I am looking at hauling a D3 from central Texas to Arkansas next spring and need a bit of input. I've got a 28' dual tandem axle gooseneck and an F350 reg cab 4x4 dually (in sig) and am wondering if I am gonna run into any problems. Right now I do fine hauling it on short 20 to 30 mile runs around the ranch but the trip I am looking at is right around 550 miles each way. It is an early 70's model with an open ROPS cab, just a six way blade on the front. I would really like to get it up to my folks place and clear some pastures for a week or so and then drag it back to Texas. Got farm tags on the trailer and regular tags on the truck.
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2003, F250, Super Duty, Super Cab, 7.3, Auto, 4X4 Silver, 2" lift in front only, 46 gal fuel tank, Billet Grill, 285X75X16 BFG MT, Bilsteins, Firestone Air Rear, B&W Gooseneck, We call it the "Silver Knocker"
Last edited by reba : 08-21-2008 at 09:58 AM.
Reason: to many words
I need to measure the width, I am thinking it is less than 10 feet wide, the tractor for sure and maybe the blade also. I really don't know if 15K plus the trailer is gonna put me over the toatl allowable weight.
I might be buying a used F450 4x2 to do the trip in if need be, they are getting awful cheap around here lately.
I need to measure the width, I am thinking it is less than 10 feet wide
Diesel Deaf, don't you think Reba's spec was max width, in other words a D3 with a 10' blade? Years ago I hauled a TD24 (at least about the size of a Cat D8) and it was about 10' track width. I can't picture the tracks of a D3 or D4 even being close to the total width of a lo-boy deck let alone hanging over it on each side. If you angle the blade, don't you think you'd be legal width?
I can angle the blade and get it a hair under 8' wide so the width is no problem whatsoever.
I am really needing to know if I am gonna be illegal pulling the Cat with the F350 or not. I will definitely need some original tires to get it to pull decent as the ones I have on it now are oversized and make for some anemic towing ability as it is.
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1996 F250 4x4 ext. cab, long bed 5 spd. 3.55ls, Tymar Intake, Tymar 4" downpipe and 4" exhaust. AIC, B&W turnoverball, EBPV brake, tranny temp gauge, boost gauge, and egt gauge. 235k miles and thousands of $$$$ in maintenance and repairs.
Lets say, for example that your 28 ft. gooseneck dual tandem axle trailer weighs 6624 lbs and has gvwr of 24,000 lbs. Those numbers match the 28 ft. dual tandem axle Parker Performance trailer in the link above.
Add the 17,185 of the XL D3 to the 6624 of the trailer, and you are at 23,809 lbs, just under the gvwr of the trailer. However, if you have the LGP version of the D3 at 17,842 lbs, then the total weight of D3 plus trailer would be 24,466, slightly overloaded.
The other consideration is the tires on the truck. If they are overloaded, that would be illegal. I can't say what will be the load on the truck, because it depends upon how far back the axles are on the trailer, and how far forward or back you load the D3.
Let's say, for example, that there is 20% of the load on the gooseneck hitch, and your trailer loaded weight is 24,000 lbs. That puts 4,800 lbs onto the hitch. Let's say for example that you also have 3,500 lbs of the truck weight on the drive axle; so now you have about 8,300 lbs on the drive axle. Make sure that the tire load capacity is adequate for that much weight, and that you don't exceed the axle weight rating.
I would say that you are going to be pretty close; so I definitely agree with Nick that you must go to the scale and check to see that it is legal. If you are only slightly over on the load on the truck, you may be able to shift a little more to the trailer axles by moving the D3 back on the trailer, or if the trailer is overloaded, but you still have a little capacity on the truck, then move the D3 forward a little to take some weight off of the trailer and onto the truck.
I would check the gvwr and the tire ratings on the trailer first, because I am assuming that it is 24,000 gvwr. It could be a little more, or a little less.
In my state, California, the weight limit for moving farm equipment, even with a trailer licensed as a farm vehicle, is 26,000 lbs gcwr for the entire rig including the truck and the loaded trailer. If it is heavier than that, then the driver must have a class A license. I don't know if that is an issue with you or if you already have the class A license. Check with your state department of motor vehicles to see what are the limits in your state.
Since your D3 is a '70s model, it is possible that it weighs different than the new one listed on the www.cat.com website, but I don't have that data available.
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2001 F350 XLT 4X4, shift on the fly, 38 gal fuel tank, running boards, sliding rear window, black, crew cab, long bed, 4.10, automatic transmission, 11,500 gvwr, 20,000 gcwr, 7500 gvw, dual rear wheels, 7.3l turbo diesel, completely stock, 114,00 miles when purchased, now has 125,000 miles, repairs so far: starter, batteries, cps.
2005 Nomad Rampage toyhauler made by Skyline. 11,500lb gvwr.
Last edited by DonWarkentin : 08-28-2008 at 01:04 AM.
Reason: typo
If you want to make sure that your wheels and tires are not the limiting factor, you could upgrade to Rickson powder coated steel wheels 19.5 X 6.75" or 19.5 X 7.5" (5000 lb capacity per wheel) and Michelin XZE 245/70R19.5H tires (4940 lb capacity single, 4675 lb capacity dual per tire).
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2001 F350 XLT 4X4, shift on the fly, 38 gal fuel tank, running boards, sliding rear window, black, crew cab, long bed, 4.10, automatic transmission, 11,500 gvwr, 20,000 gcwr, 7500 gvw, dual rear wheels, 7.3l turbo diesel, completely stock, 114,00 miles when purchased, now has 125,000 miles, repairs so far: starter, batteries, cps.
2005 Nomad Rampage toyhauler made by Skyline. 11,500lb gvwr.
I would do just what NickKent suggested. Load it all up and go to a scale and find actual weights for the truck, trailer and D3. Do not forget to pack the truck with any extra weight that you be needing for the trip (tools and grear). A good scale will let you load, unload, and all that stuff, so you get the total wt, trailer wt, equip wt.
I pull a tractor up that way and beyond with TX farm tag on the trailer and have had no problems with the state troopers.
I would strongly suggest that you have spares for the truck and trailer. There are many smaller towns that shut down at 5:00/6:00pm and if you have dual blowouts you could be stuck.
Just two more cents.
This D3 looks pretty darn small when compared to the D5 we have and I am almost thinking it has got to be somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 lbs. It is maybe a tad bigger than a Komatsu D20 which is right under 10K. Once I get the factory service manuals from Cat for the D3 I am sure the weights are listed in the front cover, I know they are for the D5. (As far as hauling the D5 I always call an 18 wheeler)
I will be loading it up here in the next couple of weeks and get it scaled and let ya'll know what I come up with. In the meantime I'll start saving my coins for the fuel costs..
If you would like, get me the serial number and a picture of the D3 that you want to move and I can give you a fully loaded weight. This is my line of work, and I would be happy to help . . . Catguy3.
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2006 F350 Lariat, 6.0L Diesel
Super Cab, Long Bed, 20" Factory Rims
Fx4 with Camper Package
AIC, 2WD Low, Chimes OFF, Shaker 500, Upgraded Headlight Harness with XtraVisions
'92 F-250 7.3 IDI Diesel 4:10 (just hit 90k) 4x4 ext cab (Prodigy brake controller
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Linear Mode
