Dbluff
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Was looking if anyone is towing around their equipment with Deuces? I have a 28k lbs excavator and just checking on mostly flat ground around town if the deuce LDT engine can handle this or not?
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Towing 30k lbs?
- Thread starter Dbluff
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Only if your trailer has good brakes.
Best if they are air w/spring brakes, as your truck is designed to work with them.
If so, install a "Johnny bar" to be able to use them without pedal. That really helps in some cases like fishtailing or loading/unloading.
If not, there are cylinders available to use the air to set hydraulic brakes (even the M105 trailer has that).
Best if they are air w/spring brakes, as your truck is designed to work with them.
If so, install a "Johnny bar" to be able to use them without pedal. That really helps in some cases like fishtailing or loading/unloading.
If not, there are cylinders available to use the air to set hydraulic brakes (even the M105 trailer has that).
I am assuming you are talking about on a pintle?
You have a 28k excavator plus a trailer that weighs at least 10k.
Stupid to do, especially on a road with air over hydraulic brakes.
Then If the pintle weight doesnt wheelie the Deuce it would pull it. In low range.
5 tons max out their pintle towing at 30k. Just to give a comparison
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Good advice, Simp.
Dbluff
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Ok, thanks. I have seen my same Excavator pulled by single axle small dump trucks. Figured it may be close in a weight comparison balance. Again only on pretty flat ground around town at low speeds 45mph or lower. Just seeing if I could use the deuce for some work here and there, not daily.
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I wouldn't do it. Two main reasons -
1) the potential for badness with any kind of brake glitch is high. Trailer brakes being full airbrake with springbrakes will go a long way to mitigate this.
2) the clutch in your deuce will be unhappy.
1) the potential for badness with any kind of brake glitch is high. Trailer brakes being full airbrake with springbrakes will go a long way to mitigate this.
2) the clutch in your deuce will be unhappy.
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Yeah you need a 5 ton for that. You need big weight and big power to pull 40k around town.
Mark
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I feel qualified to chime in, because somehow I find myself in situations where I have to do shady stuff.
- can the LDT pull a 14t excavator plus float trailer (tandem axle, I suspect)? Yes. The LDT will be able to get going on flat ground in low range in first gear and your clutch better be good.
- can the Deuce STOP a 19t towed load? Not safely. I would say NO, unless the trailer has fully functional air brakes and spring brakes (as already laid out above). In fact, you want the Deuce brakes to do as little of the braking as possible when set up with a heavy trailer. The Deuce weighs 6t empty. I would not trust the Deuce parking brake with that trailer weight for loading/unloading or, forbid, for any emergency stopping attempt.
- will you do 45 mph? After prolonged periods of flooring it, you might eventually arrive at that speed. I would not recommend it. It will be scary. I pulled a 5ton wrecker once. Reminded me of why pulling a really heavy load with a really not heavy tow vehicle is thrilling. But I had to do shady stuff, so.... In short, I would stay in low range and definitely not go 45mph. Low range should get you up to 30. See how that feels.....
- The Deuce pintle is rated for 5 tons. The data plate on the dash indicates that what you are hitching up far exceeds the numbers on the data plate. People of the enforcement persuasion might find this interesting. Take that whichever way you want.
Tomorrow I go drag a CAT323 excavator (25t) on a tri-axle float trailer with lift axle (6t). Pintle towed but I tow it with a triaxle dump truck that weighs 13t empty. This rig would be road legal here at 72t total weight (9t per axle). I did that once (triaxle almost fully loaded and towing said excavator). Could eat half a sandwich between one gear shift and the next!
- can the LDT pull a 14t excavator plus float trailer (tandem axle, I suspect)? Yes. The LDT will be able to get going on flat ground in low range in first gear and your clutch better be good.
- can the Deuce STOP a 19t towed load? Not safely. I would say NO, unless the trailer has fully functional air brakes and spring brakes (as already laid out above). In fact, you want the Deuce brakes to do as little of the braking as possible when set up with a heavy trailer. The Deuce weighs 6t empty. I would not trust the Deuce parking brake with that trailer weight for loading/unloading or, forbid, for any emergency stopping attempt.
- will you do 45 mph? After prolonged periods of flooring it, you might eventually arrive at that speed. I would not recommend it. It will be scary. I pulled a 5ton wrecker once. Reminded me of why pulling a really heavy load with a really not heavy tow vehicle is thrilling. But I had to do shady stuff, so.... In short, I would stay in low range and definitely not go 45mph. Low range should get you up to 30. See how that feels.....
- The Deuce pintle is rated for 5 tons. The data plate on the dash indicates that what you are hitching up far exceeds the numbers on the data plate. People of the enforcement persuasion might find this interesting. Take that whichever way you want.
Tomorrow I go drag a CAT323 excavator (25t) on a tri-axle float trailer with lift axle (6t). Pintle towed but I tow it with a triaxle dump truck that weighs 13t empty. This rig would be road legal here at 72t total weight (9t per axle). I did that once (triaxle almost fully loaded and towing said excavator). Could eat half a sandwich between one gear shift and the next!
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Dbluff
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Ok, so Deuce is setup for 10k lbs, hmmm seems low for a military vehicle, but understand it’s older and had a purpose probably for troop hauling and resupply of light duty things.
I will keep it as is, for light duty and fun
I will keep it as is, for light duty and fun
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10k in the bed and 10k towed. Just peek at the data plate. Agreed that the truck (frame, axles) can handle more; the ancient brake system not so much and the low power to weight ratio would be suicidal in today's traffic at max weights.
HDN
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I think you'll enjoy it more that way too
I'd be hesitant to use anything but a civvy truck to tow something like that, unless I really need AWD. Then I'd consider one of the heavy military trucks.
Would any of the military tractor cabs be able to tow like this with the pintle, or does the trailer load need to be on the 5th wheel?
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The 939series is a different animal entirely.
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msgjd
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1: you should be more concerned about stopping power and pintle capacity .. you have plenty of gears for that engine to get you anywhere you need with that load, you have low range all the way up into 5th (@30mph) before you hit the high side of the xfer case to go any faster , but a deuce is only rated at 10k towed pintle load highway .. 5-ton M39-series and M809-series is 30k towed pintle load highway .. Bad me, I have towed a beavertail load of 34k with a M52 (tractor) instead of the M51 (dump) in order to have better control of the trailer load and the "overloaded" pintle connection... Had anything broken, we all know right where the liability would have been placed
2: If you do choose to use a (pre-M900 series) 5-ton to tow a tag-along, you will want very good air brakes on that trailer, preferably maxi's in case something goes very wrong on the head end
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I've never been accused of being smart when it comes to towing. Many will speak about the things I've done towing with various MVs. From pulling a LTMV trailer caged behind a CUCV, to towing a 21K ditch witch on a gooseneck behind it.
But I've done these things out of necessity, not willingness. A LDT powered deuce has enough work just moving itself down the road. Go from 13K to 51k and you're gonna push well past any safety limit. If you want to tow that with a MV, find a M915 or something more suited to towing that kinda weight.
But I've done these things out of necessity, not willingness. A LDT powered deuce has enough work just moving itself down the road. Go from 13K to 51k and you're gonna push well past any safety limit. If you want to tow that with a MV, find a M915 or something more suited to towing that kinda weight.