towing question

[olivera149]

Saturday i am gonna haul a t200 bobcat with a brush cutter attachement and bucket up to our cabin about 80 miles north of were i live. The rental place said about 12-13,000 lbs. There wont be much hills on the way other than small foothills, but i have a class V hitch that is rated at 8,000 lbs tow rating with 10,000 weight distribution and i have an aftermarket step bumper made by hercules that has a 12,000 lbs tow rating without weight distribution.

I was just wondering what everyones thoughts were on to were i should place my ball? Hitch or Bumper? I havent seen a company that rents gooseneck trailers or i would just throw everything on a gooseneck and not think twice about it. My question is how hard have you guys pushed hitches and bumper pulls and got the job done safely? I will be going slow, no faster than 45mph( i dont have a turbo, but 4:10s) and trans temp and pyro guage recently added and bugs worked out between a combination of everyones advice here. I have faith that my truck will go the distance(slowly), but i am more concerned about getting there bug free, i will start my PM tomorrow and change all fluids and I got the trailer brake controller working excellent and tested a couple of weekends ago towing my bros explorer into a mechanic friends garage.

 

[Agnem]

As long as you can keep the tongue weight in range, I don't see any reason not to use the hitch. Most hitches will take a lot more than they are rated for, and having seen what happened to the one on the Moose Truck back in 97', I'm a real believer in them.

 

[pafixitman]

12K sounds about right. 7200 for the unit plus trailer and attachments. I say go with the frame mounted, load the unit over the trailer axel to keep the tongue weight down.

I pulled this and it was a bit tongue heavy.

 

[olivera149]

holy cow joe!!! that is some serious weight. I am convinced to go with the frame mounted hitch. Thanks

Mel what happened to the moose truck in 97?

 

[DeepRoots]

hell, around here they haul a kubota of that size behind an f150 with a (scary) homebuilt trailer.

 

[dsblack]

I pulled one of those mini excavators, about the same with my class 3 frame mount, no problems.
You will be fine.

 

[TLBREWER]

I agree with the others, use the frame hitch. I believe they are under rated to stay on the safe side for those of us that tow at or over the limits. One thing you didn't mention, but I'm sure you've already addressed is the ball. Just because it's a 2 5/16 doesn't mean it's up to the task. Some are rated at 5000lbs, some at 8000lbs, and some 10,000lbs. It depends on the shank size and material, which can lead to other problems when trying to get a stinger that it fits. I have one for a gooseneck that's rated at 30,000lbs.

Tom

 

[olivera149]

yeah tom i have a ball that is rated at 12k along with a new ball mount that is also rated at 12k, and the things alone probably weigh 50lbs. It is just one of those things were you have to use what you got to make things work on a budget, and have to get done. I will feel alot more safer knowing that everyone knows it will do the job, i thought the same, but the reinsurance knowing the seasoned pros here have tried and tested it. I'll try and take some pics, but unfortunately forecast calls for rain, so no sparkling Mt. Denali pics.

Thank you everyone again

--Ryan

 

[Black dawg]

where did you find that ball and mount, maybe i havent looked hard enough, but the biggest ive found is 10k

 

[pafixitman]

Ball mount 14K

10K Pintle / Ball mount for 2" X2" box hitch

 

[Agnem]

Mel what happened to the moose truck in 97?

Got hit by a drunk driver. I averted a head on collision with the truck, but she nailed my boat. Sheared the axle off the trailer, did a lot other damage and totaled her car. The impact took the 3/4" thick steel that formed the 4" drop insert, and made it perfectly streight. Took the 3" square tube that formed the rear of the hitch, and bent it into a V shape. The 6 bolts that held the hitch to the frame never budged, and the 2-1/8" ball never let go. We had to pull the pin on the insert and push the insert in far enough to get the safety chains to let go. Surely the force of the impact exceeded any rating that was stamped on the hitch. Clearly they bend before they break.

 

[sle2115]

My class V is rated at 15,000 with Weight distributing hitch, which after using, I always use, even on the lighter loads. I bought a 2 5/16" - 25,000 lb ball at Tractor Supply. They are about $30 but I have yet to damage one, gooseneck or bumper pull. The are black, not chrome and tend to rust, so I just keep a little grease on it. Can be messing in handling but otherwise things work well with just a skim coat on there.

I just bought a new International 14,000 pound tandem axle trailer. They were telling me that it will soon be law that anyone towing a tandem will also be required to have the emergency brake power control/switch (great idea to have it anyway) but I am not sure if that is just an Ohio law or nationwide. I feel better thinking that if my trailer comes loose from the truck (cable to actuate e-brake is longer than safety chains so it has to come COMPLETELY loose) that the trailer brakes will be applied. Also be sure to cross your safety chains, that will form a cradle for your hitch if something breaks loose.

 

[olivera149]

thank you everyone for your advice. The only setback i had was trying to figure out that there are 2 adapters for a 7pin to a 6 pin(the center pin is either brake or aux). Did the whole runaround thing and got my old kelsey brake controller tested at the same place were i bought my ball and mount and the manager said here take these 2 adaptors and bring back the one that doesnt work. Sure enough the first one i tried worked after testing and cleaning the old one for 2 hours.

My truck was actually screaming to go faster than 45 once we hit the open road and no traffic, i was going 45mph at 2200rpm and getting 12 mpg and decided it was going to take forever and bumped up to 55mph at 2600rpm and got 8 mpg. Pyro wanted to wonder above 1100F a couple of times but mostly stayed at 800F and trans temp stayed at 185F thank god for the air temp of 50F and slight showers. I actually passed a 96 PS that was pulling a 8k camper and we met up at a fuel station and he had 3.55s and i told him that i have 4:10 and his excuse was he wasnt in the sweet spot for boost and rpm range is why he got passed. Anyways we both fueled up on diesel and coffee and went on our way as i left some black smoke from an IDI for him to "sweet spot that!"

This was my heaviest pull to date on this truck and i am very pleased stating that the delivery cost would have payed a 1/4 of what i payed for my truck $3k.

Wow Mel, that is some serious impact. I always look for the yahoos that dont know how to drive on the road and get into their shoes, but they always seem to amaze me, when i think they wont go for it, they do.