Sold my diesel a few months ago, so I figured I’d go get my tractor today with my f-150. It’s about 6klbs with implement, with the trailer included should be well within the towing capacity. Well, my dumbazz didn’t chock the front tires of the truck and as I loaded the tractor it lifted the rear end off the ground. That was a fun ride as my truck rolled down the slight incline right through the fence..... a couple thousand dollars of damage later, I’ve learned some valuable lessons about trying to haul something with a light azz truck

I know a guy that did the same thing with a F350

Thats why kick stands on trailer ramps are a necessity when hauling anything heavy. Sorry for your unfortunate luck.

Glad it wasn't worse.

Good grief.
City Boys.

Glad it wasn't worse. Outback it ain't necessarily city boys that do things like this. I did the same thing with a Chevy 1 ton, a gooseneck trailer and a tractor. Trailer had kickstands on the ramps too. I rode that thing 100 feet before I gained enough composure to back the tractor back down the ramps. No matter how hard I pushed the brakes on the tractor, the truck wouldn't stop. LOL I was on a driveway, headed slightly downhill, with fresh limestone gravel on it. Scared the crap out of me. I'm pretty sure my butthole pinched a hole in the tractor seat.

Glad there were no injuries . I made these blocks to prevent the problem you experienced.

I can't post a picture, but I built Jack stands for my trailer.
Not only can your truck run away, but I've seen many trailer frames bent.
That's way too much weight to load without a jack stand.

Don’t blame the 1/2 ton for that.

Real tractors are hauled with lowboys or too big to haul at all.

Sad to say my truck jacked knifed and then hit a large oak, just a note the brakes on tractor will not stop the truck , bought wisdom is the best wisdom you can buy you just buy it a day late.

And the steering wheel won't turn it either!

That’s a good idea!

Not blaming the truck so much as blaming myself for being used to a diesel truck that never had that issue. Lesson learned.

Do the blocks not wedge under the trailer when you put a load on it?

That has never been a problem. Sometimes they do get wedged but I've always been able to rotate them with the rope and pulled them out.

Also, I just put the blocks under the dovetail loosely if that make sense. It's okay if the rear of the trailer dips slightly when you load.

I watched helpless one day in front of our house when my Dad tried to load his Kubota on a trailer on the back of his Ford F-250 on an uphill slope. Fortunately for him he wasn't hurt and a curb stopped the whole runaway rig. I think he had to clean his pants out afterwards.

I wondered the same for a moment then thought about how the tractors weight should be centered forward of the trailer's axles. The hitch end should drop therefore raising the rear of the trailer. Now, depending on the strength of the springs and the weight of the load, it still may pinch the chocks under the trailer, but in most cases, I'd bet you could drive off of them.

We use portable jack stands to load. 99% of the time we unload at the lease and we have an area where we can drive off a little lip and the back of the trailer will drag. Once it starts dragging we unload and go about our business. Never have to fool with ramps.

Engaging the 4x4 (if you have one) should alleviate or at least minimize the rollaway issue when the rear wheels come off the ground.

The idea is NOT to have the rear wheels off the ground, and try not to bend the trailer frame,as well.

Agreed! But apparently some folks aren’t capable of the adequately preparing for that so just tossing the idea out there when somebody starts to unload and realizes they forget the blocks.

Usually it’s not the towing with a half ton truck. It’s the stopping part that soils your pants

Lock it in 4x4 before you load it

I watched a gooseneck trailer jump off the ball and shove a toolbox through the back window of a new F250. This was AFTER he’d hauled the tractor 60 miles or so to the lease.

I have 2 trailer jacks mounted on the rear of the trailer.





God Bless,
David B.

Glad you were not hurt, and sorry bout your truck.

I use a couple of 6x6 blocks cut just short of the hight of my trailor frame.

Mine rolled one day also, but luckily not far

I’ve been driving tractors since i was about 5, an probably before that in somebody’s lap and i still do dumb stuff on occasion or make foolish mistakes. I was loading a 4 wheeler on my trailer and like an idiot had already unhitched it. Front end flew up and rolled into my tailgate. I have since noticed a ton of tailgates with the exact same battle scar😂

Trailer brakes are a great invention

Watched my dad do the same with a Ford 1 ton. Just a dumb mistake.

Damn, how about loading on flat ground so it doesn’t roll? I’ve had a trailer lift a truck before, not in a long time, but I have never tried to load a heavy load on an incline either.

It’s not like it was on the side of a damn mountain..... flattest spot I had available, but apparently it doesn’t take much.

First thing I do next weekend is adding some jacks like that, thanks for the idea. Blocks worked for the time being.

Did you just weld the jacks to the frame?

I had it done from a friend who owns a machine shop, as my welding is not good enough in my opinion. He made brackets to weld to trailer frame for stability and then welded the jack mounting plates to the brackets. He also made the ramps and the mounting underneath the trailer for the ramps, added the channel mounts along the side of the trailer for chains and straps, and added additional support to the frame underneath.

I added electric brakes to one axle.

God Bless,
David B.

I built my stands with heavy tubular steel.
Just pull a pin, drop em, and pin em.
I like the idea of using the trailer jacks but I would rip those off first ditch I crossed.

That's why i don't haul a tractor anymore, its a lot easier to haul an atv and do everything you need to do with it.

Same thing happened to me couple years ago, whole rig was sliding backwards toward a steeper hill. I was lucky since I had the disk hooked to the tractor and I was far enough down the ramps to drop the disk and it stopped the skid and got off the trailer without any damage, now I have wheel blocks.

I have my tractor loaded on the truck and am about to go do some bush hogging. My truck didn't move an inch when I loaded the tractor, but then it's a Chevy.

I'm a lot more concerned about hauling the thing than I am with loading it. A small wreck can turn into a disaster when hauling a load.

All these are good suggestions

But the first thing I see from these posts is...... always load on flat ground. Never load something like this on hill. That's #1.

The second thing is for those with big trucks that will pull something 80mph..... you might can pull it fast but you might not be able to stop it. You gonna kill someone running 70 on a 2 lane with your F-250 grocery hauler. If you got a 1/2 ton there is even more reason for concern. This time of year I see deer hunters pulling tractors WAY too fast on a regular basis. You can always spot them.... they got a 35hp tractor and small equipment that looks dern near brand new behind a brand new truck.

Agree with all of this. It shocks me how folks who probably only tow their tractor a couple of times a year don't think twice about ripping down the highway at 60-80 mph with it.

I never get over about 35-40 mph with mine. Tractor with bucket and disc weighs about 7000 lbs, so I'm well below my truck's 9800 lb towing capacity. Just don't see any reason to even attempt to tow at any speeds where I might not be able to stop in a reasonable amount of time.

I run the speed limit towing mine

I kept mine at about 45 yesterday on the 2 lane roads, but ran 55 on the 4 lane where the speed limit is 65. Stopping is definitely the big issue when pulling a load with a half ton. But I loaded on level ground and didn't have a problem with that.

I did the same thing with a compact 25hp didnt think a 2800lb tractor would lift the back of my 1500 up luckily i was parked strait enough that the trailer didnt jackknife i rolled about 75 feet with the back tires off the ground then i probably slid another 25 after the tractor moved far enough up to get the back end back on the ground. i didnt mess up anything except some underwear that had to be thrown away though so i guess i was lucky

Loading a dozer, on a lowboy, will give you a serious pucker too, until you do it a few times.
Those who've done it, know what I'm talking about.

I have to pull my tractor 175 miles one way to our lease. The roads are divided 4 lane and interstate most of the way. I do run 60 to 80 on the interstate and on the 4 lane. Otherwise I'd be all day going up and again getting back.

You must not have much to do

Not anything to do it with!

Back when I owned a dozer I always got the truck driver to load it. He was also a dozer operator and knew what he was doing, and I at least had enough sense to know that I didn't.

I just missed seeing a big dozer wreck at my mechanic's business. A guy who didn't know what he was doing had the dozer slide off the trailer while he was loading it and did lots of damage to both. Another time a friend of mine loaned his tractor and trailer to a guy who wanted to plant some deer plots about 5 miles away. He loaded the tractor and hauled it without using a single chain; just ran it up on the trailer and drove it away. Somehow it stayed on the trailer.

Some times you need to get someone who knows what they are doing to help you.

That break over point is a b!÷(#. Plus the fact they'll slide right on off with the slightest misjudgment.