 Getting Hitched
A Best Practices Guide to Hauling Your Skid Steer Safely
Skid steers are the workaholics of the equipment fleet. Not just satisfied with dig-and-load operations, these mighty tool carriers often find themselves doing double-duty on a daily basis. Running hundreds of different attachments gives skid steers the great flexibility to do a little of everything on ever-demanding jobsites. One morning your skid steer is hauling dirt and gravel, the next afternoon it’s cold planing asphalt and trenching for utility lines. This season it will no doubt be battling through winter’s worst — plowing, salting and throwing snow. But being a do-it-all machine, skid steers are constantly on the road to the next jobsite. And it’s safe to say that the machine’s added flexibility means nothing if your crews can’t transport your skid steer safely and on time.
Selecting the right trailer for your skid steer begins with identifying the dimensions, weight and loading characteristics of the piece of equipment you will be hauling. The operating weight of a skid steer (the weight of the unit including tires, bucket, a full tank of gas and a 175-lb operator) usually falls between 4,000 and 9,900 lbs. Next, contemplate what other attachments or accessories you will be carrying on the trailer. Backpack blowers? Cold planer attachments? Shovels? Bags of mulch? Take a backhoe attachment for instance — most weigh about 2,000 lbs. That extra weight will need to be added into the trailer formula.
After you’ve assessed your average weight requirements for towing, you will need to find a trailer with a corresponding gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR). Picking a GVWR that leaves about 1,500 lbs of excess payload is always a smart idea too. Most skid steers range anywhere from 4 to 6 ft wide and 10 to 12 ft long, depending on the make and model, so size your trailer specs accordingly. Many machine owners go with 16-, 18- or 20-ft long trailer beds for their skid steer operations, always considering extra room for attachments. These trailers usually cost between $1,500 and $6,000, and that price tag gets even higher once options and hydraulic lifts are added. But before you buy, make sure you check out your truck hitch requirements; a lot of the people using skid steer trailers will use a 2-5/16 hitch.
 After you cross the chains of your trailer to your tow vehicle, which for many skid steer owners is just a high-end pickup, keep in mind a few transportation safety practices. Driving with caution, maintaining your trailer and loading correctly and carefully are just as important as picking the safest GVWR for your trailer. When loading, most skid steer manufacturers recommend backing the loader onto the trailer bed, but use caution and common sense.
Once your skid steer is properly parked (based on where the axles are on the trailer), make sure your parking brake is locked and the loader arms are lowered onto the bed. Using four different chains (we recommend four over two, and, yes, chains not nylon straps), secure the skid steer to the trailer using the four metal hooks welded to the bottom of your machine (most every skid steer unit today has them). Make sure to strap in any extra attachments and accessories as well. After everything is secure, check tires, brake lights and turn signals. Make extra sure you have the proper electrical hook-up for the trailer brakes and that your chains are crossed.
By strapping down your loader, double-checking vehicle weight ratings, keeping up on trailer maintenance and driving like a professional, a crew can feel secure about getting their hardest working equipment to new sites and applications every day.
Keith Gribbins
Managing Editor
kgribbins@benjaminmedia.com
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