I’ve been kicking around the idea of a cheap day cab tractor with big hp to tow my tag trailer rather than the tandem. The tandem weighs 31k empty so it’s a bit slow with the added weight of the trailer and machines. Any thoughts against the tractor with a pintle? And no I don’t want a low boy right now I’d like to get a dump trailer down the road to diversify.
Following this one as I've kicked around the same idea for nothing more than maneuverability in tight spaces. The problem I see is the day cab tractor being too light and manhandled by the tag trailer.
We drag a 20 ton tag with a 3 axle tractor, same one that pulls lowboy. I'd be fearful of losing weight (braking traction) on a single drive tractor, with a tag along trailer.
I use to move the same basic machine with a three axle trail king/ford 9000 with a 318 detroit and some times 12 yards in the box, normally used a pete with 425 cat/moved it just fine. A tag on a bare tractor won't work so well-needs to be a fifth wheel/drop deck to get enough weight on drives and steer.
Local rental yard uses a day cab Mack and a sliding axle tag to move most of their stuff. Heaviest thing thing have is ~25K telehandler.
I figured with the Tri axle trailer I should be able to balance the load pretty well. I would never buy a single axle tractor it would be a tandem axle truck with Tri axle trailer. borrowed a friends tractor to take the 14 hour round trip took a picture at the shop when I got back
I don't think you'd gain enough to justify the extra truck unless it has another purpose. You'd loose what 5-7 feet in length? Make a bit of difference but nothing crazy.
That's a sharp looking mack.
I m not looking for a shorter truck just lighter and more hp. My truck is going out with a full time driver starting Monday so I won’t have a truck to move equipment if he’s busy.
Ah ok. If you're in a place where you get snow, you'd probably want to have some kind of weights over the drives. The probably 4,000lbs-5,000lbs less that the tractor weights would be fairly noticeable i'm sure in traction in bad conditions. I've played around with pin weight on my tag and I find if I load too far forward, it rides like absolute crap on any sort of rough road so even if everything is rated high, you're only going to get so much on the truck.
I like weight on the drives and steer with a tag trailer, I usually throw a couple tons of material in the back of the dump truck when moving anything to make the ride bearable. I get it if the truck doesn't have much power, been there. If you are mostly on good roads and no steep gravel roads to climb when empty it would work out.
A bit off topic but it's puzzled me for years. How come the rear loading trailers ,both tags and 5th wheel have such a long over hang? So many job sites I have worked you wouldn't within cooee of them without tearing that set-up off the trailer.
Regional power company (APCO) here has a couple of 6x6 Freightshaker 5th wheel tractors they pull heavy tags with D6N's on. These 6x6's look heavy and have winches behind the headache rack so they are heavier than a regular day cab tractor.
The long tail makes for a flatter ramp, not necessary for a compact track loader, but the paver guys can't handle steep ramps. The trailer sales guys actually call them "paver" ramps/ trailers. They don't work well in my area, its too easy to hang up that tail.
I fully understand the reason for the flatter angle . Here in Oz bifold ramps are used a lot by the paving companies for that reason. I had bifolds on a truck I used to own so I didn't get the ramps hooked in trees on long skinny driveways