weight of a 1939 farmall M

Hi does anyone have the bare weight of a 39 M? I have to trailer in and need to know if my 1/2 ton will pull it and what capicity trailer I have to borrow. Around 5000 lbs ? Thanks Pat

Shipping weight for a M was 4960 pounds.

That would be dry (no fuel or fluid in tires) with no weights.

Gary

your truck should be adequate to pull it at a reasonable speed and reasonable distance but I would worry more about getting a trailer that can handle the tractor width wise. The wheels on a M can be set pretty far apart. Rears dished out and in as far as they will go is still close to 8 feet wide depending on tire size. I have had to turn one wheel around too many times...once is enough.. to get one to fit on a trailer. A 8 wide trailer with no side rails is best.

Hopefully you don't have far to go. With only a few miles to haul, I recently put a tractor tipping the scales at just over 6K on a small [we think 5Krated though the sticker many years gone; bumper hitch] trailer and a "heavy half" truck: litterally had about an inch of sweetspot to hit a desirable hitch weight. Even then it was 30mph tops, not for the power so much as having any sense of control.

Get to know your brakes, or lack thereof, really well too.

I just moved my '53 SMD a few weeks ago, and had to turn one wheel around to get it on the trailer, and let the water out of the tires to help a bit, has one set of wheel weights on it. I pulled it with my Powerstroke dually, which has big brakes on it- towing that much weight with a half-ton is more about the brakes & suspension than power, I wouldn't do it unless it's all flat back roads and slow goes it- and I'd still try to get a buddy with a stronger truck to help out

Just hauled a 53 Super M to NW Georgia from Memphis Tennessee on a 87 inch wide trailer. The seller wanted to take one wheel off and turn around. I finally talked him into slipping both wheels in all the way and that gave just enough to get on trailer. Wheel fenders prevented full center loading but was able to get just enough tongue weight to work. Tractor had all fluids, heavy 3pt. hitch, dual wheel weights both wheels and wide front. Weighed out at 5800 lb's.

We haul our '49 M that weighs about 5600 lbs. with two sets of wheel weights with a PJ 7000 lb. auto hauler trailer. This trailer has the wide deck but we still have to remove the fender on one side (fenders are made to remove fairly easily) because the wheels are dished out on the M. We pull the trailer with either a '04 1/2 Ton Dodge or a '95 4 X 4 Ford F-150 and it works okay...but you do have to realize what you're hauling and pay attention all the time.....Hey, you should anyway. We remove the fender on the driver side of the trailer, back the M on over the wheels and replace the fender then put the tractor rear wheels tight to the fenders to minimize the tongue weight and chain 'er down. Two chains off the front frames of the tractor and one through a clevis on the drawbar. Worked fine for 5 years now. Never been stopped in Indiana, Ohio, or Michigan. Car hauler trailers aren't ideal because they only have one axle electric brakes, 3500 lb. axles, and the tires can't take potholes without ply seperating, but they are very stable and track nice and they're easy to load and unload because the deck is low.

Best to get one with more than 7000 lbs GVW. A 7000 lb GVW tandem axle trailer (car trailer) will weigh 2000 lbs+. So with a 5000 lb M, you are right at capacity, I prefer to have a cushion. Read the tag on the trailer, it means what it says. Half ton will pull it, but it will be close to maxed out.

Ideally, you need a "deckover" trailer rated for 10,000lbs GVWR minimum to haul an M-size tractor with the wheels dished out. These are either 96" or 102" wide and have the wheels underneath instead of on the sides.

The problem with a deckover is the tractor is way up high, and that can bother some people. Properly loaded and strapped down it's a non-issue.

If all you can find is the "car hauler" type trailer with the deck between the wheels, you will need to flip one of the wheels around on the M so it's dished in. The maximum distance between the fenders on a car hauler is 83". I've never seen one with any more than that. The minimum width you can get on an M with the wheels dished out is 84" IIRC. If you've got a trailer with removeable fenders, you can squeeze through and put the fenders back on. Otherwise you're flipping a wheel.

The car hauler type trailer puts the load much closer to the ground. They are more stable.

As for towing with the 1/2 ton, that will depend on where you're going and how far you're going. If it's less than 100 miles, and you don't mind sticking to back roads, just take it slow and easy. At 30 miles an hour it'll take you a while but you'll get there in one piece. Heck, you might find that it tows so well that you can even go a little faster and make some time. Just don't get in a hurry.

Make sure the trailer brakes work. You will need them because a 1/2 ton doesn't have adequate braking for 5000lbs of tractor and 2000lbs of trailer, AND it's illegal in most states to tow a trailer rated for more than 2999lbs without brakes.

Using my 2003 1/2 ton Chevy, I towed a Super A with 1000 loader, weights on all four wheels, loaded tires, about 20 miles on a U-haul car hauler trailer. That was about 4000lbs on a 2500lb trailer. I wouldn't want to do it for a living, but it worked fine for the short distance. I was able to drive the speed limit, up to 55MPH, all the way home, though most of the way was 35-40MPH.

My 1939 M Weight is 4850 Without a driver!

It has all Equipment HYD,PTO,Belt Pullie,13.6x38 TIERS !!

Hope This Helps!

(quoted from post at 05:35:30 08/27/09) I have to trailer in and need to know if my 1/2 ton will pull it and what capicity trailer I have to borrow. Around 5000 lbs ? Thanks Pat

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The question should be "Stop it?" and not "Pull it?".