When I go back east this October on leave before deploying to the Gulf, my folks are planning on renting a backhoe to get some bigger digging jobs around the house done...would you pull a backhoe with a 2500 given the trailer has good brakes on it? It will be a fairly windy mountain road so I won't be going fast at all...but would you all feel safe is what I'm asking?

 

If the trailer is long enough to balance the tongue wt you may be ok.

Bob

 

Does the road have any grades in it? I moved a case 580 with my 2500 around 10 miles round trip, I wouldn't have done it if there were any hills involved. But I didn't really trust the trailer brakes either.

 

Just thinking of the nightmare of breaking an axle or transmission on a narrow windy road would be enough to motivate me to pay the rental company to deliver it . Will you have an experienced operator ? An experienced operator from an excavating company may do the job better , faster , and cheaper .

 

Yeah, there will be some hills involved some of them are a little on the steeper side. Like I said, its a mountain road...no yellow lines or anything...just back country. That 580 is pretty big...probably about 16k itself, huh?

 

My dad is an experienced heavy equipment operator...He has a '99 CTD, but it has so many miles on it that I wouldn't consider putting 20K+/- behind it...just thought I would see if any of ya'll would do it.

 

Something else to consider is the way the backhoe is chained down. You've got to know how to properly use chain, chain binders and attachment points to keep equipment from moving on the bed of the trailer. Trust me, it's not like strapping down a motorcycle in the bed of your pickup. If you're not sure or know exactly how to do all of this stuff, maybe you shoud leave it for a professional low-bed driver. JMHO

 

I'm a CASE salesman and I wouldn't recommend it, but I see all day every day. Granted where I'm at we have no hills. If the brakes are in fact good I think you will be ok if you have to hook to it.

 

Yep, we know how to tie loads down...if we still had it, we would just use the old International 9100 dump truck we used to have...but unfortunately we don't have it anymore...I was just curious if the Dodge could handle it.

 

i would do it! if your scared get a ford

brett

 

i've seen it done but i wouldnt do it unless you were in a 3500

 

MY father owns two small country funeral homes and has a backhoe for obvious reasons. He pulls it on farm to market and county roads all the time with a 93 D-250 cummins auto. That is the only thing that truck does, it hardly ever gets unhooked frim the gooseneck. I dont think you will have any problems at all as long as you don't drive like an idiot.

 

I think it was right around 18,000 for the hoe and 5,000 for the trailer. Going up the hills isn't a big deal, down on the other hand would be scary

 

I would hook to it but I would also be very cautious. It sounds like you know the problems that could arise and the fact that you are concerned tells me that you would most likely drive very cautiously.

If you have towed big loads before then go for it.

 

no, to big,