Trailer Pulling

[GeorgiaLandscaper]

The best thing I ever did is to have my trailer made extra wide. It is 83" x 16'. I can put a 44'' and a 36" side by side and still have 12' of trailler floor to spare. I also haul pinestraw aot, and you will be amazed of how much more pinestraw the wider trailer will hold.

[jgc8fan]

Thanks for the advice. Decided to hang on to the GMC. Its a 2500 series and has a towing capacity of around 5700 lbs. Plenty there , just will have to see how the backing up goes. I figure you can always have someone help direct , unless you are a do-it-yourselfer.

WJTONER

Also agree with Mr Piedra... With that Van (conversion or cargo???) you could just use ramps and put everything in there. If it's conversion I'd remove the seats and put something down to protect the carpeting like one of those big rubber truck bed mats, and not worry about a trailer until you get more stuff and really need it. If it's a cargo van then you are set.

[WJTONER]

Yes its a cargo van with rubber matting . I have been driving a ztr mower up into the van plus there is just enough room left for a push mower , trimmers ,etc.
I made some ramps out of 2 x 6 's plus a plywood sheet over top of that.
The 2x6 board ramps were fine for a conventional mower but a ztr is a little more "touchy" to drive up, so the added the plywood gives you more allowance
for "zigzagging"
The only thing needed to be done is pull the grass deflector up to clear van compartment. This has worked great for getting into tough parking areas, but is a little more time consuming to load and unload. And we all have heard time is money.
Finally an emergency winch was rigged up incase of a mower breakdown.
Maybe if something works dont fix it, but it seems that this set up is limiting
opportunities.

W Toner

[rjlmob1]

I love my 1996 Toyota T100. It's got over 280,000 miles on it. I've owned it from new and I haven't done much more than a couple tune-ups, and tires, brakes, and reg maintenance. I have a 12' trailer that I pull, and it pulls it fine, the V-6 is a workhorse. Now I'm looking at a ramp for winter for my snowblower. I like Ultimate Ramps, from all the ramps I've looked at. They are on and off in minutes, I can still pull my trailer, and they seem sturdy...But that was another post today!
Anyway, that's what I have.
Rob

[dvon104]

Lorenzo..I called the handyramp comp....I could buy a used 5x8 or5x10 trailer for what those things cost ...one for My Tundra was 695.00 + tax and 200.00+ for shipping..I just thoght that was kinda of high ..but its a hell of an Idea

[jgc8fan]

The van is a good idea to keep... Some days you may have a light workload, and it would be easier than messing with a trailer... Wish we had a ramp last Friday... We only had 3 yards that the customers require us to use 21" mower, and one yard that needed the 36". I was wishing we had a ramp, and could put the 36" into the truck rather than towing 2000 lbs of trailer and equipment just for 1 yard.

Don't know what kind of grass you cut with your ZTR (whether you can mulch or need to discharge), but we took our discharge chute off, and put on a mulch plate... Saved at least 10" on the width of the mower, and even about 3"-4" narrower than with the chute folded up. Saves space, and it makes more of a difference than you'd think.

[Ric]

The other day I saw a new Dodge high top work van that had a Mercedes 4 cylinder Diesel engine. The guys driving it said it got 22 MPG and had all the pep or power you would want in a work truck. They were using it for installing Commercial glass doors in a store. I couldn't help but look at it and think how Great a work truck it would make with the 60 inch wide back door. The High top means you can stand up right while inside. BTW it also had a very low floor to the ground compared to a pick up truck.

[Mike J]

I am seriously considering the small step van. Rolling billboard and lots of room.

[rjlmob1]

How does the Handyramp attach, is it bolted on, or can it simply be removed? That's one reason I liked what I saw with the Ultimate Ramp. I saw it on a truck hauling an ATV, and as I was looking it over, the guy came out from the gas station and showed me the thing. I like the fact it just slips into the receiver. I want to call handyramp tomorrow and get info. I want to look at all the options, and hear from others what the best ramp is.

Rob

[WJTONER]

Yeah the van has made sort of a nitche iin the market here since alot of these propeties are not trailer friendly and a rider makes knocks the job out in a fraction of the time a push mower would take. These properties are mainly bank owned overgrown and need something with sharp blades and hp to get through.
And yeah like Lorenzo commented a handi ramp would probably be safer than plywood and 2 x 6 homemade ramps. These were basically temporary to see if it would work, It does but there is a trade off . No trailer to drag around, ease of parking , less wear on brakes, probably more secure for equiptment -especially running into the hardware store for some spark plug or trimmer head. .....but it takes longer to load/ unload, van must be emptied for other jobs, and its a higher ramp.
Decisions..... Decisions... thanks for the ramp idea.. will defenelty look into it, and not worry too much on price, safety first, plus a nice tax deducition
vs. the time spend fabricating homemade ramps.

By the way Mercedes powered vans are diesel ane very expensive. Fedex loves them around here and they probably have done some homework on it. Diesels I hear can easily give excess of a million miles in its life and added to that the savings in gas these expensive vans may pay off many times over in the long run.
Well worth looking into.

Where is Spring... counting the days
WTONER

[WJTONER]

Just thinking about that handi ramp idea with a van . Instead of a trailer maybe the ramp could be put on roof racks? Although rusted roof rack clamps and a sudden traffic stop could get ugly.

[EPSON]

Me my Van and my Toys

Also agree with Mr Piedra... With that Van (conversion or cargo???) you could just use ramps and put everything in there. If it's conversion I'd remove the seats and put something down to protect the carpeting like one of those big rubber truck bed mats, and not worry about a trailer until you get more stuff and really need it. If it's a cargo van then you are set.

True, I have a 83 chevy conversion van that I am going to use this next mowing seasen. I took all of the seats out except for the drivers and passenger seats, I can fit my Dixie Chopper ZTR (I just got today!) with a 42 inch cut, A husky mower that I will be using as a backup mower, 2 weedeaters (I put racks inside) my tools and leaf blower and I still have a little room to spare. I can drive it all in the van with a set of ramps I got. I got lucky on this deal, because the van was my dads and he gave it to me cause he got a new truck, so all I had to do was put a transmission in it. I found one for $250 dollars at the junk yard and the van runs fine now. however it does bot get more the 12mpg. Oh well, I don't have to buy a trailor which is good because I don't have any money for one. But I am just trying to make it like the rest of you, I am 17 and 2006 will be my second full mowing seasen. So good luck to every one else out there suiting up for next summer.

A question: I bought that dixie chopper ZTR used today, There is a used lawn equipment down the road from my house and I know the guy who runs it, well it is a 2000 model that I believe has been used commercially its entire life, It has brand new belts and blades, a 18 horse Kohler engine that looks like it has a lot of life left in it, the pumps seemed to pull well, the body is solid and it is a hydro. There is no hour meter. I paid $1060.00 for it, I was just wanting to know if that was a fair price, I thought it was but am curiouse what some of you guys think. It was also the perfect size to fit inside my van. Would any of you guys payed that price?

---Markus
Marks Lawn Care Service.

[jmcclurelandscape]

Why don't you just go get a nice "Real Truck" like a Chevy 1500 or dodge or something. Your only fooling yourself getting one of those Japanese "Car Trucks". Your running a commercial lawn business right? Gte a Commercial truck 1500 or 150 is the minimum.

[rjlmob1]

A "Real Truck"...Chevy...No! Dodge...I hope you don't mean an American truck! Ford, yeah I got one, a 2004 F350, its nice. My 2003 Tundra, LOVE it, it's actually the wife's truck. It pulls a trailer beautifully. My daily driver, the 1996 T100 I mentioned earlier. I put gas in it, change the oil once in a while, and it's had a couple sets of tires, and a couple tune-ups. It's work ready. I'll put My Japanese "Car Truck" up against any half ton out there, and as for the Tundra, it beats the big three, and it's made in Indiana! I don't know about your commericial business, but, my business is about QUALITY!

Rob.

[dvon104]

Rob...I agree ... Tundra is a nice truck .....I bought a 2005 in July ...was rear ended by a Dodge 1500 on Sept 12 ...800.00 damage to the Dodge...3400.00 to my Tundra...but I still would rather have my Tundra then a Dodge ...it pulls my 14' trailer loaded with out missing a beat...but if I was loaded like some on this forum I'd get the chevy 2500 duramax crew cab.