Trailering home MEP-803A, what kind of trailer should I use?

[Mk23]

I have been reading posts up and down, trying to get acquainted with what generator unit would fit my needs. I believe one or 2 (long-term) 803As would work well. My question was as far as picking one up from GP. As far as trailers, I have the option of my small 4x8 utility trailer which does have slightly raised walls, or my M1102, which is also not exactly flat. Or I could rent something...I read in one of the posts, that the 803s can get damaged if they get picked up by forklift on the ends, but would you need a somewhat flat trailer to load them sideways? How do GP crews usually load generators onto a trailer?

 

[Light in the Dark]

Every yard is different. You CAN slide forks under an 802/803 from either end, just much room for clearance (but its totally possible). Just have the loader take their time, and you should be fine.

 

[98G]

I'd take the M1102.

As LID says above, with care you can fork them from the end without damage. I've done it.

 

[Light in the Dark]

Even if they dont take the same care you would, the crossway ribs in the genset base are very durable. Will take a lot of screwed up force to damage it. More important to watch the body sheet metal

 

[Zed254]

I picked up an 802 out of Bragg with an M1101. I had a rubber mat in the bed and chained each of the 4 corners. The fork operator placed the generator's center of gravity just forward of the axle and it pulled with no problems. In fact, I left it in that trailer for several months until I could buy a generator trailer. I moved it from the 1101 to a LTT generator trailer with my tractor / forks. Like the guys said, you just need to take your time.

 

[cuad4u]

I brought a 803A from mid TN to south SC, some 400 miles. They loaded it with a forklift and II brought it home in the bed of a 1500 pickup truck with no issues. When I got it home I unloaded it with my backhoe.

 

[Mk23]

Thank you very much guys, that puts my mind at easy, at least as far as pick up goes.

 

[robson1015]

Also had mine loaded into my f-150.....

 

[robson1015]

Here it is

 

[zarathustra]

To hold it in place I used two 4x4's cut to the length of the pickup truck bed and put them in the bed along each side the generator. I then positioned the generator the gen where I wanted it to stay.

I then took two 2x4's that were cut to the width of the bed and screwed them laterally into the 4x4's on each end of the gen.

That sorta built a box around the gen and held it in place for the several hundred miles. The gen did not slide during the whole trip home.

 

[dav5]

I brought my 803A home in my truck with front and back ratchet straps connected to the corner box attachment points. It didn't move at all.

 

[Mk23]

Ok, I am headed over next week to grab the one from GP. In the meantime, look what followed me home today! A bit more tilted than I would have liked, but still towed ok.

 

[Coug]

When they loaded me in the past from the Chehalis yard they had a set of chains so they could lower it into a trailer if needed, rather than using the forks underneath it. It was an 802A that I picked up (over a year ago now) but I hauled it behind my car on an aluminum 5x8 trailer rated for 2200 lbs.

To me it would depend on the ratings of your 4x8 trailer. If it was a harbor freight special, I'd go with the M1102 instead, but if it had over a 2k lb rating and full size tires (not those dinky miniature tires that are like 4" wide) then I'd have no issues with the 4x8.

 

[Ray70]

I've used the "Better" Harbor Freight trailer ( if you want to call it that ) with the 12" rims and 1700 lb. rating to recover quite a few 003a's and 803a's over they years with as much as 500 miles at a time, Mainly because I've made family vacations out of some of the recoveries and I can easily tow it with the wife's mini van and have room inside for 2 kids and all our crap, without having to take my pickup and car trailer on vacation!
My HF trailer has a 2x4 platform to raise the deck above the tires, so I can fit wider items, but it also prevents tire damage from loading and the deck is cross braced diagonally which really stiffens up the tin foil frame rails and takes all the torsional flexing away.
These trailers are also tilt-deck which has come in handy to deliver machines into tight spots or to people without ability to lift.
Simply unstrap it, tilt it up and it will slide right off... uncontrollably, so stand clear!
For loading out at home I use forks on a backhoe, but they are 2" thick and require strips of 2x4 under the rails to allow the forks to get out from under the machine when lifting from the ends.
As an easier solution I bought four 1"x6' nylon lifting straps and a large D-ring.
Feed the strap through one eyelet at the end, cinching it around the lifting rings, then put the other eyelet through the D-ring. Do all 4 corners and now you can lift from the D-ring at a single point and be able to spin it around etc. with no chance of it slipping or shifting.
Definitely helps in some situations where forks are impractical.

 

[Mk23]

I've used the "Better" Harbor Freight trailer ( if you want to call it that ) with the 12" rims and 1700 lb. rating to recover quite a few 003a's and 803a's over they years with as much as 500 miles at a time, Mainly because I've made family vacations out of some of the recoveries and I can easily tow it with the wife's mini van and have room inside for 2 kids and all our crap, without having to take my pickup and car trailer on vacation!
My HF trailer has a 2x4 platform to raise the deck above the tires, so I can fit wider items, but it also prevents tire damage from loading and the deck is cross braced diagonally which really stiffens up the tin foil frame rails and takes all the torsional flexing away.
These trailers are also tilt-deck which has come in handy to deliver machines into tight spots or to people without ability to lift.
Simply unstrap it, tilt it up and it will slide right off... uncontrollably, so stand clear!
For loading out at home I use forks on a backhoe, but they are 2" thick and require strips of 2x4 under the rails to allow the forks to get out from under the machine when lifting from the ends.
As an easier solution I bought four 1"x6' nylon lifting straps and a large D-ring.
Feed the strap through one eyelet at the end, cinching it around the lifting rings, then put the other eyelet through the D-ring. Do all 4 corners and now you can lift from the D-ring at a single point and be able to spin it around etc. with no chance of it slipping or shifting.
Definitely helps in some situations where forks are impractical.

Thanks for the tip! I ordered up 4 straps to use.