Loading tractors on pick-ups

[Buzz 502]

  How many here ride their tractor up the ramps and how many walk it up? How many have had a ramp kick out or the tractor come off the ramps while loading with you on it?     Did you learn anything?

  I walk the tractor up in 1st gear while walking beside it. When it gets in the bed I just slap it out of gear then shut it off. I used to walk behind the tractor until one time I slapped it too hard and put it into reverse. Next thing I knew, the tractor was pushing me backwards as it came back down the ramps.   So, being that it out weighed me I let it do what it wanted. I then tried it again, walking next to it, and didn't slap it quite as hard. I guess if I was a tractor, I'd try to run over the SOB that slapped me too.

 

 

[smoreau 658]

I guess I got really lucky with the first parade I had the 875 in. We got there 1/2 hour early and the parade officials made us rush to get unloaded and the ramp slid off the trailer that was about 14" from the ground. the tractor rolled over right on of top of me. I was very lucky I was not hurt at all, but did get the blood flowing quits fast. If it wasn't for the stack muffler, I think the outcome would have been much different. This was 2 weeks after I had finished the restore on it and did do some real damage to the tractor. I know walk along side of the tractor and have made pins in my ramps that fit into holes in the tail gate so the ramps can not come out. Lesson learned and I warn every one I see trying to ride a tractor up a set of ramps.

 

 

I think that could have avoided all this damage if I wasn't in a rush and walked next to the tractor.

Edited January 22, 2014 by smoreau

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,300]

Gave up loading the bed of my truck with tractors years ago because of stories like that. All tractors ride in a small landscape trailer now.

Mike...........

[Kennedy 90]

I have only loaded and unloaded my tractor once. Both times I walked next to it and luckily I did so. When I was loading it the ramp didn't kick out but the cables holding the tailgate broke. The tractor managed to stay in the truck but it was an eye opener. I have a trailer now.

[leeave96 487]

I use to load my 314-8 into the back of my old Nissan truck. It will fit between the wheel wells with a 36 inch RD deck. The only way I use ramps now is if I can back the truck's rear into a ditch or low spot and basically have a foot or less height.

[sorekiwi 761]

Yep, I have driven them up the ramps but it scared me a lot.  I then thought to walk beside the tractor as you described.  A lot better, but I still don't like it much.  I much prefer loading a trailer

 

To be honest, the last 1/2 dozen tractors I have loaded have all been either engineless or non running.  More work pushing them up the ramps, but much less scary as well!

[dodgemike 52]

A friend of mine wound up witn a

500 series JD on top of him ! Ramps

Kicked off the tailgate. Thank God

People were there to help. I don't

Think he could have gotten out

From under it by himself. I like

The landscape trailer as wel.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

[Buzz 502]

 When I was loading it the ramp didn't kick out but the cables holding the tailgate broke.

 

That's another thing, I've heard someone say to unhook the cables so that the tailgate  hangs down and put the end of the ramps directly on the bed. Never tried it, don't know if the tailgate would hang down far enough for the ramps to clear or if it would damage the tailgate. Anyone?

[C-85 681]

I have either helped or loaded many tractors in the back of pickups and this has resulted in many mishaps.

 

Being a dealer (a long time ago) and selling and fixing all brands, we had a lot of customers drop off and pick up their tractors. 

 

Loading into pickups, especially higher 4wd ones is really difficult because the deck always catches on the way up or down on the top ends of the ramps, and then the tractors tires spin, which often kicks one or both of the ramps out.  Then gravity takes over real quick!

 

It seems like the newer pickups are all getting taller and higher off the ground, which makes loading anything in them harder.  I guess the taller trucks look tougher, but for me I like the older ones that had smaller tires, instead of these monster trucks.  Can anyone remember when 15" was the standard size for 1/2 ton trucks? What is with all these huge tires!

To try to make it easier many folks put their tailgates all the way down, but this damages some of the gates where they hit the rear bumper.

 

Unless you can secure the ramps to the truck with a pin or something, it is very likely that they'll let you down!

 

When I've had to transport a tractor I try to get near a rise or bank that I can back up to, to cut the angle of the ramps to make it easier to load. 

 

Like other members, I also use a trailer that is quite low to the ground that works good.

 

The ramps I've got are made out of 2X10X8 boards that I painted with sand in the paint, so they're rough for better traction.  These have "Ramparts" on the tops of them and they work pretty well if the angle of them is right.

 

Just some of my experiences :)

 

C-85

[Coadster32 793]

I've had ramps kick out on me loading a snowmobile in my p/u truck once. I was looking straight up at the sky!!  I try to load only on my trailer...lesson learned for sure.

 

I like the "pin the ramps" idea.

[baerpath 517]

I used to load by walking next to the tractor and just shut it off when the rear wheeks got onto the truck bed, and then pushing it the rest of the way. Now I use a small winch from Harbor freight. Trying to push a non running D 250 up the ramps was a little much. Now I just stand to the side and use the winch. I also use the aluminum arched ramps so less chance of the decks catching.

[AMC RULES 37,125]

Ramps or an embankment to raise the front wheels of the truck will help too...

lowers the approach angle of the loading ramps into the bed of the truck(less incline is safer) 

You never want to stand beside the tractor while it's going up into the bed, if it slips and falls, bet your bippy...it'll be on top of you.

I typically use first gear and goodly amount of throttle to ensure it gets up the ramps, into the bed the first time, and I walk up behind, following the tractor up the ramps makes it easier to get to the key as soon as the rear wheels leave the ramps into the bed. No slapping it into neutral, and then turning off the key either. Just turn it off in gear...stops dead.

Seems to me it would be safer backing it up the ramps too, but I have yet to experiment with that thought.  

[6.0 powerstroke 62]

I use 10 or 12" x 8' planks, with the tail gate removed so they rest on the bumper , and almost line up with the bed. at some point I may get ramp ends for them

I always try to load down hill when ever possible

I've only done gear drive tractors , so pushing them up has worked so far , a second set of hands makes it much easier

if I had to move them on a regular basis , a winch would be the way to go for sure!

[tunahead72 2,400]

I don't have a pickup any more, and I'm feeling really lazy right now, so I'm going to steal something I wrote here a couple of years ago on the same topic...

 

I'm a big fan of laying your ramps on the bed of the truck, not on the tailgate.  Tailgates have a weight limit, which assumes that both cables (or whatever) are in top condition.  Factor in the weight of a Wheel Horse tractor, plus the weight of a driver if you're so inclined, and consider the possibility that one or both of those cables could be badly rusted (with that rust hidden inside some rubber tubing), and you've got a recipe for disaster.  I still cringe when I see ads for factory-made ramp end kits showing guys driving tractors or motorcycles onto a tailgate, brings back a really bad memory.

 

And take the tailgate off -- it may be heavy, so get a helper if you need to, but it's much lighter than a Wheel Horse tractor sitting on your chest.

 

I'll be back in a minute with a link to another thread that discusses some of these same issues.

 

--------

 

I'm back, here's the thread I was thinking about:

 

 

Edited January 22, 2014 by tunahead72

[can whlvr 993]

I was loading a very large roll of 200 amp underground wire once,the cables broke,the roll ran me over,if I had of been the age I am now I would have been hurt very badly,ive dropped a few tractors off the ramps,broke the tie rods on my 414,i try to use my tandem trailer when I can

[bowtieguy 334]

I know of an accident where ONE skid came off the tailgate...tractor flipped upside down and killed the driver...I don't think TSC even lets their employees or customers load a lawn mower anymore without using a platform on the forks of a forlift......

 

I don't even own any kind of ramps now......another stupid move is let a kid ride on your lap while mowing...I know of the 3 yrs old that fell off and it cut the heel off of his foot.....don't you know his dad will hate that move the rest of his life!

[IthacaJeff 151]

I don't like to admit it because it shows the same stupidity I get on my kids' cases about, but

I've had 2 mishaps. One was on steel store bought ramps, one on 2 x 8 planks. With the ramps,

both slid off the truck at the same time when I was about half way down -- I slammed down hard

with the 416 -- but the tractor suffered not a scratch. The other time with the planks, one slid and

hung up the tractor on the rear axle. I was stuck suspended halfway between the ground and

my truck bed. Incredibly fortunate that I got hung up rather than tipping over.

 

Haven't loaded a tractor in a couple of years, but I'm looking for a trailer!

 

Jeff

[chazm 413]

I have a H/F 4x8 cheap azz trailer that I used for years & a set of these ti-fold ramps with chains to secure them to where ever you need to. I wouldn't even try to load a tractor on a pickup now a days for all the above reasons... but if that's all you got to use, please do it safely 

 

Great set up & safe... 

 

 

Edited January 27, 2014 by chazm

[n1defan 47]

I guess I got really lucky with the first parade I had the 875 in. We got there 1/2 hour early and the parade officials made us rush to get unloaded and the ramp slid off the trailer that was about 14" from the ground. the tractor rolled over right on of top of me. I was very lucky I was not hurt at all, but did get the blood flowing quits fast. If it wasn't for the stack muffler, I think the outcome would have been much different. This was 2 weeks after I had finished the restore on it and did do some real damage to the tractor. I know walk along side of the tractor and have made pins in my ramps that fit into holes in the tail gate so the ramps can not come out. Lesson learned and I warn every one I see trying to ride a tractor up a set of ramps.

 

 

I think that could have avoided all this damage if I wasn't in a rush and walked next to the tractor.

What about when you tried unloading the 875 off of the side of the trailer with out a Ramp!   oops not tried did!

[redrooster 83]

I put eyelet screws into the bottom of my wood ramps and than attach tie down straps to the trailer hitch safety chain holes. This keeps the ramps secure.

[tunahead72 2,400]

I have a H/F 4x8 cheap azz trailer that I used for years & a set of these ti-fold ramps with chains to secure them to where ever you need to. I wouldn't even try to load a tractor on a pickup now a days for all the above reasons... but if that's all you got to use, please do it safely 

 

Great set up & safe... 

 

 

 

I like this idea a lot.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but I wonder if the chains and hooks are beefy enough to withstand several hundred pounds of man and tractor moving around on the ramps?

[Uncle Buck 246]

I have loaded plenty into trucks, but I always look for the help of the ditch and I have never tried riding one up the ramp. I always figure the deck is going to drag so I usually have at least another set of hands to help muscle them up the rest of the way.

It sounds like my mistrust of driving up the ramps has been wise judging from the stories I read here!