I just bought an old used gravely pro and have a job up top a very large steep hill. Mostly worried about going downhill. Do I need to install any kind of braking system on my chipper? Or just go nice and slow?
Towing old Gravely 495 wood chipper up and down steep hill. Brakes?
- Thread starter TunaCat
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What are you pulling with?
2003 5.9 Cummins diesel dodge ram
Would help to see a picture of the chipper and know it's weight.
Also what type of hitch and maybe a picture of the hillside.
Also what type of hitch and maybe a picture of the hillside.
It actually weighs 7800lbs.
Yeah I just looked it up. Couldn't find the weight, but did see a picture. I'd say you are right.
Would help to see a picture of the chipper and know it's weight.
Also what type of hitch and maybe a picture of the hillside
Pintel hitch rated for 20,000lbs
Chipper weighs 7,800lb
Im guessing it will be fine, just anxious about having a lot of weight going downhill
How much the truck weigh?
7000lb. The hill is about a 35 degree angle at it's steepest
the chipper is heavier than the truck and the hill is 35 degrees
yeah get trailer brakes on it, and thats gonna be a real slow crawl down and back up, 1st gear 4 low and let the engine hold it back as much as possible is what I do (lock it in 1st for an automatic)
would not attempt without trailer brakes
ive had our 2500 ram and bandit 250xp on some pretty steep hills, nothing quite that steep tho, id be sketched out to say the least, bad day if it breaks loose on you
Maybe rent a tracked vehicle or get something like a 2 1/2 Military to move it
I once went down a steep hill pulling my chipper. My Toyota pickup weighed 3500# and the chipper weighed 3000#. It did not go well. Chipper jackknifed me into a tree, damaged rear quarter panel of the pickup. I'd say you have good reason for concern, and I wouldn't attempt the maneuver.
In my case it was embarrassing, besides putting me out of commission for a day and having to get a friend with a tractor to drag the chipper back uphill.
4x4 powerful pickup means nothing if it does not outweigh the chipper by a considerable margin.
In my case it was embarrassing, besides putting me out of commission for a day and having to get a friend with a tractor to drag the chipper back uphill.
4x4 powerful pickup means nothing if it does not outweigh the chipper by a considerable margin.
I once had my 14ft dump trailer (with brakes) push my F350 down a hill in the rain, trailer brakes locked up and we came through an intersection sliding sideways/backwards, everything was perfectly dialed in but we found one slick patch of asphalt (our roads here are horrible, certain spots look identical to others but have almost zero traction, like driving on ice sometimes)
you must ask yourself: "is this job worth it"
can your truck tow it back up the road?
what is the road surface?
we haul my bandit 250xp with a 2004.5 ram 2500, 5.9 cummins NV5600 4x4
I would NOT take my chipper down that hill and it weighs less than yours by almost a thousand pounds, and has working brakes
you must ask yourself: "is this job worth it"
can your truck tow it back up the road?
what is the road surface?
we haul my bandit 250xp with a 2004.5 ram 2500, 5.9 cummins NV5600 4x4
I would NOT take my chipper down that hill and it weighs less than yours by almost a thousand pounds, and has working brakes
First take that chipper to a trailer repair shop and get the wiring and brakes 100% checked/repaired. Second thats a huge incline that will become a scary steep decline or vise versa that combined with the weight numbers provided in this thread of that chipper would require a 2 ton truck preferably with 10 tires for added traction.
bryannewton
ArboristSite Operative
I use to pull an old 40ft 5th wheel travel trailer all over the country with no trailer brakes but things did get a little hairy every now and again
