B1550 - how much weight can I pull?

[dunedainranger798]

Hello, I have a '90 B1550, gear driven, 4WD, ~800 hrs. I was wondering how much weight, in theory, could this tractor pull? I know there are many variables that play into this application.
I have filled rear tires, and ~350lb, homemade ballast on the rear, but no front ballast. I know this tractor cannot lift much, so that is out of the question. I use IBC totes to store nut, anthracite coal. Each reliably hold 3/4 ton. With prices increasing for delivered coal, I am having to go direct to the breaker this year. I will have to offload the totes from my 6x12 landscape, dual-axle trailer. I do not have a forklift or anything that could lift conventionally. I figured my best bet would be to pull the totes from the trailer, then push them into place. How would you go abput this? Is it the best method, or do you have any other recommendations?
Thank you for your help.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Way too many variables to give you any kind of a reliable answer.
Lift weight is one thing, but drag weight is a whole other matter.

 

[N3BP]

The manual states 1,100LBS max trailer W/O brakes, 2,200lbs with trailer brakes. It doesn't provide a figure for tongue weight on the drawbar, but states max load on lower lift arms is 400LBS.

If you're pulling on solid level ground, you can tow more. Always tow from the drawbar. If your trailer tilts, you may be able to slide the tote into place. An IBC tote filled with coal is going to be difficult to push or pull on the ground with your machine. You're easily looking at around a ton of weight. The B1550 just doesn't weight enough.

 

[dunedainranger798]

Hello, I have a '90 B1550, gear driven, 4WD, ~800 hrs. I was wondering how much weight, in theory, could this tractor pull? I know there are many variables that play into this application.
I have filled rear tires, and ~350lb, homemade ballast on the rear, but no front ballast. I know this tractor cannot lift much, so that is out of the question. I use IBC totes to store nut, anthracite coal. Each reliably hold 3/4 ton. With prices increasing for delivered coal, I am having to go direct to the breaker this year. I will have to offload the totes from my 6x12 landscape, dual-axle trailer. I do not have a forklift or anything that could lift conventionally. I figured my best bet would be to pull the totes from the trailer, then push them into place. How would you go abput this? Is it the best method, or do you have any other recommendations?
Thank you for your help.

 

[dunedainranger798]

The manual states 1,100LBS max trailer W/O brakes, 2,200lbs with trailer brakes. It doesn't provide a figure for tongue weight on the drawbar, but states max load on lower lift arms is 400LBS.

If you're pulling on solid level ground, you can tow more. Always tow from the drawbar. If your trailer tilts, you may be able to slide the tote into place. An IBC tote filled with coal is going to be difficult to push or pull on the ground with your machine. You're easily looking at around a ton of weight. The B1550 just doesn't weight enough.

Thanks for your reply. I saw that in the manual before positing. I just attached photos also. It's relatively flat ground in the area I store them. Unfortunately my trailer doesn't tilt. I was going to set the trailer as close as possible on level ground, then push no more than 10-12ft.

 

[Russell King]

You will probably not be able to drag them across the ground without a lot of damage to the ground.

You will have to have the trailer held in place so I assume you will use a vehicle to get it near the landing site.

I would lay some boards on the trailer before the totes so they will slide on the boards not the deck. You may need to put a cleat down to hold them in place. Then get some ramp to drag them down and onto some boards on the ground. Then pull them into place.

But since you have a loader why not get the coal into the trailer in smaller loads and then lift it and put it into the totes? Maybe put some sides on the trailer and just shovel it into the bucket and move it? Maybe use 5gallon buckets to fill and move them into the bucket of the tractor to avoid the shovel?

Of course I have no idea exactly what the coal is like and how much trouble it is to move

 

[N3BP]

If you could figure out a way to set the loaded totes on something that can slide around easy, like a 1/4 sheet of plastic or something, that would make pushing and pulling them around on the ground much easier. Also being a fellow coal burner from PA, I know how heavy that stuff is. I had to move my bin which was half full one year and my L3010 loader would lift it up until I had it down to about 1/4 full.

 

[ve9aa]

Braking is the primary issue (safety); yanking secondary.
How much stopping power do your 33 yr old brakes have?

 

[jyoutz]

Braking is the primary issue (safety); yanking secondary.
How much stopping power do your 33 yr old brakes have?

And he’s talking about pulling more weight than the tractor weighs.

 

[GrizBota]

Any chance the totes can just live on the trailer?

If you have to remove them, as mentioned, you’ll need a ramp to slide them down. I’d surface the ramp with plywood, as well as surfacing a series of boards with plywood that the totes can slide to the final position on. A 2 ton come along would probably slide the totes. Obviously you need something in the storage area to attach the come along to.

Or attach a ramp to the tailer, back up to the required location, lash the tote to something sufficient and pull the trailer ahead nice and easy.

Depending on how you hook up to the totes will probably affect how much damage is done to the conduit cage. A couple 2 or 3 inch nylon straps wrapped horizontally at the 1/4 points around the tote, after affixing several 2x6s vertically to the back side of the tote cage for the straps to bear on might help decrease damage. Or set the totes on pallets and pull on the pallet.

Or fill the totes with several fertilizer or seed sacks that have the coal in them that your FEL can lift individually.

Or build an A frame the trailer can drive under and lift the totes vertically with a chain fall and pull the trailer out. Then place a big tarp over the A frame.

Or a combination of these or any of the others I’m sure folks will have.

 

[dunedainranger798]

All - thank you for your ideas and suggestions. I am trying to work with what I have to make my cost-savings reasonable - afterall that why most turned to coal for years. I think all of these were great ideas and especially like the track/ramo system. My trailer gate is the shorter style and so becomes steep. My FEL wouldnt be able to reach most of it without it being mostly onboard, but still definitely doable and probably safer. Up to $390/ton for bulk from my local dealer, so going direct to a breaker and paying $280/ton, and using a company truck saves me quite a bit. I let you all know how this plays out, and look forward ro hearing any other input. Thank you all!

 

[GrizBota]

Curious, no coal used for heating in the PNW since the early 1900s, how long will a ton of coal heat your house for a typical winter month? One month, two months?

I pay north of $400 a month for electricity to run my heat pumps in the winter and most winter months it does not quite get down to 32 degrees F over night. The coldest month might run me $450 and that’s with about 10 days that get down to 20 to 30 F overnight.

Interesting fact, the mid coast of Oregon was a major coal exporter in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Now I don’t think it’s even mined. I found this out when I was working on a landslide that had an abandoned coal mine shaft/drift under it.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Does the unloading have to be in grass? Where I worked in a warehouse years ago (it hurts thinking about how long ago) we kept a rod with a chain on one end to hook to water ever and the other end of the rod had a hook (sort of looked like a long heavy fire poker but much heavier guage) so that you could hook onto center rib on pallet and pull something off a trailer or ramp. (Would not be too hard to make). Anyway if you could do something like that on concrete or pavement you could move the totes with a pallet jack. You could probably use a log chain around the center rib of pallet too to pull the cages off the trailer. That’s my simple thought.