Tie me tractor down boys

Hi all. Just bought my first (and probably only) tractor and now I need to get it home. It's a Ford 600 and I'm going to put it on a rented flat deck trailer behind our F250. What's the best way to hold it down? It's a 500 mile trip.

Thanks.

(That should be "Tie me tractor down, [i:cdb95b3c56]sport[/i:cdb95b3c56] ....")

I use chains and binders on my tractors, but I don't have any experience with Ford tractors. Not sure of your available tie down points. I have seen a couple guys use the straps, but they seem to stretch a bit too much for my liking.

I am with meangreen. I have three tractors and they are only chained down using ratchets. The way I look at it it is my money to have them restored and I don't want to loose that money because of straps. Best of luck with however you decide to get it home.

I to use chain and binders when possible.

I have used a combination of chain/binders and ratchet straps also.

When in this situation I use the chain binders on the front when a bumper is there and then use the 8000 to 12000LB ratchet straps looped around the back tires. Not exactly perfect but I have hauled a couple of 4000LB + tractors this way for several hundred miles with no issues.

My best friend hauls his 3000LB Kubota with FEL with the 8000LB straps all the time. Two doubled on front and two doubled on back. Again no issues.

Hope this helps you out.

Legally you need to tie each corner down separately so if one chain/strap comes loose, the other 3 keep it firmly in place.

Paul

(quoted from post at 10:30:40 04/07/15) Hi all. Just bought my first (and probably only) tractor and now I need to get it home. It's a Ford 600 and I'm going to put it on a rented flat deck trailer behind our F250. What's the best way to hold it down? It's a 500 mile trip.

Thanks.

(That should be "Tie me tractor down, [i:ea2d908f21]sport[/i:ea2d908f21] ....")

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hat ever use. One in each corner front pulling front rear pulling rear. If using straps us the 2 in. The ones that are the 10000 lbs rating. Not the cheap wall Mart jobs. I have 6 of each on our trailer. I would be using chains.

I use a chain and binder to each of the four corners of the trailer - make believe I'm trying to pull the tractor in two. I connect the front two to the center of the axle, and the rear two to the drawbar frame (not the drawbar - some drawbars are held in place by a pin - chances of it coming out are slim, but you never know)
I prefer ratchet chain binders, but I have to use the lever style, I put a piece of tie wire through the end of the handle.
Enjoy your new tractor
Pete

Use chains and binders they are the by trucking laws the only way to secure. Straps are not legal for things with wheels and you can get a strong ticket if the rite guy inspects. Many get by but just ask those who got stopped about the fine. So to avoid any trouble use chains one on each corner with binders and you will never have any problems.

Phill........BEFORE you do enny chaining, BALANCE yer tractor over the trailer axles. Then BLOCK yer tires with 4x4's NOW you can chain yer tractor front'n'rear using spring loaded binders. I also recommend a 2"-strap over the center of the tractor to keep it down on the bed. Would it surprize you to learn air filled tired "bounce"? Then finally, when you hitch-up, make certain yer rear bumper don't sink more than 3" with all the weight on it. Iff'n it does, you'll haffta re-center yer tractor some. Gonna guess you don't have electric brake controller. Trailer lites? .......HTH, Dell

Here in the North East you will get a $$$ fine if you use straps. You must use chains with binders. Put one on each corner.
If worried about the paint = I use a 4 foot piece of firehose over the chain. Most FDs have old hose you can have for the asking.

MOST tractors have space between the rear rim and the rim centers.. little holes if you will... run a chain or strap through the holes and pull it tight against the rims to the trailer. If the tires stay, the tractor will stay....THis is your most important tie down..Its short, straight, and tight, close the floor of the trailer. No slack to play out and allow movement.

strap or chain across the middle..


straps or chains over and around the front axle, but never the steering rods.

tractor is low gear, low range. brakes locked. remove canvas canopys... as they will act like a parachute and tear themselves apart. Remove any seat cushions that are not bolted down and anything else that will blow/vibrate off. Even keys can come out on some tractors. Make sure tractor is far enough forward on trailer to make the truck squat a bit or it will wonder all over the road and put you in a ditch. Make sure trailer is rated for tractor and wieght, and your truck also.


After driving a short way, about 5 miles, the stop and tighten everything. This second tightning will do the finally job of pulling the tractor down to the trailer. They must act as one.. If the trailer rolls over, the tractor should stay put and go over with it.

This reply covers everything. Pretty much SOP.

So you got your first tractor and you want to HAUL IT . Yep everybody is going to tell ya there way . Well when it comes to hauling IRON and since i have over fifty years of doing so to me there is only one way to haul IRON and that is with a CHAIN AND BINDER . Some guys like snap binders and some like ratchet binders . As for me i have come to like the ratchet binders. As to hauling your FORD tractor two chains will do IF you use 5/16ths grade 70 chains and binders . Now would I only go with two chains and binders NOPE one never knows what may happen on the road and it is best to be ready for anything . If you are renting a GOOSENECK trailer which is best for handling and ease of towing you would want to center the back axle of the tractor center of the two trailer aaxles or as we would say center of trunion. As for chaining down one chain over top of the draw bar in ft. of the draw bar support so that the chain can not slide back , next up and over the ft. axle in a way that will keet the chain away from the sheetmetal. You want the back chain pulling back a little at about a 30to 45 degree angle from the draw bar and to the stake pockets or D rings what ever the trailer has for chaining . If it is stake pockets then you want to drop the chain down behind the rub rail on the back side of the stake pocket and down and around the bottom and back up the ft. of the stake pocket and either hook the hook to the stake pocket or back to the chain . Hooking back to the chain can at times be helpful as this way you can gain or loose a half link. to get the correct pull down when using a snap binder You wan to pull the back of the tractor back and you set your ft. chains the same way Except when you drop them down around the stake pocket you want to drop down on the ft. side of the pocket and come up the back side then you want to get the correct chain angle here also and you pull the tractor ahead. . Over the years i have found that when you pull the back down first then the ft down last they stay better and you have less retighting of chains . . NOW keep this in mind IF this tractor has a loader on it then you must add one chain over top of the bucket or forks , IF you have something hanging on the three point like a brush hog plow disc or what ever you must have a chain over that also . Now some will tell ya ya need four chains and four binders on bigger stuff yes and what they do not know is ya also need to add extra chains for hold back . So if someone wants to be nit picky then you would need five chains and binders . But it all comes down to this , the trucking laws are so messed up that nobody really knows what is what and everybody reads it different . I did some heavy hauling for KEEN and some as i called it FEATHER Merchant hauling where the loads were under what i normally hauled . I hauled some brand new Cat Skid Steers one time and KEEN required that each skid steer on the load had to have FIVE chains and binder and i had a load of five new ones to haul and with twenty chains and binder on the truck i was short and was forced to buy five chains nd binders off of them at a 150 bucks a set X five . Three chains and binders were more then enough on each one but no they had to have the four plus one . Now if your going to use a bumper pull for a five hundred mile junt load placement is critical and it will be the fast way to get and education if it is not as the tail will wag the dog. and myself i would not want to be on the interstate with a bumper pull thinking i can run 70 MPH and you had best have WORKING BRAKES and lights .

Overkill is always your best friend.
Not going to tell you what to do , just telling you what works for me.
Four good chains and four good binders minimum to hold the tractor in place.
Dont care how long or good it is, a single chain front or back that fails either sends your load off the back of the trailer or forward into your truck.
I saw a guy scratching his head at an intersection one day with his bobcat half in/on the back of his truck and the other half on top of the trailer tounge, sure wished I had my camera.
Chain down all four corners, hook on boomers and suck it down, wire the handles in place, half mile or so down the road stop check and retighten as needed.
Stop a few more miles down the road and snug up as required again, if anything was loose keep stopping and tightening until when you stop everything is tight.
An extra few chains and boomers to tie down the loader if it has one.
Do some measuring of the tractor and trailer, on quite a few I have had to un-hook the trailer, remove the tounge jack, load the tractor on backwards from the front as the back wheels may not clear the wheel wells, re-hook and go.
Floor jack comes in handy.

I find it more comfortable to back the tractor on the trailer, driving off the trailer going forward is much more comfortable to me also.

KEH

Not unless it is over 10,000 lbs., which a 600 ford isn't.

As told to me by the law, You must use FOUR chains and binders. Overkill for your Ford? Probably. But it is the law. The same cop said "if I see a truck and trailer upside down in the ditch, the tractor better still be tied to the trailer". And DO NOT balance the load on the axles. YOU NEED some weight on the tongue of the trailer to prevent sway. This is true of any tongue pulled trailer, boat, camper, flat, etc. Ask me how I know after one pants filling, swaying episode at 50mph with my small dozer "centered" on a tandem trailer.

Lots of good advice. It would be wise to pick out all the common comments such as chains and binders and take heed. Speaking of chains, I've had "20' Grade 70 3/8" transport chain" on my Christmas list for years. This year daughter bought me one and gave it to me on Xmas Eve. Next day at our family gift exchange, I got another one. She was kind of upset and said "aw, now you have to return one". I just laughed and said "you can never have enough chains". Her next comment was "you mean you've already GOT one?" :shock:

As for binders, I snagged half a dozen binders at an online auction few years ago for $20 for the lot. Wife went with me to pick them up and said "you paid $20 for those rusty things?" She thought I was nuts.

Instead of all the OPINION why not get the info from the source. I print off a copy of this every 6 months and carry a copy with me when hauling. http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/

LOVELY. I just tried going back to it and they have changed where the link leads. Anyway they have complete section with all the "load securement" rules.

Thanks very much for all the advice and suggestions. I am in British Columbia, Canada so the DOT rules may be different but I'm sure the advice about using 4 chains still makes sense. I see I'll have to be careful with the tongue loading - got passed once on a winding country road by a guy pulling a backhoe on a trailer only to find him on his side in a ditch a couple of miles later. It seems some people think it's some sort of Disneyland ride to go as fast as they can with a trailer. Not me.

I haul stuff on flat bed. Mostly palatalized, a little on wheels. The one thing to remember is, No one ever got a ticket for having too many chains or straps (in appropriate applications).
Tim in OR

(quoted from post at 11:48:43 04/07/15) Here in the North East you will get a $$$ fine if you use straps. You must use chains with binders. Put one on each corner.
If worried about the paint = I use a 4 foot piece of firehose over the chain. Most FDs have old hose you can have for the asking.

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Jim you may want to brush up on that. I read all through that chapter the last time the topic came up. I am in NH and haul Me. NH Vt. And MA. The only thing that they require chains for was blocks of stone. Staps are approved for EVERYTHING ELSE. Also very few of the supposed requirements already mentioned apply to loads under 10,000 lbs. This topic is one of the most entertaining every time it comes up. I thought that it was on the monthly schedule but it is a good thing that it came up because I am sure that it is way overdue.

(quoted from post at 11:48:43 04/07/15) Here in the North East you will get a $$$ fine if you use straps. You must use chains with binders. Put one on each corner.
If worried about the paint = I use a 4 foot piece of firehose over the chain. Most FDs have old hose you can have for the asking.

Click to expand...

Jim you may want to brush up on that. I read all through that chapter the last time the topic came up. I am in NH and haul Me. NH Vt. And MA. The only thing that they require chains for was blocks of stone. Staps are approved for EVERYTHING ELSE. Also very few of the supposed requirements already mentioned apply to loads under 10,000 lbs. This topic is one of the most entertaining every time it comes up. I thought that it was on the monthly schedule but it is a good thing that it came up because I am sure that it is way overdue.

Yeah here in Iowa the DOT told our tractor club we only needed 1 binder and chain as long as the chain (by itself) and the binder (by itself) are rated for 1/2 the weight of the load. They did say that it was encouraged to use as many tie downs as you wanted to so as to feel safe going down the road.

MikeinKy is correct, any tractor or implement weighing over 10,000 lbs. must be secured with four 3/8ths steel chains, one on each corner with a binder on each one. None of my tractors weigh anywhere near 10,000 lbs. I use two chains, each one hooked in the corners of the drawbar assembly and pulled tight with the tractor, leaving it in low gear with the clutch engaged and both brakes set. Then I use one long chain hooked to welded stake pocket channel irons and through the wide front axle mounting frame to the opposite stake pocket channel and a flip-over binder on it to tighten and keep this chain tight. I've chained down my tractors this way for 20+ years, no trouble, never stopped or ticketed in the many states I've pulled through...

I stopped using the lever type binders after the second time one came loose. I only use the big screw type ratcheters. The 9200 Lbs "Tow Master " brand is on sale this month at Harbor Freight for $36 each

Not sure if it is Federal, here they require loader buckets to be chained down, in case gravity fails.