I need to move my track loader about 15-20 miles to my new property. The gravel pit said they would move it but I can't get ahold of the one of the owners I always deal with. I can get an in transit permit to move my dump truck and borrow a trailer that will haul it as a last resort. Problem is the truck doesn't have a brake controller for electric brakes. A couple of fairly small hills on the gravel road but the paved road is relatively flat with only a slight downhill section a little before my property. It's not a busy road. I'd go slow and have someone follow me. There's only 3 stops total. I know it's not ideal but what would be the fastest I should drive if I have to do this as a last resort?
IIRC you have a 931B Cat or similar? I'd just take the tailgate off your tandem dump truck, back up to a bank and drive it on. Just have to make sure you have a way to chain it down and somewhere to unload it.
As far as speed I'd only go as fast as the stopping distance you have in view. Hills with no view of oncoming road users are the worst, even with trailer brakes. Will you load up your dump truck some, or go empty?
You're taking one hell of a risk Dave. If there is an accident even if not your fault it will still be your fault in the eyes of the law because you shouldn't have been on the road with a truck without proper breaking equipment. Not to mention how bad you will feel if someone is injured or killed. Just my 2 cents worth of opinion. d.d.
Is their a towing/lowboy service you can hire to move it? We have 4-5 towing companies that have Landoll's and RGN lowboy's that only move heavy equipment. It's cheaper for me to hire it out instead of owning a lowboy.
Check with local excavating contractors or towing outfits. Most likely some of them move equipment for others.
Appreciate the comments. I know it's big risk. If I did move it would be when there's no traffic. I'm hoping to get ahold of the gravel pit though. They said they'd move it and did earlier this year for a small job at a friend's place that's close. If I can't get ahold of the one owner I could talk to someone else there. I just don't want to annoy anyone at the gravel pit.
I have a backhoe on the 931B so it would be too long.
Put the loader bucket up on the cab guard to get it farther forward.
Don't have a cab guard. I can look out the back window and see over the tailgate. Helps when backing up since I'm terrible at it. LoL The backhoe adds quite a bit of length. I'm going to keep trying to get ahold of my contact at the gravel pit. If I can't I'll talk to someone else there. I've got a loading ramp to move and it would fit on their trailer too. It's a 45 ton RGN I think it's called.
Install a electric brake controller on your dump truck, can't be very expensive at all
We had that done on our International Eagle (9200 single axle). For us a 7-way round ‘rv’ plug….
If you do install an electric brake controller I've found some work better than others with air brakes, not sure why. I'd always run the older style Tekonsha Voyager controllers or their predecessors in my pickups and hydraulic brake medium-duties. Simple and worked well. In my air brake IH 4700 and Ford LT9000 however, they caused the trailer brakes to pulse rapidly unless you manually applied them. Took them out and installed Tekonsha Prodigy P2's in both and they work great.
The future is here
I saw the bluetooth controllers but they are pricey. I need to look at the truck and see what all it has as far as hook up for lights and stuff. Trailer shop could probably get me a good deal on a brake controller or maybe even have a used one. I talked to one place about moving it and the guy said it was too long for their deck truck so would need a trailer for $15 more per hour at $190.00. Then he said the worst part is there is currently an 18% fuel surcharge that will likely go up to 20-22% if fuel keeps going up in price. He guessed about 4 hours. With another 5% GST on top would be close to $1000 to move it. Yikes!
AutoZone part store online it's $243 us
I'm in Canada so add at least $100 to that.
I installed the trailer brake controller and trailer plug/wiring from scratch on my 97 LT9000, it was easy and fairly cheap. All the wiring for the trailer plug just comes off the tail lights, only need to run one 10ga wire from the brake controller to the plug, and of course wire up the controller in the cab.
Damn that sucks.
Ńo roll backs there?
No rollback here. I need to go out and look at the truck to see what's on the back. It has air for trailer brakes but I can't get that kind of trailer.
The cheapest I saw them was $391.00! I wish my contact at the gravel pit would return my text or call. I don't want to make him mad if I talk to someone else there.
What would the trailer shop charge you to fit one similar to this one? Instead of paying for the one move, pay to get your trailer brakes hooked up - would your truck/trailer combo comfortably move your loader if it had the brakes connected? Cheers
$1000 to move a 931 15 miles?? Holy Crap!! Just load her up early on a sunday morning and take it easy. Trust me there are people out on the road doing alot worse things than that all day every day.
Head to crappy tire
Do not buy that Voyager controller, those are exactly the ones that don't work properly with air brakes in my experience. The Prodigy P2 is the best option that isn't terribly expensive.
Moving 20,000 lbs, 15 miles? I would have moved it as soon as I needed it to be moved. The entire load will be around 55,000 lbs. The truck is capable of stopping well more than that by itself, without trailer brakes. As for the risk: There is always risk in any solution. If the risk of moving it yourself bothers you, then the cost of hiring it out is a moot point. You are paying for someone else to assume most of the risk. That doesn't come cheap. Ensure adequate tongue weight, plan your route, and take your time. As an aside, coming from the ag industry, most ag equipment weighs well in excess of your loader and doesn't come equipped with brakes. Our liquid tanker was a 6,000 gallon, tandem axle set up with no brakes. It relied solely on the tractor for braking and was rated at 25mph. Loaded, that tanker was 70,000 pounds plus another 30,000 for the tractor. We hauled 10 loads a week, anywhere from on farm up to 5 miles away. We never had an accident with that set up. Back in 2012, we finally built a lagoon and now we dragline applicate. We don't own a tanker anymore, but the lessons learned still apply. Know your route, take your time.
That's what we do for logging equipment. It's around $180/hr.
4 hours to load, go 20 miles and unload? Maybe 1.5hrs.
That's about what it is here. Still way cheaper than owning a lowboy for the amount of moves we do throughout the year.
I figured $190 for 4 hours plus 18% and then 5% GST on top of that, $941.64! I only need to make 3 stops and 3 turns. Two hills on gravel roads and then basically flat for about 11 miles on pavement. Very gradual downhill that flattens out about a 1/4 mile before the approach. If I did move it myself I'd have someone follow me and take it easy. I think there should be some kind of allowance for moving things a short distance if certain rules are followed. Like mentioned a lot of heavy and big farm equipment can be moved with nothing more than a slow moving vehicle placard on the back. I have no problem going under 30 MPH the same speed as a tractor. I'd pull it with the grader if I could.
good buddy I'll take the front door for ya
It's got a Cummins. It's all good.
"Cummings" - now it's all good.
It's an hour away from the city so another 2 hours right off the bat.
That's a good point. I don't understand why you can't take an otherwise safe truck that's never used on the road for a short trip just to move it a new location. Even going no faster than 25 MPH with an escort vehicle behind you. It's safer than a lot of farm equipment moves done with sketchy equipment and poor or no brakes. I don't have commercial insurance so can't get an in-transit permit. Oddly when I bought the truck at auction I could get an in-transit permit to drive it that was good for 7 days. Didn't need an inspection or anything else. It had good working brakes and drove excellent except for me getting a crash course in how to shift a semi transmission. I was trying to shift at way too high of RPM. I watched some YouTube video's on how to shift a 9 speed and they helped, especially when they mentioned it can be easier not using the clutch.
This is exactly what I would do, probably on a Sunday morning. Your track loader + trailer probably weighs less than a load of gravel.
Thinking you had a little gas pot dump but a big ol' heavy Louisville 10wheeler 2% e brakes help that truck has enough engine & transmission using brake pedal will be 2nd. Pulled 580 hoes down the freeway no e brakes with 377 10 wheeler 425 Cat truck felt like it was empty more than enough engine power down shift or use Jake before touch pedal.
Internet is full positive pics you can do it. This guy put the pipe up & the hammerdown last thing on his mind was a brake controller. He made news for distance & clips he covered some miles
A little heavier. The loader has a quick backhoe and I'd guess weighs 21,000 to 22,000lbs. The trailer is probably at least 6500lbs. I'd be a little overweight on the trailer but the truck will handle more tongue weight. I put the loader on backhoe first.
Weight numbers are high 931 is around 7ton machine .15k & hoe is 3k total around 18k lbs.
I also have a 4 in 1 bucket and 300lb. sprocket weights. 931B is heavier than earlier 931. I think without the hoe it's around 17,000lbs. Hoe is about 4000lbs. It's noticeably heavier than carrying 2 1000 gallon plastic tanks of water.
Saw a brochure that lists the operating weight of a 931B at 16,500lbs. That's for an earlier model with 36 pad tracks. Mine has 37 pad tracks, 4 in 1 bucket with teeth, sprocket weights and a backhoe with a 30" bucket. Probably close to 18,000lbs. without the backhoe.
Cat doesn't show weight like Deere. Old 931 was 13k like said B got heavy 15300. Deere hoes for 350etc showed model 93 was #2700lbs & 9300 was #3300.
Cat's dipper looks like ol JD design hoes same as old Case E series hoe when the 416 hit the market
Looking at Deere 450 4/1 adds #1200 base & that includes over half that weight is extra counterweight. Your back door is covered as Jerry Reed said "get it done son"
I read a base 931B with 36 pad tracks is 16,500lbs. operating weight. I have a later model with 37 pad tracks and a bunch of extra weight including slightly longer lift arms. The sprocket weights and 4 in 1 are over 1500lbs. extra. Originally had counterweighted idlers too but not sure if they're included in the backhoe weight. Then the backhoe that's close to 4000lbs. with a 30" bucket. I'm not sure why you're trying to tell me my machine isn't as heavy as I think. When I pulled it with an under powered 4 ton Hino I could tell it was considerably heavier than two 1000 gallon tanks full of water.
We both guessing weight not saying it's right reads high getting into 935/939 class for a 931b & 931B lgp wide track. Pull it with a 56gvw Ford will night & day to that Hino once you get that 9sd down
I've got a brochure somewhere that lists the weight and the weight of extra add ons. I think even bucket teeth are extra. I know it's somewhere over 20,000lbs. I only moved it maybe 6-8 times and made sure to avoid scales. Some brochures list 12" pads as standard and mine are 14".
My 941B is around 25k lbs. Didn't think the 931 was about same. Mine has a 4 in 1 bucket, no backhoe.
The loader without the backhoe is I'd guess around 17,500-18,000lbs. with the 4 in 1 bucket, 37 pad tracks and two 300lb. sprocket weights so still a fair bit lighter than a 941B. I think the backhoe is close to 4000lbs.
This. Assuming the dump truck is in good shape mechanically I wouldn't hesitate at all. I pulled 18k behind mine numerous times with no trailer brakes and never thought twice, it pushed a tiny bit in a really hard stop.
You can legally move a truck and/or trailer without cvip as long as you aren't hauling anything.
Yes but you still need an in-transit permit (temporary insurance coverage). There's a load licensing permit you can get for hauling something on a trailer in addition to the in-transit permit. The distance I need to move is just a little too much to just do it.
Unless you’re referring to something different a in transit permit is only for registration not insurance. For a short move like that I’d just throw whatever plate on it doesn’t matter, insurance is a different thing a potential liability.
Dave do I need to come up there and move it for you? Got a couple of friends in Calgary and Edmonton so I'll take 7-10 days off, move your machine the first day then vacation the rest of the time. Just pick me up at the airport.
Thanks for the offer. I'm pretty sure I can get it moved by the gravel pit. Just not sure when. I took a look on Google earth and was surprised that there is another route I could take instead of the paved highway. I thought all the range rds. only went about a mile South. I didn't realize there was a rural gravel road that went down close to the new property. Going that way would only require driving about a mile on the paved highway. There's only about 4 farm yards in about 10 miles. Still not ideal but a lot better than going on the highway. I'll have to check that road out. If it's a decent road could be a much better option than going on the highway if I went slow. Hopefully the gravel pit comes through though.
Just move the dang thing!!!!!!
You have a heavy truck and trailer, load it up and go. Don't use back rods that will just lead to more issues.
I think there's less chance of getting noticed on a gravel road. I'll check the road out first though. If it has a bunch of hills or is really rough I'll go on the pavement. Thanks for the responses.
Heavy truck, air brakes, low geared tranny…. probably good gravel roads. Nowhere near as sketchy as all the F150’s I see passing the scales here with rear end sagged out towing 30’ rv. Every one of these is over on rear axle…
I'm not going to tell you what you should or shouldn't do, Dave, but... We move 150 size excavator on tilt decks in the woods all the time, 2 and 3 axle trailers. Steep, 15% grades, sometimes more. With 8 or 10 tons in the truck and a Jake brake, you never really use the trailer brakes if you go slow. I once hooked up to a trailer after another driver moved a machine down a REALLY steep hill without a problem and when I pulled the hand valve to check the brakes, nothing happened. Nobody likes crawling under tilt decks to adjust brakes but I was happy to that time. Just sayin'
There's only 4 turns needed and straight roads if I go on gravel. 3 turns on pavement but the long road is a highway. If I do have to move it myself I'd rather go slower on the gravel road. If something weird happened to the truck I'd rather not be on the highway. Thanks for the replies.
I checked out the gravel road I could use. It's a little rough but not too bad. Has one bigger hill and a couple smaller ones. I did some distance calculations and I was way off. It sure seemed longer than it is. It's only about 7.5 miles not 15. If I went on the paved highway would be about 4.5 miles. Still going to talk to the gravel pit though.
All this talk makes me think I was working for a guy in Pittsburgh I needed a 977k moved from their yard to the shop He told me to just run it down the road he also said don't put in third it shakes the ground too much With my luck I figured I would pass a city cop I sure was sweating but I made it unseen!!
7.5mi of gravel roads, you could have driven the thing there in less time than you've spent posting on this thread...
I was wondering that but how much does 7.5 mi cost on the machine in road wear?
Almost nothing. It'd all be in a forward gear under very little load on a relatively flat surface. Depending on soil type and operator habits a typical dozer or loader will go thousands of miles before needing an undercarriage replacement. Most of those miles are under load or in reverse. A loader on double or triple grouser pads will do no appreciable damage to a road surface unless turning hard under load on a hot asphalt pavement. On a cloudy day with the temp under 65 degrees F it'll just leave small white marks on the surface that disappear after several vehicles drive over them.
Yeah for $600 or whatever they wanted and 3 hours of your time if road it, it's all county roads
Local dozer driver would drive his machine for several miles rather than bring his lowboy 50 miles to haul it. Asphalt roads he would drive in the road ditch.
It was over $900 to have it hauled. Roading it in 2nd gear would take a lot longer than 3 hours. I think the hoe on the back slows it down. To drive about 1/2 a mile to my former neighbours back field took 20-25 minutes. That was long enough. I think there would definitely be a lot of undercarriage wear driving that far. I'd probably get rattled and/or bored to death.
A dozer/loader on a slow day puts on 20+ miles in forward gears, slightly less than that in reverse. Your 7.5 miles with no load and no reverse would be a vacation day for that loader.
These put on a lot of miles in a day, far more than any construction job, working 6,000 acres. *
1/2 mile in 25 min is 1.2 mph
Above and below--photos of area farmer H.T. Rea, HT standing in the middle below. At that time back in the 50's HT was farming 14,000 acres. The color photo I took of same D7 as above. *
Did you go ahead already with the $900? If you pay for a cheap return flight, I'll head over next week and move it the 7.5 miles back roads for you
I'm hoping to move it next week but it depends on the weather. Calling for heavy rain in the next couple of days. Driving out to the neighbours field was somewhat rough so I couldn't go full speed in 2nd gear. It was closer to 3/4 of a mile. With the extra weight of the hoe I'm sure the speed is slower than without it. Looking down 4 1/2 miles of highway is a long distance. Driving it isn't an option. I'd be crazier driving it than hauling it.
Dibs - beat you to it. Didn't even ask for a plane ticket.
Guys remember he has a motocross track, ask for some free hot laps while you are there
He has a 10 wheeler you can do hot laps with freget the bike drift a Ford
Moving the Cat to work on a new MX track. Getting frustrated waiting for Ab. Transportation to sign off on my rezoning application.
Ah, bugger. Forgot that one. Still, not everyone goes for the lowest bid
True. Lowest bid is not always the cheapest price on the end.