Tongue weight

[4x4ord]

I want to pick up a piece of equipment about 150 miles from here and tow it home. I plan on towing it with my Super Duty. My guess is that I have exceeded this weight on my hitch in the past but I don't want to drive 150 miles only to find out the factory hitch can't handle the 2200 lbs that will be put on it. Anybody have experience with how much these factory hitches can handle?

[4x4ord]

mkirsch wrote:
No doubt it towed just fine. It's an ideal trailer. Tongue weight is close to 20%. It is very long with the wheels set far back. There is very little frontal area, and it is aerodynamic to boot.

The tongue weight was within the payload capacity for your truck so no doubt the tires and suspension could hold it up. You had plenty of power for the weight, especially considering how little frontal area it had.

Really about your only concern was that receiver. Nobody here would know what the design limits of that receiver are, just the factory ratings. A few farmers threw caution to the wind and towed similar weights, and it worked out for them. At that point it's up to you. Glad it worked out.

You would actually be surprised at the frontal area of the thing. There is a lot of surface area to catch wind so it pulled heavier than a much heavier fifth wheel RV does. In fact going up some minor hills on the highway it would take everything my truck had to maintain 60 mph.

[4x4ord]

DaveF-250SD wrote:
Glad you were able to safely move it to your property. Which part of it is 13 feet wide? The wheels don't look like they are spaced out that distance across. I guess on a four lane road it would not be much of an issue with width, but on a two lane road the road would definitely have to be closed to all traffic in the opposite direction for the duration of your time on it.

The track width is 13' 4" so it was a little wider than the lane. I ran the left hand wheel right down the center line on the two lane highways. There is a flashing light right above the wheel which helps keep it visible. Here's another picture but it seems impossible to get an idea of the size of this thing from a picture. This is from Farm King's website:

[DaveF-250SD]

Glad you were able to safely move it to your property. Which part of it is 13 feet wide? The wheels don't look like they are spaced out that distance across. I guess on a four lane road it would not be much of an issue with width, but on a two lane road the road would definitely have to be closed to all traffic in the opposite direction for the duration of your time on it.

[mkirsch]

No doubt it towed just fine. It's an ideal trailer. Tongue weight is close to 20%. It is very long with the wheels set far back. There is very little frontal area, and it is aerodynamic to boot.

The tongue weight was within the payload capacity for your truck so no doubt the tires and suspension could hold it up. You had plenty of power for the weight, especially considering how little frontal area it had.

Really about your only concern was that receiver. Nobody here would know what the design limits of that receiver are, just the factory ratings. A few farmers threw caution to the wind and towed similar weights, and it worked out for them. At that point it's up to you. Glad it worked out.

[4x4ord]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
That's AWESOME ^^^^^^^^^^

It is. The pictures don't do it justice; the thing is huge. It is capable of emptying a semi load of grain in 3 minutes. It pulled very nice down the four lane at between 65 and 70 mph.

[Cummins12V98]

That's AWESOME ^^^^^^^^^^

[4x4ord]

[Fordlover]

4x4ord wrote:

transamz9 wrote:

4x4ord wrote:

RoyJ wrote:

4x4ord wrote:

Permits and escort vehicles won't be necessary. I realize the sticker is going to have a number on it, I'm more interested in how much weight the hitch can take.

You sure about that? Or is this all off road?

At least here in BC, the legal limit is 53' length and 8.5' width just like any of the States.

Have you planned out the entire trip path to make sure all corners are negotiable? That is one BIG load!

Also, you may want a HD anti-sway setup. If it's a big box, 85' would create a ton of sway for a bumper pull.

In Alberta farmers are permitted to move their equipment down the roads. Apparently it pulls very nice down the road. What it is, is a big grain auger.

It might be different there but here you are limited to so many miles on farm tags.

I can check that out but I am quite sure our farm plate is province wide.

Here's a link to a picture of the thing.

Please post a pic of that thing hooked up to your truck.

[4x4ord]

Just to update. A friend of mine ended up buying this same piece of equipment and towed it 550 km behind his 2004 srw Chevy with a factory 2 inch receiver hitch. He said it handled it just fine. I'm making the trip today.

[Cummins12V98]

Sport45 wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Ya just don't want to end up looking like this guy that had just a bit too much hitch weight!

I'm not sure who wins the prize here. Is it the guy who jackknifed, or the driver who took the picture?

5 MPH I think I was safe. Maybe not.

[The_Mad_Norsky]

Sport45: good point. I do hope it was the rear seat passenger in a crew cab type pickup who snapped the photo though.

[Sport45]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Ya just don't want to end up looking like this guy that had just a bit too much hitch weight!

I'm not sure who wins the prize here. Is it the guy who jackknifed, or the driver who took the picture?

[4x4ord]

The Mad Norsky wrote:
There is one other option.

Just use a tractor to pull it to where ever. No worries about hitch weight.

Shoot, these modern tractors would be heaven for me to use. LOL, we had the old Case 930's on our farm, add on cab, no A/C, no ear protection. No turbo, no power, no duals, and the list can go on and on. And Case had the nerve to call them Comfort Kings.

Kinda like this. We did this a few times with the old auger until rumers started circulating. It was only about a 5200 lb x 70 ft auger.

[The_Mad_Norsky]

There is one other option.

Just use a tractor to pull it to where ever. No worries about hitch weight.

Shoot, these modern tractors would be heaven for me to use. LOL, we had the old Case 930's on our farm, add on cab, no A/C, no ear protection. No turbo, no power, no duals, and the list can go on and on. And Case had the nerve to call them Comfort Kings.