A friend is going to move some heavy stuff about 500 mi. Using a rental trailer. His truck and hitch will handle the 3-ton load plus trailer weight ok I'm sure but I'd like to get some opinions for him on the rental trailer. It is almost exactly like the standard U-haul 6' x 12' open trailer, and the specs he got from the rental place match, 2 axles, inertia brakes, ball hitch. Rental company states trailer weight as 1700 lbs; stated max load for trailer is 2700 lbs. I've used the equivalent u-haul trailer to haul a 4500-lb. lathe with no problem, but his trip involves a little more weight. Question: If he drives 55 mph, gently, is he likely to complete the trip with the trailer intact or is he taking a big risk? He figured his actual cargo load in the trailer would be 5600 lbs.
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Moving 3 tons on light 2-axle trailer
- Thread starter Cannonmn
- Start date
- Replies 77
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moonlight machine
Diamond
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2007
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- marysville ohio
The rental co. can tell what the max weight on the trailer is. sounds over loaded to me. If it is much of an overload it won't matter if you go slow. How much fun will it be to swap trailers on the side of the road?
Monarchist
Diamond
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- Oct 2, 2012
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- Sol, Terra
5,600 lb load on a trailer rated for 2,700 lbs? Over a 500 mile ration of public highway?
Surely sounds like a "suicide kit" to me. "Legally" as well as mechanically.
Bad form to conspire (felony) to break even a Misdemeanor of a Law, and the relevant authorities DO have Laws against such overloading - some of them at felony level arredy.
Just don't do that. Don't even discuss it.
Scottl
Diamond
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- Nov 3, 2013
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- Eastern Massachusetts, USA
Worth repeating, and probably the best free advice you'll ever get. Those load ratings aren't just suggestions.
Chip Chester
Diamond
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- Central Ohio USA
Rent a 'car trailer,' or a tilt-bed Felling trailer from Sunbelt. They're 10k or 14k rated.
Ray Behner
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I'd go with a single axle boat trailer and save even more money.
Flail
Cast Iron
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He could go one better and save on the rental and just put it in the bed of his truck. No need for tiedowns, it's heavy enuf that gravity should hold it in place.
Monarchist
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LKeithR
Stainless
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Exactly. What part of "the intended load is almost double the rated capacity of the trailer" don't you get? You need a trailer with a much higher load rating. And in reality, I have found from experience that it's usually a good idea to have a little extra margin available--loading a trailer right to its rated capacity isn't always a good idea...
michiganbuck
Diamond
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- Jun 28, 2012
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- Mt Clemens, Michigan 48035
Being over weight if something bad happened, just what might be a normal accident and someone got killed he could face manslaughter charges.. perhaps worse. That would not be worth saving a few hundred dollars IMHO..
Thanks, good advice, he's just reserved a Sunbelt 10K 6x18-foot trailer, he plans to put smaller stuff in his box-truck and bigger stuff on the trailer, and cancelled the other res. Without charge. Sunbelt $86/day or $305. A week didn't bother him, he was really sweating the overload idea but neither of us knew of a source of larger rental trailers. I have to move a 4500-lb mill interstate myself soon and will rent a Sunbelt also.
michiganbuck
Diamond
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- Jun 28, 2012
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- Mt Clemens, Michigan 48035
Any non truck driver should bring along a navigator to check map, keep driver alert, and watch for crazy drivers.
Monarchist
Diamond
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"We" - on PM - are not always blessed that advice offered is actually TAKEN.
I thank you.
The families with young kids who share that 500 mile stretch of highway would thank you as well.
S**t can still go pear-shaped, so be alert, be careful, and go ahead and blow the price of an overnight if need be so as not to roll tire when exhausted.
Best wishes for a boring but SAFE, move..
Bill
Monarchist
Diamond
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Military convoy dasn't ordinarily roll any other way but with an 'assistant' driver.
Good method to copy even if you do NOT have a ring-mount .50 cal. to look after.
Chip Chester
Diamond
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- Dec 13, 2007
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- Central Ohio USA
Good on ya, Cannonmn. You'll like those trailers.
Another resource, which would be great for your mill move, is the dual-axle hydraulic trailer, whose deck will drop to ground level flat, no tilt. Might have just a 5k load capacity (don't remember) but it was available locally also at Sunbelt, Hertz Equipment (maybe now "Herc"?) and other places that rent scissor lifts.
Chip
Another resource, which would be great for your mill move, is the dual-axle hydraulic trailer, whose deck will drop to ground level flat, no tilt. Might have just a 5k load capacity (don't remember) but it was available locally also at Sunbelt, Hertz Equipment (maybe now "Herc"?) and other places that rent scissor lifts.
Chip
Scottl
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Probably the funniest thing I ever saw was a couple of geniuses who insisted that their small pickup truck could carry a small forklift. Looking out the window of an upper floor of the shop we could see the drama unfold across the street and guess what was being said from the gestures. Finally the (presumed) seller shrugged, picked up the smaller forklift with his larger one, and proceeded to place it in the bed of the truck which immediately caused the suspension to collapse. He then drove back inside his shop and closed the roll-up door, leaving the two idiots wildly gesturing next to their now useless truck and its overweight burden. That was decades ago and if it happened today the idiots would probably sue and win.
dkmc
Diamond
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- Jan 13, 2002
An absurd question deserves an absurd answer...
If he drives gently, and gets into trouble, he'll
crash just as violently regardless.
Overloading the trailer beyond it's rated capacity means
you open yourself up to any of Mister Murphy's whims.
Act accordingly and brace yourself...
motion guru
Diamond
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- Dec 8, 2003
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- Yacolt, WA
I have a 12,000 GVW trailer - what kind of licensing do I need to tow this trailer? I don't have any special designations on my license now nor have I ever had. I have never been pulled over with it in 10+ years of hauling everything from 1953 GMC 450 series cab-overs to my Kubota TLB to machine tools and a small forklift.
Is this for business vehicles only or all vehicles business and private?
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