Trailer or drive it.

Gaspasser

Active member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L6060, FEL, forks, front snowblower. KX033 mini ex. Dump truck, Husqvarna saws.
Dec 16, 2023
175
226
43
NH
Have L6060 I need to move to my house from woodlot 12 miles away. Top speed 17 mph. Back roads, at that speed 42 minutes. I have a trailer but loading and chaining it up, hitching to truck, and then unloading is time consuming ( estimate 90 minutes at best). Would you drive it or trailer it? Thanks.
 

GeoHorn

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
M4700DT, LA1002FEL, Ferguson5-8B Compactor-Roller, 10KDumpTrailer, RTV-X900
May 18, 2018
6,051
3,323
113
Texas
Trailering it will be easier on the tires (presuming the roadway is paved, which will wear the tires fairly aggressively.) Less liability also. Likely safer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

jimh406

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
Kubota L2501 with R4 tires
Jan 29, 2021
2,385
1,810
113
Western MT
I think it depends on what the 12 miles is like and what the locals are used to. If they regularly see tractors, then it's probably not a big deal to drive it.

Our backroads are up to 65, but there are tractors driving the roads regularly. If you can drive during the slower times, everyone has plenty of time to pass.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

NorthwoodsLife

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
Kubota B7100(sold), Kubota LX2610 Cab
Oct 15, 2021
1,060
1,010
113
Wisconsin
Drive it.

have some one as a follower in a car/truck.
Yep. NOT! (Edit: Sorry, that was a bit harsh on my part).

So the following driver can tell you when you are about to get hit! So you can jump off or drive into the ditch. lol

I would not personally want liability litigation for a 12-mile trip. I'm not losing my retirement and property for myself and family in exchange for 12 miles in the Kubota on the street. You, OP, might be the same.

Especially since the OP has a trailer.

One can bluff once or twice, but the odds are diminishing as you go.

Be safe.

My max street ride in the K is 1 mile. Everything else is trailer.... or facing the possibility of time in court and losing Everything..
 
Last edited:

Gaspasser

Active member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L6060, FEL, forks, front snowblower. KX033 mini ex. Dump truck, Husqvarna saws.
Dec 16, 2023
175
226
43
NH
Thanks all for the advice. Max speed limit is 35 on mostly paved rural NH road. Some sections gravel. I see the opinions vary. All make good points. It is a bit of an ordeal to secure trailer and tractor. DOT wants/prefers 4 pt. chains and binders and FEL secured as well. I was mostly concerned for wear and tear at higher speed but now see the safety concerns expressed. Appreciate advice. Thanks folks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

Runs With Scissors

Well-known member

Equipment
L2501 TLB , Grappel, Brush Hog, Box Blade, Ballast box, Forks, Tiller, PH digger
Jan 25, 2023
2,513
2,916
113
Michigan
I live on the edge of Suburbia and Rural Ville.

Since we moved there 20+ years ago, it has become quite busy and had a huge population increase.

I quite regularly see/pass/deal with, tractors on the road as they farm their various fields.

I vote "drive it".

Just be sure to have your "Slow Moving Vehicle" triangle visible.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

skeets

Well-known member

Equipment
BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
14,618
3,446
113
SW Pa
12 miles is a long way to travel on a tractor, hard on tires,,$$$$ ,,, hard on fuel and even with an air seat hard on you. If it was an emergency ,maybe.
People drive like they are on a road course around here , the kids on the back roads here make the Duke boys look like pikers!
Trailering is a real PIA to be sure, but like the man said one stupid driver and you could lose everything
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
11,655
5,042
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
hmm 50/50 for me.
though I regularly drive my BX23S around the neighbourhood ( on 3rd set of fronts in 1200 hrs/6yrs), IF I could easily trailer it, I would. Time saver and TIRE SAVER !
You'll spend 1 1/2 hrs driving it, far less towing it.....

As for 'safety', either way YOU are safe...it's the IDIOTS on the road that would be the trouble makers.

In the end do what YOU feel most comfortable doing to be safe.
 

85Hokie

Moderator
Staff member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
Jul 13, 2013
10,769
2,581
113
Bedford - VA
I saw this and my first thought was drive it - but I think that was a bad thought!

12 miles is a long way - if only a mile or two it would make sense, AND I would assume you have to bring it back? So 24 miles round trip?

Tow it!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
11,655
5,042
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
12 isn't bad. Friend drove 15 each way to bring his Case 680 backhoe here in 2014. I was surprised he didn't float it but driving only added 6 minutes compared to breaking trailer,loading, chaining, reconnecting trailer there and here,plus actual travel time.
Nice thing about driving the tractor is you get time to SEE the neighbourhood !!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

rc51stierhoff

Well-known member

Equipment
B2650, MX6000, Ford 8N, (BX sold)
Sep 13, 2021
2,611
3,186
113
Ohio
Have L6060 I need to move to my house from woodlot 12 miles away. Top speed 17 mph. Back roads, at that speed 42 minutes. I have a trailer but loading and chaining it up, hitching to truck, and then unloading is time consuming ( estimate 90 minutes at best). Would you drive it or trailer it? Thanks.
I’ve not gone more than 5 or 6 miles before myself on an ag machine and that was in rural area where it’s normal to see tractors on the road who also have right of way, at least in our state. (12 miles maybe feel slow and boring…depending on weather I’d probably take a small cooler with an ice water/coffee and a snack). Main thing I dont care for is bouncing…that’s not quite as bad as a tank slipper on 2 wheels, but it’s getting close depending on the road surfaces. Loader and bucket might amplify that.

Weather, Travel and traffic considerations depending, i think its a coin flip. However if spousal unit has friends/family visiting, then it’s a no brainer (even if raining 😉).
 
Last edited:
  • Love
  • Haha
Reactions: 1 users

John D 2

Active member

Equipment
B2601 LA435 loader, 54inch MMM, carry all, boom pole, fertilizer spreader.
Jun 6, 2023
138
142
43
Texas
If you drove it and something happened while using it, how would you get back?

Yes, it's a PIA, but just trailer it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

fried1765

Well-known member

Equipment
Kubota L48 TLB, Ford 1920 FEL, Ford 8N, SCAG Liberty Z, Gravely Pro.
Nov 14, 2019
7,847
5,070
113
Eastham, Ma
Thanks all for the advice. Max speed limit is 35 on mostly paved rural NH road. Some sections gravel. I see the opinions vary. All make good points. It is a bit of an ordeal to secure trailer and tractor. DOT wants/prefers 4 pt. chains and binders and FEL secured as well. I was mostly concerned for wear and tear at higher speed but now see the safety concerns expressed. Appreciate advice. Thanks folks.
It's NH ???
35 MP posted?
Drive it!
Everyone else in NH does!
 

chim

Well-known member

Equipment
L4240HSTC with FEL, Ford 1210
Jan 19, 2013
2,147
1,266
113
Near Lancaster, PA, USA
My situation - have full insurance coverage, SMV plaque, additional flashing lights.

I drive mine about 1-1/2 miles to town for plowing and misc. work at our church between 4 and 8 times in a year. So each trip is at least 4 miles round trip counting the usage while in town. Max posted speed limit is 35MPH. Seeing tractors or horse 'n buggies is common.

Tire wear is accelerated on blacktop, but one trip of 12 miles isn't going to cause major wear. The positive camber angle affects wear mostly on the outer edges of the tread of the front tires.

I grooved all four tires about 4 years ago and recently bought a grooving tool to maintain the grooves. The existing grooves on the fronts that were about 1/4" deep in the bars completely disappeared on the outer edges, while the inboard edges looked like they were just done. The grooves on the rears were unaffected.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

hedgerow

Well-known member
Jan 2, 2015
292
256
63
Malcolm NE
Thanks all for the advice. Max speed limit is 35 on mostly paved rural NH road. Some sections gravel. I see the opinions vary. All make good points. It is a bit of an ordeal to secure trailer and tractor. DOT wants/prefers 4 pt. chains and binders and FEL secured as well. I was mostly concerned for wear and tear at higher speed but now see the safety concerns expressed. Appreciate advice. Thanks folks.
With what you said here I wouldn't even think twice about putting it on a trailer. Just get on and drive it. I have farms twenty miles from my home base and drive equipment over there all the time. Just drove the MX6000 over there last week to do some spot spraying. There is a farmer that farms ground in my area that drives equipment over a hundred miles to come into this area. The only piece of equipment I put on a trailer is my skid steer and a couple times over the years I have driven it the twenty miles just because the trailer wasn't handy. Had a friend during COVD drive a tractor five hundred miles round trip to get a planter home he had bought. He couldn't get the trucking set up so he just drove his tractor to go pickup it up. Tractor runs about thirty five miles a hour. Wasn't a bad trip.
 

Russell King

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L185F, Modern Ag Competitor 4’ shredder, Rhino tiller, rear dirt scoop
Jun 17, 2012
5,409
1,442
113
Austin, Texas
If you drive it be sure the brake pedals are locked together if you have two (steering) brake pedals.

If you have all the tie down pieces I would trailer it (safer). Since the speed is so low then getting it tied to the trailer is pr much for showing the police that it is tied down.

If the road has space to get off into the ditch is it legal to drive the ditch?
 

Foxrunfarms

Well-known member

Equipment
Kubota LX2610, 1951 Farmall M, 1967 John Deere 110 Rf, 2010 Arctic Cat 700
Apr 25, 2023
366
522
93
WI
Out of high school I worked for a seed corn research facility. I drove equipment all over. That was with a real tractor and not an over sized lawn mower. I'd take the time and load it up. I drive truck for an imp dealer so I get your point on time of hooking up, and chaining down, but then it's done and safely in your yard not on the side of the road the road trying to winch it on a trailer.

You can be the safest person, take all the safety precations but $h!t can still happen. 2 years ago I was working construction un chaining a skidloader off a trailer on a no name hardly any vehicle street. Harzards on the truck, trailer, cones surrounding the area, men at work sign, vest on and a 16 year old drove through the cones, onto the trailer, came off, ran me over and dragged me. I wasn't even landed from med flight and what was left of my phone I had a voicemail from the parents insurance. Asking if I had a vest on and cones out trying to put the blame on me if I didn't. Luckily I did EVERYTHING correct to cover my backside and my employeer,but I was laid up for 2 years almost lost my hobby farm, drained my savings, and checking accounts, and missed some good times playing with my son. Insurance doesn't make money by paying settlements. Even if someone hit you, you're guilty until proven innocent by Insurance. I look at it as this. If you(anyone) needs to ask if something is a good idea on here it probably isn't...........
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Wow
Reactions: 1 users

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25DLB
Feb 9, 2021
5,388
6,465
113
NW Montana
Have L6060 I need to move to my house from woodlot 12 miles away. Top speed 17 mph. Back roads, at that speed 42 minutes. I have a trailer but loading and chaining it up, hitching to truck, and then unloading is time consuming ( estimate 90 minutes at best). Would you drive it or trailer it? Thanks.
I've driven my MX6000 to the local dealer and back once, and the M6060 at least three times, but it's only 3 miles one way and mostly gravel. I would have no concerns driving the L6060 12 miles even though it's going to take a while, but trailering seems to be the better idea.