Don't know a lot about trailers so maybe someone can tell me what kind of trailer I should be looking for. I've got an M931 5-Ton Military truck that I got pretty cheap and would like to find a lowboy so I can move my D6c around on short hauls. One problem with military trucks is the 5th wheel plate is about 12" higher than most commercial trucks. The truck weighs just over 22,000 and has a 5th wheel load rating of 15,000 (seems underrated)...do I need to be concerned with how long the trailer is for bridge weight? Don't need a front detach trailer...was thinking of just a narrow neck, tandem axel, beaver tail trailer....something like this pic I snagged from the HE fourm, only tandem and probably not nearly as nice. If there's a trailer out there that would be a good fit for what I'd like to do? M931 5-ton
Just thought...the truck does have a pintle hitch. Would it be way too much load for a tag trailer instead of a lowboy?
Look for a military surplus trailer.
That was my first thought too. Side question - What did you have to do to get the truck tagged to run on public roads, if anything?
The 5th wheel plate on my Kenworth sets about 12" taller than a standard tractor . Being we were lengthening the gooseneck anyway I also ended up modifying the beams on the lowboy to accommodate for the height difference so the trailer deck would be close to level . In the case of the M531 5 ton an easy option might be to just remove the frame ramps and install a standard 5th wheel to lower the height if it's an issue . That looks like an oscillating 5th wheel on it now , they do set a bit taller. I would think any 25 to 35 ton single drop tandem lowboy with beaver tail & ramps would work fine hauling the D6 around .
You can find military trailers like the M172 around but they're over width at 115"....The M870's are much nicer but not many around and are expensive when you find them. I could lower the plate height a little by changing it out the oscillating 5th wheel but the frame height is still pretty tall. TD25c, Got any suggetions on brand/model for a beavertail lowboy?.....What should I expect to pay for an older but serviceable trailer? I keep looking on Truck paper but haven't come up with much.
We have a single drop Freuhauf 50ton lowbed that I have moved D6C's on. They are robust and strong and easy to rebuild/repaint. We did ours about 10yrs ago and it now finally needs a bit of TLC and then it would be good to go for another 5-10years. I doubt that it would notice the fifth wheel height difference at all and you would not really notice it as well.
Pardon my ignorance...by "Single Drop" do you mean that there are no other steps in the deck other than the drop down from the neck?
Yes. Trailer shown in the picture is a 'single' drop. My favorite trailer. 1/2 lowbed,1/2 high boy. Cheers Lowbed Driver
Yeah D6c10K , I'm not really partial to any one brand of trailer . I looked around Truck paper and didn't see anything I liked for the price in Iowa . Then started looking in surrounding states . While looking I was staying in 10,000.00 range & under . I was in your position about 20 years ago . I had just bought a tractor then went on a search for a lowboy . I ended up buying a 1951 Lacross 25 ton tandem that we still use today . Had to do complete brake job & replace floor & paint but made a really nice trailer . Found some in the surrounding states. I kind of like this double drop www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=3108947 Few single drops www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=4306827 www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=4975527 www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=4682093 www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=4837109 Good luck in your search for a lowboy.
Thanks td25c, That gives me a little to go on when searching the listings
It's a little far away but I ran across this Hyster 25 ton....might be a piece of junk but defiintely an affordable price. Depending on where they're measureing the 15' deck length it might be a little short. http://www.commercialtrucktrader.com/listing/1980-HYSTER-Hyster-25-Ton-Trailer-98622970 My D6 is very close to 15' from the blade cutting edge to the rearmost point of the tracks....not much room to position the machine. Mark
I use a 1966 M275 to haul a low boy a fair amount, actually I am restoring the lowboy right now which is a 1948 Rogers. The fifth wheel is only a few inches higher then the one on my HD International Transtar. I do like the off-road fifth wheel design when crossing any kind of bumps. Im sure you know but all the bulbs need to be 24v on the trailer and the pigtail will have to be changed. Don't expect to get anywhere fast hauling that D6 but your truck will get it done. Not sure how the tractor protection is set up on your truck but mine had none. I have also heard of guys not having working parking brake controls for the trailers in some military trucks. Moral of the story, check the trailer brakes good before you head down the road.
D6, the only advice I have for you is make sure whatever you buy has s cam brakes and tubeless tires, 17.5's or 22.5's, most places won't work on tube tires anymore, if you have to update them to tubeless, it'll cost more than the trailer is worth, if it has the old wedge brakes on it, most places won't work on them either, and in our climate, they are usually rusted solid whenever you want to use the trailer and you'll work longer to get them working than you'll ever spend moving anything. As for the bridge laws, yes to a certain extent its an issue, but you'll need an oversized permit to move your dozer anyhow, and that will give you 20,000 per axle and then the bridge isn't an issue at all, if your permitted to run the roads with bridges on them, meaning you'll also need a county trip permit as well to move in the counties you need to move in, they'll route you where and when you can go and beware, even though your permitted, your still responsible for the bridge, if you take it down, you pay for it, so don't let them route you over any light bridges either. As for looking for a cheap trailer, never buy anything over the phone, most cheap trailers are cheap for a reason, rusted beyond usable condition, old wedge brakes or tube tires and rotten out decks and rusted out cross members, not to mention wiring issues that will require it to be totally rewired front to back. Not that this is all bad if your into totally rebuilding the trailer front to back. The longer the trailer the better as far as the deck is concerned, if you go with a hydraulic tail, you'll need a wet kit or power pack to run those, also get as wide a trailer as you can, 8.5 is legal width in our state, a 8 foot wide isn't bad, make sure its not the old 7.5 foot trailer, the narrower the trailer you'll have to use side outriggers in order to use it, avoid that if at all possible, especially if your not used to loading on outriggers, its not something for the faint of heart, in cold or wet conditions. The open tires are not bad at all for a dozer, you just walk across the tops of them as you load and unload, the raised covered wheels get a little tricky when loading, you have steel tracks on steel decking material that's not perfectly flat, you tend to slide around some if your not level side to side with the trailer, not fun if your not used to loading and unloading them. I've never had a machine slide off the side of any trailer on me before, but I have had a few when I was on the hinge point ready to flop down on the deck, to turn sideways and slide sideways down the tail, not something I'd want to do often though, its kind of an eye opener to say the least. I'm sure your dozer has a rops on it, make sure its got a seat belt on it too and use it when loading and unloading, the last dozer locally that went off the side, the operator was thrown out of the seat, and onto the ground, luckily for him, he didn't get hurt, but it could have been deadly if the dozer would have went over on its top instead of just on its side. The longer the trailer, the less likely you'll notice the height difference on the plate of your truck, also look for the lowest loading angle on the back deck, meaning the longer the tail, the lower the load angle, the older the trailer the greater the load angle in most cases. If your hearts set on a deck over trailer, their cheaper and more abundant but I'd personally look for a detach instead, I'd gladly spend the extra dollars and get a newer nicer detach. Just my two cents worth.