Running Long Distances

[Inno]

re: I have no need to brake steer my units.

You've obviously never hauled a 3600# log on the back of a tractor....

THAT's when you appreciate 2 brakes for steering !!

re: trailering....
always better.. if the impatient guy hits you, he has to go through the trialer, tractor and THEN the pickup.....

That is true......and I would be traveling a bit faster as well so no need for anyone to get impatient.
I always have my brakes locked together, last tractor I needed the brakes for steering was a Massey Ferguson with a backhoe on.........front wheels are often off the ground.

 

[SidecarFlip]

re: I have no need to brake steer my units.

You've obviously never hauled a 3600# log on the back of a tractor....

THAT's when you appreciate 2 brakes for steering !!

re: trailering....
always better.. if the impatient guy hits you, he has to go through the trialer, tractor and THEN the pickup.....

Yanked bigger stuff than that around in the past. I have this penchant for not leaving stumps. I cut a tree off about 10 or 12 feet above grade, take a ladder and a chain or two and choke the top and hook one of my M's on the chain (drawbar and clevis) and yank it out of the ground, Never had to brake steer and just use 4L. Pulled logs, pulled stuck trucks and pulled my wife's buggy out of the mud. No brake steer at all. Never split the brakes, no need . Both my front and rear diffs lock to. Don't believe I've ever locked them either.

 

[tawood]

Not sure why everyone here is recommending the trailer. If the OP lives in a low traffic area it’s not risky, people road tractors in rural areas all the time, high school kids drive them to school. I see the OP’s point. 20 miles way, 1/2 hour drive to dealer in truck to get trailer, stand around how long for dealer to find trailer, 15 min hook up, 30 min back, 15 to load and tie down, if your experienced at hauling, more if not, 30 back to dealer at least, maybe more. At least 2.5 hours via trailer, he can beat that by a long shot just roading the tractor. And trailering is not risk free either. In rural areas roading a tractor is safer. The OP can assess his situation on safety of roading vs trailering. He is asking would roading hurt the tractor, not weather everyone else would do it or not.


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You ever run long term on the road with a tractor? I have...NOT FUN! Tractors have no suspension. His kidneys will appreciate using the trailer.

 

[Magicman]

I hope your final decision is/was to trailer. Highways are for automobiles and few people have any regard or patience for anything else. Your personal safety is of the utmost importance.

 

[GeoHorn]

Last election cycle I was acting as polling-place-judge and therefore HAD to be there... but my truck was at the shop, my wife took off on a shopping trip, and my spare car was loaned-out, (I had not yet bought the RTV) and had to drive the county road 2 miles to the community-center-polling place.... so I drove the tractor. Bad idea. Even tho’ the back-roads were low-traffic, the chevron-tire-markings for the 2-miles there and 2-miles back were disappointing to say the least.... and the oncoming car around a curve was in the center-of-the-road and both of us had to make a panic-swerve.... Nearly ended up in the ditch.

Trailer it.

 

[hope to float]

If you decide to drive the tractor to the shop, make sure you have ballast on the back. The extra weight of the grapple will make it extra uncomfortable on the way home if you don't. And are you insured for the road?