Moving a sundeck 220's trailer with a yard or garden tractor

[Jdr01930]

Just bought a new house, with a 15000 SF yard and two garages. :smt038
Boat will be able to go in one during the winter, but in the summer I'd like to put the trailer in a tight spot in the yard that will require more maneuverability than my truck can provide.

I'm justifying buying a small tractor to mow lawn and plow snow, since snow blower + lawn mower ~ price of tractor.
Considering something like Craftsman YT3000 or YT4000.

Would one of those be adequate to tow trailer around a level yard, (without boat on it)? Looks like I'd need hitch receiver fabricated. Has anyone does this? (pics!).

I recall seeing a few pics of people maneuvering their boats/trailers around with small tractors - how big do you need to go? Should I move up to a "garden tractor", or is something even larger required?

(originally I was hopeful I could move the boat around with yard tractor - looks like they cant handle that)

 

[terrybostonbos]

yes ihave cub 149 it does it ok

 

[Jdr01930]

That cub 149 looks a little beefier than the yard tractors I'm looking at (I think?).
Something that big might be a bit unwieldy for lawn mowing on this property.

Does yours have a hitch receiver or did you have to have something fab'd up?

I doing a little more research I think the YT4000 could handle it, but again would be interested to see how people getting receivers attached.

 

[Trucky]

Just about any yard tractor with a hitch should be ok for moving an empty trailer on level ground. I had a Kubota BX2200 22hp compact tractor with a CAT1 3-point drawbar hitch. I used to move a 2 horse trailer and my old Regal 17' runabout on a trailer all over the yard and had no problems. It was sure easier to get it in a tight spot than with the crew cab pickup.

 

[Jdr01930]

"It was sure easier to get it in a tight spot than with the crew cab pickup."

That's exactly what I'm up against - crew cab pick up with crappy turning radius.
All of the lawn tractors I've looked just have a horizontal sheet metal plate in back, with a flimsy little hole on bottom to drop a little cart etc in.

So how do you put a ball mount or hitch receiver on these things, or otherwise attach a boat trailer?
(post some pics!)
If getting a welder to fab something, I had this thought that maybe it should go on front of the tractor, since trailer will mostly be getting backed up in and out of spaces.

 

[Trucky]

Any decent welder/fabricator could take a look at your mower, or some pics of it and tell you if there's enough there to mount something to. Another option is a trailer dolly thingie. It has two wheels with a hitch above and a long arm so you can "walk" a light trailer where you want it. There may not be enough frame under your mower to do what you want. Some toss a hitxh receiver on the front of their trucks too, for those tight maneuvers.

 

[Banagy]

I have a 42 year old Minneapolis MolineJet Star 3 that I use to move snow off the drive. I have a ball hitch on front and back to mve boat and trailer.

 

[surfinjoe]

Just remember that the 220 SD trailer has surge breaks and will not back up without having some sort of power go to the fifth wire on the trailer (reverse light).

 

[chuck1]

Just remember that the 220 SD trailer has surge breaks and will not back up without having some sort of power go to the fifth wire on the trailer (reverse light).

I know on mine you could put a block of wood in the hitch to disable the surge brakes. Some trailers have a place to put a pin in the hitch.

 

[Trucky]

Just remember that the 220 SD trailer has surge breaks and will not back up without having some sort of power go to the fifth wire on the trailer (reverse light).

Good point. All the ones I've seen so far have a way to manually lock out the surge as well as electrical. The last two I had you could wedge a bolt in the actuator to keep the brakes released.

 

[randmhall]

I pull a loaded tandem PWC trailer with my John Deere 300. I bet it weighs as much as your empty trailer.
I made a ball mount for my rider. The porch rail mounts from Lowes are 1-1/4, perfect for a class II ball mount. I shortened the shaft of the ball mount to limit torque on the rear plate of the tractor. Used it for 4 years so far with no problems.

 

[Tall Turtle]

I have a Scotts 1642 and I use it to move my 205 Sport on the trailer. I had a welder make a hitch mount from my cardboard mockup ($100). It has flanges on the sides and bottom. Will try to post photo.

I bolted it horizontally and vertically to the back of the tractor.

I bought a 5 wire harness and connected the 5th wire to my battery with a manual switch. If the trailer starts to push the tractor around I can shut off the power so the surge brakes will still work.

I wish my receiver and carrier were shorter because it pivots too much initially when backing up. And with the loaded trailer I need weights on the front to prevent 'wheelies'. I use it on a level blacktop driveway with a sharp turn.

Good luck