I am thinking about buying a fifty. Weighs in about 18000 and is about 200 miles from the house. I have access to a gooseneck rated at 10 tons and a dodge 3/4 ton diesel. I hate to have to hire a truck as an extra expense. Just wondering from anybodys personel experience if this is crazy.

I guess the main question is if you are comfortable doing it? Is it hilly? Are you going to destroy your trucks brakes and tranny? 3/4 ton is a very light truck. I have a one ton SRW, and 10,000 lbs bumper trailer is a lot of weight to pull and stop. Things are much more strict here in the east- you would need a CDL in PA for that load. Those big goosenecks are normally for 1 tons with duallys!

hello Jbayer go big and live , lol,
gas fifty =18080 pound ,diesel =20250 pounds,

with the price of fuel it maybe cheaper to use bigger truck than the smaller one,bruce oz

I know what your saying. The thing is I would have to hire a truck to move it plus the price of diesel. It is a little hilly drive but I do have a manual transmission with no power chip. Gona stay off the interstates and hopefully take it easy. Sunday morning there shouldn't be to much traffic. I do have a CDL but lack a truck or trialer. Want to get back home before the roads get too hot and melt the tires down. Another thing is the location would be next to impossible to get truck in. Nothing close by to pull it to the road. Not sure what to do yet. Thanks for the input!!!!

We hauled a Cat 60 behind a 3/4 ton Ford using a triple axle pintle hitch trailer. Waaayyy to much for the entire outfit and only went on back roads for the trip. Went about 15 miles or so and decided that was the last time to do that before something really stupid happens. All went well without any trouble but it felt like it was just around the corner (trouble). Anyway we hire the bigger ones hauled now.

Regards, Gene

I would weigh the options. Say you move it successfully without incident, save some transportation expense, and have a good story about bringing the Fifty home. It could work out for you.

On the other hand, towing for 200 miles in an overloaded truck does present some potential risks. Don't get me wrong I'm not doubting your abilities, many times it's the other guy on the road at the same time that is the problem. In the event of an accident there are plenty of people out there that will find any excuse to take legal action, that really heavy looking trailer may be all they need. Then legal fees, wondering if the insurance will cover this, etc. Lots of money and time wasted.

If it was me I would hire it out and turn my attention towards solving the loading issue. We hauled a load one time so big one of the axles on the old trailer bowed in the middle until the inside of one tire was smoking against the frame. Luckily we had a spare tire that was slightly smaller, we put it on and gained the necessary clearance. Had to be quick because even with blocking under it the jack kept sinking in the soft dirt road shoulder. If we weren't going only six miles we never would have tried it. Since then putting some extra money on the table for peace of mind seems like a good investment. Either way I wish you good luck in getting the old Cat home!

Hire someone with an oilfield winch truck and a float. A Fifty is way too heavy to be hauled with a 3/4 ton and gooseneck trailer that long of a distance. Just my two cents with that model of tractor.

"steeltracs" wrote:

Hire someone with an oilfield winch truck and a float. A Fifty is way too heavy to be hauled with a 3/4 ton and gooseneck trailer that long of a distance. Just my two cents with that model of tractor.

Steeltracs, has the right idea with the oilfield winch truck and float. he could even load it with the winch if need be.
Kelly

I would pay for the move, The cost of having an accident and destroying the whole mess settles that. I have a diesel 50 and I move it one a 20 tag or lowbed. It is a heavy machine and when you put 20,000 lbs on top of a weighing 4,000 lbs, it just is not safe. We do some silly things in the east with moving big machines on these hills and I have been in texas and seen guys pulling a backhoe on a gooseneck trailer down the highway at 70 mph. How do you stop in a hurry. I have a hard time stopping 125,000 lbs with my big lowbed and tractor.

200 miles with hills. Scarry. 25 miles on the flat, I would ok go for it. Down hills with that much weight will be a bit risky. You would want slow and easy with that big a load.