:13:09 03/19/19) Any suggestions on a good quality trailer to haul my tractor occasionally? Don't want to go huge and I understand the weight limit but just looking for some real world experience here. Been hitting the auctions lately and if the right one shows up would like to buy. Thanks for any help.
mvphoto33126.jpg
Click to expand...
A standard 16 ft. car hauler with two axles can handle 7500 lbs. That should do it.
 
Standard car hauler, 16', has a pair of 3500# axles on it. 3500 x 2 = 7000#, minus 2000# for the trailer yields a capacity of
5000#. That'll haul that tractor well.

Yea, you don't want to go too big, nor spend too much, but if the trailer fails because you went too cheap, you lose the trailer,
AND possibly the tractor. You'll find other uses for that trailer...........trust me.

Don't forget adequate chains to hold the thing down too.

Pete
 
I used to have a 16 ft 7k trailer and bent an axle.
I replaced trailer with a 20 ft 14k. It will handle more load, about 11k, than my 1500 GMC can handle.
Empty the trailer bounces all over the place, heavy springs and tires filled with 90 psi.
A 7k trailer may handle your tractor. On the other hand if your tractor tires have ballast, you may
have an issue balancing load with a 16 ft trailer.

If I would buy another trailer I would get a 18 ft 10k trailer that can haul about 7500#.

Part of your decision will be determined by the size of your truck. Another thing to think about is 7
k car carriers don't have ramps hinged on the back of trailer like an implement trailer. The hinged
ramps have knees that prevents pushing the rear of the trailer to the ground and lifting the back of
your truck off the ground. Pulling ramps out is a back killer for me. Bottom line a car carrier isn't
for me.
 
With that front end loader and
something on the 3pt you will
need 18' to make it easy to
get balanced. 16' could leave
you either front or rear heavy
depending on how you load. If
your going to haul with a
brush cutter on the rear you
will want 10k rated trailer.
You calculate the capacity of
a trailer by adding the axle
capacity to the coupler
capacity and subtracting the
weight of the trailer. This
can be limited by other things
like license rating and tires
or truck capacity too. You
always take the lowest number
as your max, so if you have a
14k trailer but only a 10k
hitch you have 10k capacity.
 
Jon, Y make a Good point about hitch. Some may have a 10k hitch but only a 7k receiver and ball.

Another thing to consider, a 10k trailer weighs about 1000 pounds less than a 14k trailer. So if you can't pull a 14k trailer stay with what your truck, hitch and ball can handle.

I would want implement trailer with hinged ramps and knees.
 
I have 2 7K trailers 16' long and neither have had those knees as you call them. Both have full width ramps and are not strong enough, I used a 2x12" plank on top of the ramps. one that weighs 1,750# was heavy enough for my 2N ford with loaded tires, The newer one weighs 1,500# and I had the Ford on it once and no more as I could tell just from pulling it that it was not strong enough for that Ford. So even tho it may be rated to carry the load may in actuality not be strong enough to be safe. The Ferguson 40 weighs more than my Ford and with that loader my 1,750# trailer would not be heavy enough for it.
 
If he has any weights on that tractor or fluid that he needs with that loader a trailer of that size would be overloaded.
 
That car hauler would have 2 3,500 pound axles giving a total gross weight of 7,000# minus the weight of the trailer guessing 1.500# only leaves you with a carrying capacity of 5,500# And a trailer load capacity is figured only on capacity of axles not including the hitch. At least that is the way it is figured here in ohio. A car hauler does not have a full floor only 2 places for the wheels to run so it would weigh less than a full floor. And my trailer with the 2 3,500# avles is not strong enough for his tractor.
 
With a loader tractor you will need a 20' trailer. That might seem to long, but by the time you get the tractor positioned on the trailer to get the right tongue weight you will be out of room in front. I have a 20' 10K trailer for my tractors. When I load my loader tractor on the trailer I have to tilt the bucket all the way down to have enough clearance for the bed of the truck.


OTJ
 
I have hauled a tractor like yours on a 7000 lbs trailer. But when I turned a square corner looked like axled were bowing quite a bit. I would consider a 10000 lb. 19 ft. Trailer.
 
. To haul 5000lbs , a trailer with 7500lbs of cargo capacity is about right .
The name plate max rating on a trailer is not a continuous working weight nor does it allow for bumps and pot holes .
Same goes for small portable generators . A 7500w generator is the right size for a 5000watt load .
 
I have a 18ft plus 20ft dove tail,(20 foot trailer) with 2 3500# axles. I will tell you mine is not
heavy enough,I bought it to haul my Super C with an IH loader. It does that but, put the Bush Hog
behind it and half the mower is hanging off the tail end.My 504 U will only center on the trailer buy
tilting the bucket all the way. Now the worst thing is it is not heavy enough,it should be at least
10,000#,my next will be a 12,000# deck over.When you go to a heaver trailer you get better tires and
bigger and heaver brakes. If someone needs a bent 20ft trailer that needs two new axles let me know
:)
 

I bought a 20' 10k car hauler style trailer last year when I got in trouble with the DOT, GVWR of 9950 will keep you out of DOT rules, but give you the capacity. Mine has an 8000# payload, $3300 new, not much more than a 7K.
 
Trucks and trailers are like tractors. I never had a tractor to big or to heavy. The heavier the better and the longer the better.
 

I went from a 18ft 7K to a 20 ft 10.5K ... My GMC 1/2 ton pulled the 7K great but the 10.5K was a little much for it so went to a 3/4 ton diesel...

If you haul a loader tractor I would want at the least a 10K 20 ft trailer...
 
Well how much does the tractor and anything you might want on it weigh? You didn't say that. However from the looks you might get away with a 7000# trailer, on the other
hand a 10000 wouldn't hurt. It will cost more and weigh a little more though. As someone said, don't forget chains. I use grade 43 at 5400# working load for a 3/8" chain.
Some use a higher grade 5/16" chain with a little less load capacity. I like the look of the 3/8 for the times whey looks is important, getting stopped by someone who
doesn't know what they are looking at and might think a smaller chain isn't too impressive looking. I admit I have never been stopped when moving a tractor or anything
else. Try and look legal (I am) even if you are not.
 

Thanks for the replies, gives me something to think about. Actually glad I asked.

looks like my truck will safely tow around 7000 lbs. Ford F250 Superduty with the V10. Receiver hitch is stamped Max 10,000 lbs but the part that slides into it says Max 6000. Can I simply replace that part with a higher-capacity rating?


mvphoto33182.jpg

Stamped 6000 Lbs



mvphoto33183.jpg


Tow vehicle 1999 F250 2WD V10
 
(quoted from post at 05:07:55 03/20/19) Shh, don't recommend more trailer than is absolutely necessary or you risk being labled as YTDOT... and forever become a pariah on this forum!
Click to expand...

Barnyard you have it directly backwards. YTDOT recommends a 3500lb trailer for a 3500lb tractor because the YTDOT inspector's brother and cousin both hauled their tractors 50 miles that way without getting stopped. All they had to do was drive carefully and they were OK.
 
Yes you can get heavier one. A trailer sales or NAPA can get you a heavier one. I got one from NAPA that is
forged steel and is 25,000 lb. but you can get different weight ones.
cvphoto17204.jpg
 

Measure the width of the tractor, with the front wheels turned out it probably won't fit between the fenders of a standard 8 ft wide car hauler style trailer.
A Ford 3930 with 14.9-28 rears wouldn't go between the fenders on mine.
With your F-250 I'd look for a min 10k trailer 18-20 ft long with dove tail.

This trailer is 18 ft + 2 ft dove tail, 12k lb rated with mount ramps, notice the anti lift supports made onto the ramps
This one is goose neck but are available with bumper hitch.
Only down side to mounted ramps is nothing can overhang

Not going to say how much the skid steer and composter weigh, just that I sold that trailer and got a bigger one.

mvphoto33187.jpg
 

Thanks, looks like size does matter in this case. Ideally I'll try borrowing a friend's trailer of proper size and see how i feel about dragging all that weight around behind me. Very little experience trailering things.
 
(quoted from post at 09:07:51 03/21/19)
Thanks, looks like size does matter in this case. Ideally I'll try borrowing a friend's trailer of proper size and see how i feel about dragging all that weight around behind me. Very little experience trailering things.
Click to expand...

A 14k will weigh twice as much empty as a 10k deckover and you will notice the difference! I love it when I can take my 10k to go get something, can't even tell it is back there....but I do like the 14k deckover for ease of loading and knowing I have the extra capacity if I need it.
 
Only caveat may be your receiver needs a weight-distributing hitch to achieve that 10,000lb rating. Double-check your sticker.

On older trucks they tended to do that. The factory receiver on my 2002 Chevy 3500 dually was only rated for 7500lbs trailer without a weight distributing hitch. This is a truck which can carry a 5000lbs load and still be under GVWR. It's only recently with the 2.5" and 3" receivers that they have these ungodly tongue/trailer ratings.

Is it a show stopper? You make the call. I know many have successfully hauled using underrated receivers and shanks. The heavier shanks generally weren't widely available until about 10 years ago. You had to go to a specialty trailer shop. Most just went to walmart and grabbed a shank with the right drop and the right sized ball, usually rated for 5000-6000lbs. Now you can get the heavy shanks even at Walmart, and most of the chain farm/horse stores like Tractor Supply also carry them.
 

Only caveat may be your receiver needs a weight-distributing hitch to achieve that 10,000lb rating.

...Yes, I believe there is wording to that effect if I want to achieve the 10K lb towing capacity. But not knowing what a weight-distributing hitch is, I decided to gloss over that bit of information.

The good news is that I have a full-service trailer shop just a few miles down the road. Now that I know a little more about trailering and things related to towing, I'll stop in and ask about what I'm trying to do. I appreciate the help everyone's offered--you've likely saved me from going out and buying something that would prove useless for my main purpose.
 
I use that weight distributing hitch all the time. It put part of trailer weight on fron of truck so you do not run nose high.
 
Also use a sway bar. part of a good hitch setup. 2 different type of the weight distributing hitch that I know of.
 
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