Equipment Hauler

Chris Schultz

Chris Schultz

Carpal tunnel level member
Location
Minturn
That time of the year, I need to think about spending some money to reduce my tax burden…. I’ve been hauling my mini skid and ground pro in the dump trailer… it’s not an ideal setup, but it works. Loading the machine can get quite tippy, and sooner or later it’s going to be a recipe for disaster…. Also having to double back after a job to retrieve the machine sucks. I’m thinking about getting a deck over tilt deck trailer to haul the ctx100, 4x8’ ground pro, and a few attachments for the mini. My thought is the stack of mats can be perpendicular to the trailer, and manually slid off onto the minis forks, or two parallel bunks at front of trailer to be picked with forks from the mini(from the sides). My concern with that is the room lengthwise and the weight distribution/space with the mini behind the 8’ mats…. Also: are people using forks to load/unload their mats? I can’t imagine it not working, but have no real world experience or witness of.

What trailers are people using for this type of transportation? Are deck over tilts worth it? Hydraulic or gravity tilt? Any brands to stay away from or gravitate towards? Haven’t done a whole lot of thinking or shopping around, but figured this think tank would be a good place to cast my nets.
 
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How will that save you from having to double back to pick up that trailer? Do you have an extra truck that is always on site that you will be towing the new equipment trailer?

I've actually thought I would prefer a flatbed truck that sits low to the ground like an NPR with smaller wheel diameters instead of another trailer. Bonus: I'm really helping you save tax dollars now!

The best thing about a tilt trailer in my opinion would be not having to deal with the ramps. But any equipment trailer that has ramps that are easy to use isn't a big step backwards.

Have you tried tipping your dump bed back a little bit before loading the machine? Makes it a little bit less dramatic. I also bought aluminum ramps that are 7 ft long instead of the standard 6 ft long that came with my dump trailer. Much easier to move and that extra foot really does change the angle to make loading a lot more comfortable... But now you going to have to go spend money somewhere else to save on taxes!
 
Slightly boost the base of the ramps if the ramps are short. One or two 2-by's


Buy better/ longer ramps. ???

I load mine into my chip truck at 44", 10' ramps directly on the ground.
 
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@ATH yeah two trucks…. If I were to add a third it would be a chip truck, which I’m not quite sure I’m ready to dive into that deep end this season.
 
If you are thinking tilt deck, look into a low profile tilt deck with a fixed section in the front. Or a deck over flatbed with a dovetail and full width ramps. We have one of those, a dozen mats sit up on the front quite nicely. If you put four pieces of angle iron vertical in the front, you can simply grab the mats with a grapple and carry them around that way. No need to put on forks. Or you can make a fork friendly rack to carry around, but that is probably too heavy for your CTX100.

As for brand, Belmont is my favorite, Pequea is second. Stay away from B-Wise.
 
I dont know how many mats you have, but my mt100 can handle 12 mats easily with forks. Going up and down ramps, you'll likely want to wrap them with a tie down strap or build a rack to have them in, to prevent the mats from sliding.

Have you considered an enclosed trailer? I use an enclosed car hauler, it has a beefier ramp than a standard enclosed trailer as well as being wider. It works great for me for a mini, attachments, ground protection and other tree tools. Its also nice to keep the mini protected in bad weather if your not parking in a shop, which is my case.
 
I've been very happy with Appalachian Trailer, but they don't have a dealer network so you have to get it from eastern Ohio or western PA...
 
Jehinten said:
I dont know how many mats you have, but my mt100 can handle 12 mats easily with forks. Going up and down ramps, you'll likely want to wrap them with a tie down strap or build a rack to have them in, to prevent the mats from sliding.

Have you considered an enclosed trailer? I use an enclosed car hauler, it has a beefier ramp than a standard enclosed trailer as well as being wider. It works great for me for a mini, attachments, ground protection and other tree tools. Its also nice to keep the mini protected in bad weather if your not parking in a shop, which is my case.
Click to expand...
20251112_200351.webp

A quick image of my trailer tonight. Some stuff is just thrown in, but you get the gist.

Currently loaded up is 12 4X8mats, bobcat 100, bmg and scoops, bmg rake, shelving for saws climbing/rigging gear, polesaw and axe storage on the wall and a workbench with vise in the front for saw maintenance and sharpening. It is quite literally a rolling shop. In this pic there is also an ibc tote full of topsoil (stump grinding cleanup today) smooth bucket and pallet forks.

The ramp is about 6 feet long, combined with a low deck height, it has a very shallow ramp angle. So much easier than the 10' ramps up to the truck bed that I used to do.
 
This setup works very well (not mine, belongs to a guy that I sub for): PXL_20240520_221713185.webp
What I like is that it's very simple and streamlined, fits mats on forks, hitch receiver, light material bucket and machine w/grapple. For a mini, you could definitely downsize a bit (but consider buying slightly larger than you need right now in case you buy a larger machine in the future). Regarding the specific trailer type, I do believe this is best for a dedicated machine hauling setup, as there is no interference between a tilt deck and mat storage. Additionally, it is good for the fold down ramps to have integrated supporting legs as in the picture so that the machine can be loaded/unloaded without being hitched in a pinch (these are much quicker than the telescoping ones typically on dump trailers, and your crew can't not use them as they are integrated into the ramps).

The only benefit I have seen of using a tilt deck instead is that it can give the flexibility to haul both grinder and machine on a single trailer, those trailers are much more expensive though and while more versatile, are not as good for pure machine hauling as the optimized and compact setup pictured above.

Regarding weight distribution, it's not particularly problematic as you can easily get enough weight forward with the mats, and if the mats are off for one reason or another, you can just drive the machine further forward.
 
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southsoundtree said:
I envy that setup, except it's too long for so many of my sites.
Click to expand...
This one is a 16' car hauler, it has a longer tounge than most (about 21' total length I think), which is nice for making sure it doesn't get hit by the grapple truck when jack knifing. Also the extra room for a 36 gallon diesel tank on the tounge is great as the mini only has a 7 gallon tank.

My total length setup is about 55 feet with truck and trailer. Any longer and I wouldn't be able to get it backed in off of my road. Very rarely I need to get this rig into a driveway that I can't make it into. At those times I unhook and use the mini to back the trailer, then back the truck in.
 
I’d consider a flatbed truck. Wood and debris can go in the dump trailer and the mini can go on the flatbed.
A short flatbed tow truck would be slick.
My next addition is likely to be a 4x4 flatbed (possibly a fuso). Ideally with a 185cfm compressor, and aiming for an easy swap dump insert mounted.
The thought is a Swiss Army knife setup. The mini could swap the compressor and dump insert on and off. Be hauled on the flatbed or trailer and the little chipper can be hauled as the job requires.
 
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