Questions about Trailers

Hi, Roger.

Folks around here generally just drive their backhoe from job to job if they dont need a dump truck for the task at hand, else they trailer it behind their dump truck on a 2 axle trailer.

For a five mile move, why not just use your pickup truck and move the little stuff???

Maybe rent a trailer or u-haul van for the bigger stuff........

Why worry about possibly moving a backhoe when you dont even own one yet ???

Hell, have the previous owner arrange delivery, or arrange it yourself as a one-shot deal--

And I would suggest you dont try and contract out backhoe work till you have learned all the ropes, and have servicable and reliable equipment to accompish said work with--to do otherwise is just asking for troubles.

Anyone severed a fiber-optic cable recently ???

A quick search for "Case 580" shows it to weigh in the neighborhood of 16,000 lbs.

In my experience, my last truck, a 1/2 ton Chevy with 350, was not too comfortable pulling a Bobcat (4800lbs) on my 16' dual axle trailer. The trailer complained a bit too. This is one of the cheaper trailers, fine for a load of trash, lumber, even a small Kubota tractor or smaller car.

That backhoe would be far too much for a 1/2 ton truck. I currently have an F-250 and would only consider pulling something that heavy with a gooseneck trailer. A bumper pull trailer would place too much on the back wheels of the truck. If you pulled the hoe around much, I'd suggest a dually. And yes, you definitely want the 7 pin trailer connection, because that means the trailer will have brakes and you'll need them for a backhoe. Gary Brady Austin, TX

If you live where you can't get away with just driving the backhoe around, road-licensed or not, maybe the backhoe isn't such a great idea. Around here the only folks that trailer them do it behind 5 yard or larger dump trucks, really too expensive to own, license and insure if not a full-time business. Rest of my "friends in low places" just drive them licensed or not. Ideally you can arrange transport from the buyer and not deal with a trailer after that.

I upgraded from a 1/2 ton to 3/4 to increase trailering capacity and pretty much regret it, in hindsight there's nothing the 1/2 couldn't have done and the 3/4 (ext-cab 4x4) is too expensive to casually drive. 3/4 ton was required to rent the trailer I needed but I could have bought a fine trailer and weight-distributing hitch for the 1/2 ton and come out ahead.

Bob

You need heavy equipment to move heavy equipment.

Forget using a 1/2-ton pickup to move a full-size backhoe.

If you don't know how much truck you need to do the job, don't try it. A case 580 is a real piece of machinery, and you have no use for the truck capable of towing it. You're talking a medium duty truck at best, this ain't pickup-truck class.

My paperwork shows an average Case 580 to be around 13,500 pounds. Add to that for extend-a-hoe and 4-in1 buckets. Inexperienced people with backhoes have made life terrible for those that do it for a living and have insurance. You don't even want to have that on someone elses property without proper insurance and god forbid you try to dig anywhere without proper notifications and insurance. Now for trailering duty a light duty truck and that includes 1 ton trucks just aren't up to the task of moving around heavy equiptment. People use them and they usually pull fairly well but stopping power is next to nothing. Backhoe and trailer will weight around 20,000-22,000 pounds and you want to pull that with a 7000 pound truck, not a good idea. Electric brakes are not fool proof and the towing vehicle must be able to stop the trailer and load. I own a 2554 International (Navistar) truck DTA466 diesel, allison automatic, air brakes, and a 10' dump bed. This truck has a GVW of 35,500lbs and the truck itself weights around 15,500 lbs empty(thats after I took off 2500lbs of plow and spreader equiptment). I routinely pull my 12 ton tag trailer with a

17,500+ lbs John Deere 450C track loader on it. Total weight of trailer and equiptment comes up to right at 24,000lbs. This trailer has 4 axles under it, they are short axles with two side by side and front to back, pretty much like a low-boy is set up. All axles have brakes on them. This is about the minimum trailer I could use to pull this setup. I used to have a 1965 IH 1600 gas engine manual shift and it was all it wanted to do to pull the track loader. Otherwise it had the beefiness to handle the weight of the trailer. As far as on the side work. I don't know where you are located but here in illinois there is so little work for the regulars they are doing smaller jobs for what people were getting the "after dark" operators to do them for. We have had several industries close down and it would seem every other tom dick and harry went out and bought a backhoe, bobcat, or small dump truck with their severance pay. They run over each other trying to do a job for free. I don't think I will ever own a skid-steer, they are just not enough of a piece of equiptment to justify the cost of a good-not wore out one. They are ok in tight places, but then again I can turn circles in just about the same size as some of the larger skid-steers. They don't do well loading heavy rock or dirt into a high sided truck, ask anyone who has turned one over. With my track loader I could dig under, lift a full bucket AND a skid-steer and dump them into your truck all in one breath. It also does well in lifting heavy metal working equiptment too.

good luck

tim

"Whatever it takes to pull a full sized backhoe" is something like a 6 yard dumptruck, and a 3 axle eager beaver 25 foot trailer.

To get the backhoe to you when you buy it, spend ~$60/hr on a machinery mover (like the local tractor dealer) and get it done right. Work on your own stuff for a while before you think too hard about contracting out to others, in which case you'll need the dumptruck, and you'll need to be doing that full-time to make any of it pay. You may find that you want newer equipment, as well, since what you can put up with in your own projects may not be the same as what you can put up with (for downtime, repairs, etc) when working for others.

It's a whole different ballgame. Personally, I found after doing it for myself for a while that I'd just as soon not do for others. And not taking it off my own land keeps it cheaper, too, at least where I am.

While I don't own a backhoe, I have experience moving heavy equipment around. I frame houses for a living and nearly every Tom, Dick and Harry with a hammer around these parts owns a rough terrain forklift also. I own a 20,000# Lull. That seems to be about the average weight for these machines no matter the brand.

Typically if the next jobsite is within a reasonable distance (5 miles or less) most folks just drive them from job to job. Most of the new construction job sites are one the fringes of the city, so with a little planning I can usually avoid difficult traffic. 20,000# forklifts aren't the most streetable machines (especially the old ones) so if the move looks more difficult than a short hop I gladly pay a local wrecker to move the machine. Several area wrecker services will gladly roll a semi with ramped drop deck and haul the machine to its next destination for around $150 a trip.

Don't even think about moving that much weight with a 1/2 ton pickup. Hell, you'd be better off moving the pickup with the backhoe!

Good Luck, Dick

case 580D = 8 tons

if you are only going 5 miles you are better off driving it there

if you want to haul you will need better than 3/4 ton with a gooseneck trailer

call any lowboy transport truckers or machinery movers for pricing

You have had some real good answers. In our work they dig up a lot of pipelines so we can weld on them and like everyone said, they just drive unless it's a real long way.

Having owned a 1 ton diesel Dodge that was used to tow a small backhoe I can say that the process, IMO, wears out every component on the poor truck even with good maintenance.

I've also been behind a 1 ton pulling a hoe when the trailer took control and turned over, dumping a pretty nice tractor out on the street and ruining a good pickup. This was on a city street at around 40 mph.

I've also seen a couple of undersized trailers that had been used to haul backhoes. Over rough roads they broke in the frame, almost in half.

Even the smallest old International dump trucks with a 5 speed/2 speed rear end and a little gas engine make a suitable, if slow, tow vehicle.

JTMcC.

I was thinking about getting a ~15,000lb trailer to be able to haul my forklift (~9,000lbs) and up to it's rated load (6,000lbs). I wanted this to be able to go to sales and buy bargain equipment (fixer uppers, etc.). Since I'm finding out that this is so close to the weight of a Backhoe, and I'm beginning to see a possible backhoe in my near future, I might be better off getting a 20,000lb trailer and a truck suitable to pull it.

From the responses, I gather that a 1 ton truck is on the lite side for pulling a backhoe. What about something like an F600 or F800 truck or dump truck? There are quite a few dump trucks in the paper but I didn't think they would be good for towing with a gooseneck trailer. I saw one Backhoe trailer advertised with a pintle hitch, is that what you would use with a dump truck?

I guess I'm probably better off getting a lighter trailer for my 1/2 ton pickup for now. I can use it for the move minus the heaviest equipment. I can hire out to have a backhoe delivered to me, since it will be quite a while before I want to move it off my land.

There is a building on the property consisting of poles and a steel roof, one side is all open, it would work for a temporary equipment shelter.

Yes. They also make combination pintle-ball hitches, but I don't know if those would work with a 20k lb. trailer... --Glenn Lyford

If you don't need the dump box, you should be able to sell it and the hydraulics rather quickly and then make it a nice big flatbed. Just remember that now you are going to cross the magical 26,000 pound threshold, you will need to convert to a CDL. If you haved a farm and run the rig under farm rules, you had better not get caught doing work with it that is not tied directly to your farm as the fines can and will be most steep....

We're planning on converting an older Volvo or Freightliner into a motorhome/ trailer toter for my big gooseneck. The only thing the license people cautioned me about the change is to make sure that I'm not cross using the truck from personal use into commercial use as you can rack up massive fines in a single stop that way.

Craig C. snipped-for-privacy@ev1.net

You can get one of the smaller 2-axle 'city tractors' (Class 5?) like Coke and 7-Up use for their local delivery routes. New or used.

Yes, that's a better plan - you NEVER want to get into a "tail wagging the dog" situation, always have a tow vehicle heavy enough (and with sufficient brakes) for the load intended. Disregard the manufacturers' load and towing limits at your own peril.

The first time it really gets away from you it'll put you and your load all over the road, and usually into the ditch.

If you get a 1-ton duallie you could do it in two trips, or have the equipment trailer loaded by the sellers (or rented) forklift.

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These are very common among the Snow Bird set to pull large 5th wheel travel trailers as well.

Gunner

"To be civilized is to restrain the ability to commit mayhem. To be incapable of committing mayhem is not the mark of the civilized, merely the domesticated." - Trefor Thomas