Frame Collapsed While Towing on 2000 4x4

[85_Ranger4x4]

Who puts hay on a tandem axle car-style trailer? He called it a wagon, and every hay wagon I've seen around here (remember, we have a few farms here in IL) has been the dual spread axle wagons.

We do. Set a large round bale in the front of the wheels on each side (using the bale stabber on the back of a tractor) Then we set one on the very back and push it ahead with another bale to even out the load and take off some of the tongue weight. Two bales on front of the axles, one centered on the axle and one on the back of the trailer. It works great but you have to have a tractor with a loader/stabber to unload the back one that gets pushed ahead. Dunno what the tongue weight is, but it is quite a bit.

I don't see how you could bend a thing with a hay barge (axle at each end) unless under panic braking, the only weight your truck would see is half the weight of the tounge itself... maybe 100# max. If he even thought he had 1k# of tongue weight, it wasn't a barge.

Hardly see barges anymore around here, most people use the fancy big bale carriers that hold 4 or 6 round bales on the bottom and as many as you feel safe stacking on top of that (6 bale unit shown in attached link) Small square bales are pretty much a thing of the past here, a couple guys make the big square bales but the large round bale is king.

http://www.gnusemfg.com/bales.html

 

[feellnfroggy]

Actually Being from Horse country in Ocala Florida we have tons of hay fields and everyone down there pulls hay on tandem lowboy style trailers, Very few of the farms down there use spread axle trailers.

 

[Frank The Tank]

I was a trailor........ 16 ft, 2 wheels on each side of trailor (close together in the center)
it's not a car trailor........ I've hauled cars on the exact trailor and you have to crawl out the window as the doors wont open.

3 round bales, sit one on the end, then push them up onto it with the trucks brakes on (in 4wd) and push 3 bales on. 3 round bales.

And the frame did collapse, I will try to get a photo, I tried the cell today but it was too dark under the truck to show anything.

My boss says aren't going to fix it, just try to keep direct weight off it...... and only pull equipment that is a (barge style axles on either end)

we do use a couple wiggle wagons, for cotton, and I pulled a 30fter with a culvert on it ......... but not for hay, ever try loading a thousand square bales throwing 75lbs up 3ft in the air just to get them on a trailor!!!! forget that!!!

Frank

 

[RangerSVT]

Frank, I had some bolts back off my hitch and it bent my frame rail lips, so I re-engineered my hitch with 2" square tubing along the frame rails and reinforced the top of the frame with 0.5X1" flatbar, sandwiching the framerail with 4 1/2" bolts on each side, needless to say, fixed my problem, and you have seen the stuff I use my hitch for!! Look back at my vertical pic, you might be able to see my new hitch
SVT

 

[Frank The Tank]

Oh, he just flipped his drop hitch over and is now towing much lighter....... ugh!!!

We brought our old fuel tank hauler out of retirement to pull the big equipment.
Chevy 2500 ext cab srw, but hey I get to drive a truck with 257k miles!!!! and it's a stick (hell yeah!!!!)

but I will be looking into that better design for my hitch on the new truck.

Frank

 

[RangerSVT]

Oh, he just flipped his drop hitch over and is now towing much lighter....... ugh!!!

We brought our old fuel tank hauler out of retirement to pull the big equipment.
Chevy 2500 ext cab srw, Frank

Oh Great!! Another POS for me to pull out of the mud...lol (Inside joke members)
SVT

 

[fordtrucknut77]

im a body man by trade and im willing to bet at some point and time that hitch has been hit bending the frame we see it all the time on different trucks

 

[D.J.]

Shouldn't be pulling a full NH3 tank with a Ranger anyhow! Not really big enough to pull a empty one!

 

[PlumCrazy]

This is what you need to get a hold of. It is a HD bumper made for yanking on some heavy loads. this bumper was made for a full size, but I narrowed it down for my Ranger. It bolts to the frame using 3x3 angle iron that are about 24 inches long.
I believe it is a Shook bumper, but Im not sure since it is older than me.lol

Every truck we use on our farm gets a noce HD bumper for pulling gravity wagons to the grain terminal. We used to use an old Chevy 2500, but now we use a f350. The wagons dont have brakes so you have give yourself plenty of time to stop. Pulling 20,000 pounds with no trailer brakes takes a little practice especially when none of that weight is on the truck its just pushing from behind.

 

[Cheaplabor]

we do use a couple wiggle wagons, for cotton, and I pulled a 30fter with a culvert on it ......... but not for hay, ever try loading a thousand square bales throwing 75lbs up 3ft in the air just to get them on a trailor!!!! forget that!!!

Frank

Yes, I have done this many of summers on my step brothers farm. Filled four barns and sold alot to horse farms.

As for the frame I would say that the weight of the round bales is what bent the frame, They weigh 1000lb. or more. If you have three stacked all the way back that trailer and are pulling it around bumpy fields that’s thousands of pounds hammering down on that hitch, not good. I'm surprised other things didnt break before the frame went, kind of strange

 

[racsan]

ive seen a d.m.i. bumper on a ranger that wasnt narrowed down from its full-size intended usage. stuck out a foot on each side. i prefer a 3/4 ton for the heavy stuff if for no other reason than the bigger,better brakes on the truck.