I am kinda new to owning tractors and backhoes. Own a few properties about 50 miles apart from each other. This is a semi-retirement hobby, not a business, so looked to keep costs down. Here any truck over F350 is heavily regulated so I opted for a farm tractor due to the easy regulation and taxation. I rather enjoy the slow drive during quiet times. Then I needed a backhoe and bought this MF50:
It is considerably slower on the road, making trailering more attractive. Its weight is somewhere in the 10,000-12,000 lbs according to paper. I'm gonna be looking at the other side of the equation, what truck and trailer to get.
I ran a Search and Rescue team for a while and we had a similar issue. We had a half-ton 4wd truck and needed to haul 2 ARGO off-road vehicles. The half-ton was perfect for transporting teams to remote areas, where a 3/4 or 1-ton would beat them up. So what to get for a trailer? We ended up with a lightweight aluminum 24' that put length and weigh and GVW right to the limit.
Training driver's was a nightmare. Every guy seemed to figure he was God's gift to driving and we had a serious problem qualifying drivers. Speed and driving for conditions were big concerns. I instigated training programs where we had them driving in wind and braking on hills so they would learn to respect the load. My hat goes off to professional truck drivers.
Much in this thread is so true. The weight always increases, tires are so important, brakes are more important than axles, and good judgement is the most important driving skill.
Anyway, we had to pare the trailer weight to a minimum (aluminum light duty, minimal options) to keep from overloading the truck's GVWR.
Oh yes, about loaded tires. I run loaded tires on my old farm tractor. Depending on on the strength of chloride this adds between 300-370 lbs to each 12.4x28 tire.
