Moving a Housetrailer

Anonymous-0 · Mar 7, 2011

Alright guy's heres a question for ya'll. I'm going to look at a trailer to buy this afternoon.It's about 60 foot long. I will only have to pull it about a quarter of a mile and possibly through a field and not down the road being our properties joins.Here's the question. I have a 1967 ford 3000 diesel and I have a 230 MF diesel with loaded rear wheels. Would either one of these be able to handle this?

60 acre hillside · Mar 7, 2011

Level dry ground about 100 HP.

thurlow · Mar 7, 2011

I think you're gonna have too much tongue weight for your tractors; moved one with a 4020 'bout 35 or 40 years ago; best I remember, I wouldn't have wanted anything smaller. If your drawbar will hold it up, I suppose you could put one in front of the other to hold the front end down. We've done some ignorant stuff around 'here' in the last 60 years or so.............

Wilson · Mar 7, 2011

likely break the drawbar and supports. don"t ask how I know!!!!

John S-B · Mar 7, 2011

If you can rig up some dolly wheels for the tongue then you won't have to worry about weight on the drawbar. If you don't have any big hills and the brakes work right you might make it work.

molinebob · Mar 7, 2011

I dont see why it wouldnt work, we pulled one i think it was a 12x60 35 miles with a 75 ford half ton pickup, useing the ball hitch on the bumper, another we used a H farmall to pull a 14x70 about 6 miles down a gravel road...only prob we had with the one we pulled with the H is the corners, when we would turn it would rub the tires on the front of the trailer..just a standard draw bar on it also...Bob

36 Coupe · Mar 7, 2011

Dont do it.Older trailers tend to break up when moved.Spend the money on a small foundation a nd build a house.

molinebob · Mar 7, 2011

I have never seen a trailer "breakup" when being moved? I just dont see how you can post that when they are moved all the time...Bob

1936 · Mar 7, 2011

JD 70 would work just fine and not a 100 HP!!!!!

larry@stinescorner · Mar 7, 2011

I gave the one that was on our lot to a menonite farmer,here is a picture of him towing it away with a oliver 88 diesel, he took it 5 miles to his farm

johndeereman · Mar 7, 2011

i would get a 3pth drawbar and run it underneathe the hitch to take some weight off the drawbar other than that should be ok

Janicholson · Mar 7, 2011

If the land is OK to pull a loaded hay wagon on with asy 100 small squares, and it is moderately flat, the issue will be tongue weight not HP.
If the tongue weighs 1500# or so you might be into bending the draw bar, those tractors are are a little too small in my thinking. An 50 to 70 HP row crop would do it. Jim

Adirondack case guy · Mar 7, 2011

The last one I moved was about 25 years ago. The same size you are describing. All went well while on the road,but once off the road things changed. It pulled harder than a 6 bottom plow and the front end of the Case 1370 well weighted was off the ground as the 6 trailer wheels were cutting in close to 1' They are very heavy on the toung. If you think your little tractors will do it, go for it! Make sure you have plan B and C lined up before you start. Post pics as you proceed. Glood luck.

Wilson · Mar 7, 2011

Just watching nbc news. A HOUSE was moved with ballons, might be an idea!!!!

TomH in PA · Mar 7, 2011

Trailers do break, you have to be very careful moving them off a paved road. A trailer that long doesn't handle dips or sharp turns very well.

Ken Macfarlane · Mar 7, 2011

That must have been a really light one. I've seen guys move them with a dually and its a heck of a tongue load on them.

My grandmothers was put in with a Case 850 with a ball welded on the top of the blade. I don't think I'd even try to get it out with my 100 hp mfwd.

Adirondack case guy · Mar 7, 2011

It's pretty easy to pull a trailer down hill. What happened when that guy had to pull it up hill? When I was in collage I lived in a trailer court. The owner of the court also had a amall dairy farm. I payed my rent by helping on the farm and setting house trailers that he sold. We used his Dodge trailer horse with a 225Cu.in slant 6 and a JD 50. As someone else here mentioned, we've all done some really dumb things that OSHA would be real proud of. There were many times when the drawbar ofthe 50 was on the ground and front high in the air.

36 Coupe · Mar 7, 2011

I have, I can give the phone number of a neighbor who had one break up when he moved one,cost big bucks.Theres one that broke in half 2 miles from me.They were lucky they got off the highway.There was one in the news that came apart on the highway last year.The floors tend to rot out.The roofs leak.I did building inspection for 15 years

molinebob · Mar 7, 2011

Wasnt very light, back bumper was almost on the ground the whole way, but it did it, we also had the box full of cinder blocks that the trailer was blockd up with...Bob

henkie · Mar 7, 2011

I had a 76 footer delivered two year's ago.As other people have mentioned it's the drawbar weight that's going to give you problems. your 60 footer might be oke but compare the weight to pulling 3 fully loaded grain buggy's and the weight on the drawbar is what will kill you

Doug in Illinois · Mar 7, 2011

I have moved several. Neither one of your tractors is heavy enough.

The last one I moved was a 14x70. I moved it with my Ford 5000 diesel row crop, the only steering I had was using the brakes to steer.

My front tires were on the ground, but so little weight that they would just skid trying to turn.

With the trailer you want to move being only 60 feet, you could likely move it with a Ford 4000. But the 3000 just isn't big enough. DOUG

Anonymous-0 · Mar 7, 2011

You should get a bigger tractor with a long drawbar.Every one I have seen moved the front end was up and the tires hit when turning.

Moline_guy · Mar 7, 2011

I was going to say your tractors are too small, but after seeing the small oliver pictured pulling one I guess I am not sure. We moved one a little larger with a G707 moline(100hp) and it was a bit light in front and the moline has a thick drawbar so we werent worried about snapping that. I would suggest finding a little larger tractor from another neighbor, especially if your not driving on a hard road. Good luck and let us know how it went.

Gchase24 · Mar 7, 2011

I moved a 14 x 60 for my Daughter a few years back. About four miles by road with a 6010 Deere Same results .As long as it was on the road I could steer ok. The minute we went off road and it started to pull hard steering was only with rear brakes. Toung weight was more than expected.

Gchase24 · Mar 7, 2011

molinebob I have seen two damaged with a bigger tractor.One was bieing moved by a mover that went across a field and bogged both truck and trailer.Hooked a JD 8430 to it and pulled the both out leaving the axles of the trailer in the mud. Another was pulled in half by a big Stieger when trying to pull it out of the mud.

Mark - IN. · Mar 7, 2011

Grew up in Elkhart, IN. when it was the mobile home and RV capitol of the world. Now, is a dust bowl, but that don't change nothing.

Skyline Mobile Home used to make 60' and 70' long mobile homes, push them out the front door, a fella backed up his Ford Jubilee to it, lifted the hitch with his, and wheeled every last one of them to the backs of the plant and parked them for the trailer toters to drive them off to their final destinations in America. I have to admit that when they were getting 65' and 70' long, he'd lift the front end on take off, but it always came back down so he could steer it.

About the same time, down the road from Skyline was a trucking company that specialized in delivering mobile homes around the country, Morgan Drivaway. I saw these two guys back up to a 65'x14' to move for someone locally, within a few miles from Point A to Point B. These two guys used a then new one ton Dodge with dualies and L.P gas 440, that could have handled any travel trailer with ease, but they chose to use it to tote this huge mobile home. I stopped to watch that one becuase a mobile home that sized really needed a C-50 or larger Chevy, 1600 series International or larger, F500 Ford or larger, 500 series or larger Dodge...but these two guys were bound and determined to use that little one ton, and did. Oh that poor thing was begging for mercy from the time they lowered the tongue down on its hitch and its frame squated on the rear axle, but they drove off with it, barely, but they did. How har they made it, all the way, or until broke down, I don't know, but I watched them disappear down the road.

Good luck. Be careful in your decision.

Mark

PJH · Mar 7, 2011

Danny, I moved a 70 footer for my Mom, with an A John Deere.

Something you can do to help relieve the tongue weight - Lay some cardboard down on the back bedroom floor of the trailer, and stack all of the support blocks on the cardboard. As we brought the blocks in the back door, we could watch the tractor front wheels come back down to the ground. We made it fine, even crossing a couple ditches by setting cribbing for the wheels to run on. Be slow and careful and use your head. You'll need solid ground for sure. Tractor won't turn real sharp without the tires hitting the trailer.

Paul

Janicholson · Mar 7, 2011

I agree that weight bias with blocks or what ever is going to help, but there are two issues the first is the tire footprint in soft earth being worse, and I have seen two trailers bent in the middle from excess stress on an old frame.
Lowering the pressure in the tires to about 15 PSI might make it float a little better as well. Bulging but not flat. Someone mentioned a long tongue. That tongue must be on the trailer, not the tractor. The closer to the rear axle (front to rear) that the attachment is, while keeping it low as possible places weight on the rear tires and reduces the lifting of the front tires. Jim

old · Mar 7, 2011

Back around 1986 or so I moved with the help of a few friends a 1956 8X45 mobile home about a mile across a field with a couple tractors. Reason a couple was that we broke the draw bar on the first one. A Long not sure what model. We then up it to a big bigger machine but do not remember what it was. Many things come into play. Loaded or unloaded flat ground or hills etc. But then again I have pulled mobile homes cross country as a living and have pulled in probably 7 or so to where I live to be taken apart and salvaged for the wood and metal. If you know some one with a dump truck etc you would be better off to use that then any tractor

Mike M · Mar 7, 2011

I moved some around with our 4020 loaded rear wheels and loader on front. I'd consider this about as small as I'd want to use. If you could borrow a small crawler then that should be ok.
Don't even think about moving it until the ground is good and dry !

PJH · Mar 7, 2011

Jim, I remember that I had to weld up a mount for the trailer ball. It wouldn't fit the drawbar hole of the old "A". That moved the ball about 6" farther away from the tractor axle and compounded my balance problems.

Another problem was - I had to pull the 12' wide trailer through a 13' opening between two buildings. Plenty of room? But the ground sloped severely between the buildings and required more cribbing to level the trailer up to prevent the top corner of the trailer from hitting the adjacent building. Also had to drive 70' straight across two road ditches and up on a railroad embankment before I could begin my turn. It required lots of measuring and planning before we shelled out the money for the purchase.

Never even thought about the trailer frame failing.

Proof that the good Lord watches out for fools and children.

And widows. . .

Paul

JDNewbie · Mar 7, 2011

Just move all of the furniture to the back end of the trailer! :lol:

JDseller · Mar 8, 2011

Your Ford 3000 nor the MF 230 are NOT big enough to handle the tongue weight. I have moved several into place with a JD 4430 and JD 4450. The draw bars where bending on them.

I have found that the guys that move them all of the time are reasonable to hire for short distances. Especially pay them in cash and let them do it as fill in work at their schedule. Had one moved two miles up the road and it only cost me two hundred bucks. Plus they leveled it back on the blocks.

Anonymous-0 · Mar 8, 2011

(quoted from post at 14:44:10 03/07/11) Alright guy's heres a question for ya'll. I'm going to look at a trailer to buy this afternoon.It's about 60 foot long. I will only have to pull it about a quarter of a mile and possibly through a field and not down the road being our properties joins.Here's the question. I have a 1967 ford 3000 diesel and I have a 230 MF diesel with loaded rear wheels. Would either one of these be able to handle this?

Grew up where there was a lot of folks that had weekend and some fulltime homes along the river. Stuff usually got pulled to higher ground and put back twice a year. Local guy with a wrecker moved most everything with his wrecker or a JD tractor of some kind (not a monster).
I don't remember the details over the years, but he had a rear axle from a truck with a tongue welded to it and a frame/hitch ball on top. He hooked the bigger ones to that and had no weight issues (that a 12-13 year old boy could see). Problem was with procrastinators that waited til the ground thawed or it rained too much.

Dave

Geo-TH,In · Mar 8, 2011

Area planning won't allow you to do that in my county. House trailers can only be moved to a trailer park.

ohiojim · Mar 8, 2011

i had a friend that moved all my mobile homes 10X70s with a 5000 ford, just watch the turns with the rear wheels

larry@stinescorner · Mar 8, 2011

he did go up some hills to get to his farm,I gave the old trailer to him and he took it away, then we built a little house on that lot,the well and septic were good and it is a real nice lot,

Russ from MN · Mar 8, 2011

We moved one a few years ago for a friend, about a 10x50, did it with our little JD4600. Have a nice home built hitch on the 3-point, it will lift about 2500lb. I left the loader on for weight and it went quite well.

Bryan inIowa · Mar 8, 2011

We have a 14 x 70 that we use for our deer camp/ moved it twice . First time was out of a field .Guy that moved it out of the field used a 1066 ihc . The guy that hauled it down the road used a JD 8600 ? something with front assist . Lemme tell you ,,that trailer is waaayyyy heavy in the front . It' made those tractors squat . We had some pretty good hills to go up and down the gravel road . Really worked that JD . The move was had on the trailer. We had to tighten up lots of the framing . Moved in early sunday morning , no traffic ,no permits license. My understanding farmer could move it if he was going to use it for farm use . I hace seen some trailers snapped right in half when they were moved . coin toss I guess ,But Id sure want as big of tractor as I could get .

Tim in New York · Mar 8, 2011

The guy I worked for when I was in high school moved one a bit bigger than that with a JD 520, narrow front. He took it about 8 miles on blacktop road. Had trouble keeping the front tires on the ground, but he got there...

RoyIA · Mar 8, 2011

In the 70's my college age buddy and his brothers and dad moved a 12 x 60 with their Ford 3000. It had a loader on it to help keep the front end down, and they put a leash on the front of it hooked to a 1900 Oliver. They also moved it just after Sunrise on a Sunday morning. There were no problems, but maybe they were exceptionally lucky. I believe they only moved about 5 miles per hour. 1/2 mile on gravel, one mile on blacktop, and another half mile on gravel. They had to take the long way as they lived right next to a railroad underpass which was too short or too narrow or both.

Moving a Housetrailer

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