I am new to mini excavators and could use some advice on the proper way to haul it. I have a new JCB 8029 which is about 6300 lbs and a new 23' 15000 lbs rated trailer. The trailer is a tilt bed with 8' fixed front. I will be frequently hauling it 200 miles round trip from my home to my farm. The trailer loads really easy on this trailer either forward or backward. I have seen most excavaors on trailers hauled with the house facing the rear but not always. Some have the blade in the front and some have the blade in the rear. So I guess I need to know if there is a right or a wrong way? Don't want to let on that I am a rookie even though I am. Thanks in advance for any advice.
How you have yours loaded is how we load all of ours. We have to doodle ours around a little forward or back to get the proper tongue weight as they are different sizes.
We usually load similar to how you have yours there, make sure you get it forward enough to put some decent tongue weight on the hitch. With the full cab machines once you hit highway speeds you can actually lose quite a bit of tongue weight from the air pushing the cab acting as a big lever to lift the front of the trailer!.. friend of mine just about lost control on the highway going up hill at 65 into a slight headwind as his rear tires started fishtailing!!! After that experience he *always* puts lots of tongue weight on now
I also make sure I have plenty of tongue weight. I make sure that the overloads are contacting the stops on a GM 3500HD. Especially in the Winter I put the blade forward and the house to the rear. That front glass is expensive and rocks and debris from the Winter seems to always find its way to the front glass.
Blade to the front here to. Mainly because it's easier on the undercarriage to load going forward then reverse. Generally house facing forward, unless I sewer pipe on my truck rack then the boom will hit it when turning. I've never had a issue with anything getting kicked up, oddly enough skid steer is opposite as I don't want glass facing front but excavator i've always done it that way and it's a habit now. Based on how light the machine is for the trailer i'd lean towards more pin weight.
Thanks for the tips on hauling the machine. You guys brought up a couple of concerns that I had not thought of. I don't use my trailers once the roads get salted but my farm is on a dirt road that is mostly gravel and plenty of fair sized rocks. Also the machine is 8' high and sticks up above my truck cab quite a bit. Guess the cab will cause quite bit of drag. That aint going to do my gas mileage any good. My normal driving is on country roads so I won't be traveling much over 55 but the terrain has some steep hills that you have to keep in mind or you will be hitting up to 70 if you arn't careful. I'm retired and not in a rush so I try to use caution when hauling a load. I do try not to be that pokey guy leading a parade so if get behind me just flash your high beams and I will find a spot to let you by. a
When I have lost a window it tends to be from vehicles going the other direction.
I have allot of country roads and have run into a few issues over the years. The machine can move if the deck gets greasy or it rains in transit. I used to use chains and load binders but know i have better success with heavy duty racket straps across tracks behind the end wheels. It pulls the tracks down and less damaging than chains. Your best adhesion is the tracks to deck so you can't put any weight on blade but is good to be down to assist with sway. Problem is Blade and bucket will do so much damage to your deck and clatter after an hour or so of driving. I put some old car tires under them which helps. The last problem i have which i only noticed when following my rig in another car was my boom was thrashing from side to side badly on lumpy roads so now i run a ratchet strap off to the deck and pull it to one side. You might have to weld four tie downs rings right where you need them on the deck will make life so much easier. Cheers