Towing a tractor

My 2014 Tacoma seemed to haul the pictured tractor and trailer okay, but it seems to be putting a lot of down pressure on the rear of the truck. Does anyone else haul their tractor in similar fashion? Might it be too much to haul, or would I have figured that out by now?

 

Tractor Could be centered more over trailer axles distribute the weight more evenly

 

Center of the tractor’s rear axle centereed between the trailer axels.

 

Do the math.

 

Going to be hard to do with the backhoe and loader. Best way is with a tongue scale.

 

What is the total weight of the tractor and trailer? What is the tongue weight? Those two numbers should answer your question.

 

Go to a commercial CAT scale. They charge $12. There’s an app that lets you do it from your phone.

https://weighmytruck.com/

 

Suggest the following:

https://www.etrailer.com/Tools/Sherline/5780.html

https://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Weight_Distribution_Hitch.aspx

Move the tractor position on the trailer to find the appropriate tongue weight for the Taco.

I have a JD 3520 that I tow on my car hauler trailer. Depending on what implements are attached to the tractor, the tractor position on the trailer changes due to the weight it places on the hitch.

I use axle straps on the front axle to secure the tractor to the trailer at 2 points. Depending on your state regulations, securing the tractor at the loader may not be allowed.

 

Ive towed a bigger tractor than that, just get weights right. You know its back there but its doable.

 

It's not too much to haul, but you need to move the tractor back on the trailer. Front and rear tractor tires should sort of straddle where the trailer axles are. The back hoe weighs more than the loader, so you want the tractor a bit forward of the mid-point between trailer axles.. It will seem odd to have space left at the front of the trailer, but you have to balance the load so you have about 450-500 pounds of tongue weight for a load that size.

You'll know you have too much tongue weight whenever you go over a dip in the road and the truck wants to bounce at the back. Properly balanced, you should barely notice a bump or dip in the road. Move the tractor back and forth, chain it down, tow it a short distance and see how it feels. move it around until it feels right, but still has decent tongue weight. If the trailer has too little tongue weight, it will sway going down the road, you do not want that. Once you get the balance right. mark the trailer deck so you load it the same way every time. If you reconfigure the tractor and change the weight distribution, you start over.

Here's my tractor, balanced with about 400 pounds tongue weight. Tractor and 18 foot trailer weigh 4300 pounds as you see in the picture

 

Which JD is that and what's its weight?

My dad has a

$144 1025R TETON Sports Deer Hunter -35 Degree Sleeping Bags. Warm and Comfortable Camping Sleeping Bag, TETON Tough Canvas Shell for Camping, Hunting, and Cold Weather

1025R, a little smaller than that, it's right at 2000lb with a front end loader and mower deck on. I've got a single axle trailer I'd originally bought for ATV's that is loaded as much as the law will allow with it (2900lb GVWR and 900lb trailer weight). Axles are 3500lb and the tires are 2000lb rated each. It does fine though but the farthest trip is 5 miles and rarely, plus one of the FEL or deck is removed.

They're fine little tractors!

 

That is a 2009 model 2520; the 2025R replaced it in the Deere lineup, but IMO the 2520 is a better machine. It's rated 26.4 drawbar horsepower and 20 PTO. Tractor alone weighs 1863 pounds, the loader is 600-ish (counting the frame mounts), and the 3-point wood chipper I have on the back is about 400. My mower deck is a 62D2 and weighs 275 pounds. I bought this machine used two years ago, only had 380 hours on it. It's a beast, the loader can handle about 1100 pounds and the rear lift will pick up 1000 pounds. Big as it is for a mower, you can get it in pretty tight spaces, and it does a beautiful mowing job. I traded a 2008 X748 and cash for it. The Taco tows it really well, I've had the all-up trailer weight around 5500 a few times.