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Loading Trailer Not Hitched to the Truck

Oregon Tractor Jack

Oregon Tractor Jack

Member
This could generate a lot of interesting feedback, so here goes. Has anyone loaded tractors on to a goose neck trailer with out it being attached to a truck? I have a 32' goose neck trailer that I want to haul two tractors to a pull. The trailer has a beaver tail and ramps. The ramps have full ground contact all the way to the end of the beaver tail if that makes sense. I would like to have the tractors all loaded, chained down and ready to go the next morning. The problem is I don't have the strength to crank the trailer off the hitch when it is loaded. There is no place to park the truck and trailer at the hotel I am staying at and I really don't want to have to hook up the trailer and secure the load at 0 dark thirty when I leave in the morning.

Comments

OTJ
 
Block the tires so it can t roll,and slowly drive it on. I do mean slow, because if the front would come up it will go back down as long as you are ready for it to rear up,and just keep going. My 20ft trailer will come up loading and unloading the lawn mowers(I do advise a big block of wood under the tail too.)
 
I know some of those cranks had a low gear setup. I sure would not be loading two tractors on it without a truck being hooked to it. just driving up the ramps that trailer will move. I always use 2 8x8x18 blocks under my pads. in soft ground you will be in trouble fast. I have even seen them poke right through the pavement loaded. yes I have unhooked from a loaded trailer but you better be prepaired with a good pad under those legs.
 
The key to the ramps is in how they are made. If the feet go straight down, or to the rear, they can move and the front goes up. Ramp feet need to go slightly forward to keep the trailer stable.
 
load it while hooked to the truck. Park where you want it to sit overnight. block the tires well so it can't roll. If it is a single jack that comes down get a 2ft by 2ft block of wood 4 inch thick. 6 2X6 nailed together to make a 18X18 works as well. Get a 20 ton hydraulic bottle jack and put it under jack foot. crank the jack as far as you can and do the rest with bottle jack to unhook. if it has 2 jacks just double it.
Option 2 is park truck and trailer on different parking lot and walk to hotel or get a ride.
Option 3 Jackknife the truck and trailer on motel parking lot and stray there. I have also parked on side of street but where you stay maybe not legal. Also have taken up many parking spots with school bus or truck and trailer.
 
Put wooden blocks on both sides of the rear of the trailer then drive on.I've used a gooseneck to unload tractors off my flatbed truck onto the trailer and then move the truck to unload the trailer.Do the reverse to load tractors on the truck never had a problem.
 
Sounds to me like you have no choice if you cannot crank the trailer down onto hitch when loaded. Good luck.
 
(quoted from post at 20:51:44 03/05/20) The key to the ramps is in how they are made. If the feet go straight down, or to the rear, they can move and the front goes up. Ramp feet need to go slightly forward to keep the trailer stable.
Click to expand...

JMS, read the OP again.
 
We bought 2 non running tractors, an Oliver 77 and a Minnie mouse rtu. Unhooked gooseneck and used the truck and a couple long chains to drag them on. No problem. The front of trailer came up just a bit on first one....but kept moving and it sat down quick. Lots of wheel chocks. Trailer didn't try to move. Overloaded? Nah...... Moving on.......
 
Load one tractor park it on the trailer axles. Unhook truck then finish driving it to the front of trailer. Now you can load the second one. This way the trailer will not tip up on the front and will be fairly easy to crank the front up. After second tractor is loaded they can be chained and ready to go. If you don't have a 2 speed gear box on your leg/s put one on it will be very good money spent for it. They fasten on to the one leg and then the shaft goes through to the other leg if there are 2 of them. You do need enough length for the crank to push pull the shaft endways to change from the high to low in the gear box.
I liked the solution of the hydraulic jack to lift it. you could also use a tube that is welded to the side of your current leg/s with a telescoping section to come down to the point your jack would fit then just put jack under it and raise. No need to fill truck with blocks that way. Just a couple to put under the bottom of the jack.
You could also set up the leg/s so the hydraulics on the tractor if so equipped would lift it with the tractors system. Just hook up and push the lever.
So now with all the choices it has been about beat to death.
 
Saw a guy try to load a JD on his gooseneck one day at a pull. He forgot to lock the ball hitch in the pickup bed and the trailer raised up and rolled ahead. Luckily it didn't go through the back window on him.
 
It doesn't answer you question, its just my comments. You can get a trailer jack with a two speed on the crank or better yet a electric jack. It sounds like you would be a good candidate for the electric jack. I sure like the one I have on my fifth wheel camper.
I wouldn't stay at a motel where I couldn't keep an eye on the contents of a open trailer even if I did have to travel a little farther away.
 
To me it seems like some simple common sense is in order. Look at the mechanics of loading the trailer, and address the issues.

Mainly I see the issue of the rear of the trailer going down with the weight of the tractor on the beavertail, AND the trailer "squirting" forward as weight comes off the jacks, and there's no truck there to stop it.

With the right ramps, attached to the trailer in the right fashion, they will limit how far down the rear of the trailer will go. BUT, the front of the trailer will still get light, especially while loading the first tractor. Some trailers have jacks at the rear corners to prevent the front from coming up.

Obviously, chock the wheels to prevent the trailer from rolling out from under you as you load.

Seems like you should be able to make it work.
 
Hook trailer to truck and lock hitch

Further jack up empty trailer so it slightly raises back of truck

Load tractors and chain them in place

Block trailer wheels

Trailer is already raised, release hitch and drive truck out

Come morning back truck up, lock the hitch, lower jack and away you go

A lot easier to crank them down than it is to crank them up
 
I feel your pain! I have been there. I did something about it Monday. I traded my 20&5 15000 deckover for a 27ft. Hyd tilt with a hyd jack. I could crank the jack but just barely. But the ramps, even though have spring assist were all I could do. Also I have limited myself to 4250lb and 4500 lb. Just 15-60 lb weights. And that won't use all of them. I would crank landing jacks down. Then block up and finish with a hyd jack. Then crank landing jacks down again. I would also load hooked to truck.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I think I'm going to try the caterpillar guy's suggestion and load one tractor with the trailer hitched; unhitch and load the second. The landing gear drive on this trailer is like one to one so it is really tough to lift. I had thought about getting a hydraulic lift kit but they are expensive and they fill up the utility box used for chain storage completely. Add to that, this pull is next month so no time for that options not to mention the $$$. As far as finding a different hotel, there is only one in this little town so a relocate is not possible.

I'm not going to be stupid with this, that's why I asked for opinions.

Thank you all.

OTJ
 
Long term, I know someone that attached a small electric winch to his landing gear. Two sprockets and a short chain. No more cranking.
 
Lots of different ideas posted. My story. Loading our bare (no weights) oliver 88 puller onto our 20' gooseneck also with a 4 or 5' beavertail. Thought I had locked the hitch onto the ball. I didn't. Was in a hurry. Trailer and truck were on a slight downhill slope. As I drove the tractor up, the hitch came off the ball. Trailer went forward and smashed the truck tool box. Glad the box was there or it would have taken out the back window ! Lesson learned. I personally would never load a trailer not attached to a truck unless it was a low boy.
 
Traditional Farmer has it right, block the rear of trailer on both sides and block the wheels front and back and it can't go anywhere.
 

Here is a totally different method that I have used myself. My trailer is 22,400 GVW tandem dual. I have come back from a pull with another in a few days, and I needed to use my truck. I back both tractors up as far as possible. This takes most of the weight off the hitch making it easy to unhook and re-hook. So that all I need to do in the AM is pull them ahead and re-hook the chains.
 
I have a 30' gooseneck {25 & 5) with ramps like you say. I load a 13,000 pound boom lift all the time, without being hooked to the truck. So you should have no problem...
 
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