Skid Steer with a 1/2 ton

[grassmanak]

Just curoius if a skid steer can be towed with a 1/2 ton pick up, i have no clue what one even weighs, looking at renting one to put in a pool next spring?

[Total.Lawn.Care]

Just curoius if a skid steer can be towed with a 1/2 ton pick up, i have no clue what one even weighs, looking at renting one to put in a pool next spring?

Can it be done, yes. SHOULD it be done, NO. NO. NO. Most skid steers weigh in at about 8,000 lbs. Then when you add a trailer heavy enough to haul it, (about 3500 to 4000 lbs) you are way over weight for a half ton truck. I recommend have the rental company deliver it. Yes, it will cost a bit more, but that much over weight and the reduced ability to stop is very dangerouson the road. Not to mention, if for some reason the Skid Steer is not positioned right and the trailer starts swaying, the weight of the light truck will not be to control it.

Glad you asked the question before doing something potentially dangerous.

[TWUllc]

NO. NO. NO.

Good answer.

[jbailey52]

Yep, they are all right.. But I have towed my skid steer with the Gmc sierra 1500 half ton.. didnt even have brakes set up. Anyway, its not safe.. but we were going only a mile on a 25mph rd.. so no big deal.. yes.. GET it delievered! Much easier! Plus if you have to rent the trailer from them anyway.. deliever will prob only cost $30 more

[LindblomRJ]

3/4 ton is fine. Done that. 1 ton, I liked that even better.

[BSDeality]

no way I would ever pull a skid with a 1/2 ton truck. Even if you had brakes on the trailer I wouldn't do it. There just isn't enough mass in front of the trailer/skid to control it in the event of a skid

[jbailey52]

Like I said, neither would I, its not smart.. but for a 2 minute trip a mile away.. nothing is going to break.

[BSDeality]

Like I said, neither would I, its not smart.. but for a 2 minute trip a mile away.. nothing is going to break.and when a small child rides his bike out of his driveway into the street, you'll be wishin you had it delivered or a different truck. :hammerhead:

[godzilla]

I've done it before, was it the smartest thing to do? heck no. If you are in a jam and need to get the machine from the rental yard to your job then yeah.. go ahead, just plan your trip accordingly. Try to take as flat of roads as possible, or if you must roads that go mostly uphill. Definately want to avoid long downhill stretches.

[FearThisDeere]

No way. Just pay the extra and have them deliver it. Much safer.

[mow king]

I bought a John Deere 250 used from a guy who pulled it with a Dodge 1/2 ton. I wouldn't recomend it, however he did it for years.

A smaller skidsteer weighs in at bout 5500 pounds and a standard skidsteer trailer weights roughly 2200 pounds.

=7700 pounds.

It's a full load but its doable.

When my truck i was getting worked on, I borrowed a 05 F150 and pulled a skidsteer 40 miles on the freeway. It pulled it fine, with trailer brakes did a lot of work.

If you're only going a few miles you could do it, not the best idea. Some rental yards won't let a skidsteer leave behind a 1/2 ton truck.

[turboawd]

i hooked up a trailer and bobcat to my old 97 1/2 ton ram (5.9) once just for the hell of it, and boy did she struggle. i definetly would not reccomend it.

[Mike33]

i hooked up a trailer and bobcat to my old 97 1/2 ton ram (5.9) once just for the hell of it, and boy did she struggle. i definetly would not reccomend it.
Very good posts, i would say the rear would even squat bad making it tough to steer. A good rental company would not allow you to do it.
Mike

[DBL]

depending on the half ton with cab and bed some are really light and the weight of the skid and trailer i heard of a story where a it pushed on the truck and jacknifed it

[evergreen_lawncare]

it all depends on how heavy the skid is that you are carrying. if you are carrying a bobcat 463 for instance which only weighs around 2,600lbs and trailer about 2,300lbs, its about 5,000lbs of towing capacity. I would not tow anyting with a half ton over 6,000lbs, even though they are rated higher. but if the load is under 6,000lbs then you would have no trouble pulling it around town or on the highway.

[YardPro]

Very good posts, i would say the rear would even squat bad making it tough to steer. A good rental company would not allow you to do it.
Mike

if loaded properlt it will not make the rear squat at all.

I towed a 753 with a 1/2 ton quite often. If you do tow with a 1/2 ton, trailer brakes are a must..

[Rons Rightway Lawncare]

I have towed a bobcat skid steer behind my 1500 Avalanche with no problems whatsoever. The guy who loaned my the bobcat tows it - not often but at times - with his Ford Explored sport trac.

Day to day towing, a 3500 dually would be the way to go, but for one short trip from the rental place to your house and back, I see no problem. Just drive SLOWLY and stay alert.

[LindblomRJ]

Last spring, during a snow storm a guy around here was hauling a skid loader with a SUV. It was a striping company was hauling a skid loader thinking Case 1845, the tow vehicle Ford Exploder (sic). Not a pretty sight. Just a wreck waiting to happen.

[stoneseller]

Don't do it!

My place of business sits on a pretty busy 4 lane divided road in the industrial section of town. About 1 mile down the road from a rental center.

Last month, eastbound traffic came to a grinding stop in front of my store. Cop cars & firetrucks came wailing in minutes later. Several employees walked up the street 200 yards to check what happened.

Two landscapers in a brand new 1/2 ton truck had picked up a skidsteer on the rental company's trailer. They were westbound & coming down a small incline. They aparently hit the brakes to slow for incoming traffic from their right. The trailer came around the truck, the whole mess fishtailed, came across the median strip, and ended up jackknifed in the eastbound lanes & on the sidewalk.

Luckily, no eastbound vehicles collided with the combo. Also luckily, their were no pedestrian on the sidewalk at the time. The rear 1/4 panels of the truck got messed up. The rear axle hubs/drums broke free. The bumper was trashed. Who knows how much damage was done to the undercarriage.
I'd be inclined to guess easily over $6,000 in damage to the truck.

So, do you really think it is worth risking killing yourself, and maybe others, to save a few bucks towing that thing yourself?:nono: :nono: :nono:

[kootoomootoo]

How about a toyota camry?


Local guy t boned a car when he couldnt stop at light. He left the rental place 5 mins earlier in a f150 with a skid steer on the back.

[GAskidsteer]

Not worth the risk. If we knew what was going to happen/not happen, then we wouldn't need insurance would we ?

[wolf4980]

Also depends on the years of the trucks the new one tons probably shouldn't pull that much imho

[Ramairfreak98ss]

Can it be done, yes. SHOULD it be done, NO. NO. NO. Most skid steers weigh in at about 8,000 lbs.

Glad you asked the question before doing something potentially dangerous.


SOME weigh that much, the average Cat 50~ hp ones or JD ones are 5500-6500lbs. you have to rent a Larger one or 60-80hp version to get up into the 8k weight range. Its more key on what trailer your towing it on.

I have a 1800lb open 16ft trailer that would be more than enough trailer to carry a 6-7k skid steer, theyre low center of gravity, small but heavy, and my dual 5k axles are plenty. Ive pulled a 5900lb new holland tractor and yeah it was HUGE, 2x the size of any skid steer and you just have to be careful. Dont speed obviously but make sure your brakes on the trailer can control the weight. If you can max out your brake controller with the load and you still feel like its not stopping very fast, then its probably TOO heavy for the trailer more than the truck.

I see you have a 2000 GM truck, im sure its plenty capable, it has the 5.3 v8 or 6.0? My 91 F150 with just a 5 Liter pulls the load well, its a long bed extended cab with a large receiver. You FEEL the weight though definitly.