Tiltbed trailers

[johndeeregreg]

Been thinking about a tiltbed trailer for a little while, any thing to look for specifically on them? Would be used for a John Deere 420 crawler and a skid loader and lawn mowers and gators that kind of stuff mostly. Biggest reason for tilt instead of dovetail and ramps is the crawler tractor. Also any brands to consider or stay away from? Every other trailer we have/had has been a PJ and haven't had any complaints with them.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

Been thinking about a tiltbed trailer for a little while, any thing to look for specifically on them? Would be used for a John Deere 420 crawler and a skid loader and lawn mowers and gators that kind of stuff mostly. Biggest reason for tilt instead of dovetail and ramps is the crawler tractor. Also any brands to consider or stay away from? Every other trailer we have/had has been a PJ and haven't had any complaints with them.

I have an ancient Rogers 10 ton tilt bed trailer. It has brackets underneath which appear to be for a cylinder. I don't know if the idea is for a power tilt, or if the cylinder would simply serve as an air shock absorber? It has a single, truck type axle underneath with dual wheels. Works fine for my small dozer. The flat bed allows for over width items.
A neighbor in the excavation business has a more modern, Kaufman, I think, probably like what you're interested in. It's a partial tilt bed, which gets used constantly. It's low to the ground, which is nice, but a drawback are the fenders over the tandem axle, single wheels which make for a narrow bed.

 

[SkipperII]

Make sure there is good clearance between the tires, deck, and any cross pieces. I just had to modify one yesterday, for a friend, due to rubbing the tires, when carrying his larger tractors, or a load of round bales.

 

[caterpillar guy]

If you have a steel deck carry some old junk car tires for grip on the steel with the steel tracks. I used to load dozers on my stepdeck trailer with ramps I used to put a couple tires on the break from slope to flat for the tracks so they didn't slip and get squirrely as they made the transition from slope to flat. My trailer had steel sections over the tires which were at the very rear and ahead 10 feet. With a tilt bed you probably would not need them as long as the deck is wood. Though wood can get slippery when wet. If oiled with used engine oil it is real slippery when wet.

 

[johndeeregreg]

If you have a steel deck carry some old junk car tires for grip on the steel with the steel tracks. I used to load dozers on my stepdeck trailer with ramps I used to put a couple tires on the break from slope to flat for the tracks so they didn't slip and get squirrely as they made the transition from slope to flat. My trailer had steel sections over the tires which were at the very rear and ahead 10 feet. With a tilt bed you probably would not need them as long as the deck is wood. Though wood can get slippery when wet. If oiled with used engine oil it is real slippery when wet.

That's a good idea to put the tires down to limit slipping.

 

[Welding man]

Been thinking about a tiltbed trailer for a little while, any thing to look for specifically on them? Would be used for a John Deere 420 crawler and a skid loader and lawn mowers and gators that kind of stuff mostly. Biggest reason for tilt instead of dovetail and ramps is the crawler tractor. Also any brands to consider or stay away from? Every other trailer we have/had has been a PJ and haven't had any complaints with them.

I do not know how much your crawler weighs, but I just had a new 26 ft. Kaufman built and delivered to me. I haven't even pulled it yet. I wanted to be able to haul 2 tractors to tractor pulls. 12 feet in front does not tilt and 14 ft in the rear does. It has a cylinder on the front to allow it to go up and down slowly. I loaded my Oliver super 88 on the front 12 ft section and still have plenty of room for whatever else I may want to put behind. It is a 15,000 GVW gooseneck. I am going to install a winch on it also to load a car or pick-up if needed. They also make the same trailer with 18,000 GVW with larger axles, tires and wheels and bigger brakes. I think I am going to be very happy with it.

 

[m16ty]

My uncle has a PJ tilt rated at 14k. He bent the tail just hauling a skid steer. I wasn’t impressed with the quality.