Splitter that can tow at 65mph?

[Tjcole50]

Does anyone know of a company that makes splitters that can be towed at highway speed? I know I could build one but I do not currently have any scrap/parts or a welder right now. All these splitter have little tiny tires and a short wheel base. Just wondering if you guys know of a company thAt builds em rated at those speeds. Of course under 2000$ is the goal

 

[steved]

I towed mine home over 100 miles on the interstate...its an older re-branded Brave.

Just need to make sure the tires are highway rated, it has a good hitch and safety chains, and that the bearings are up for the task...no different than any other trailer.

 

[Tjcole50]

Always hear they are iffy at highway speeds . I know a homebuilt you can put a nice wide axle under it but it woul be nice to buy one already up to the task

 

[steved]

What makes them bad isn't that they don't have wide axles, its that they have zero suspension.

 

[naturelover]

Seen one being towed by a dump truck one time. It was all over the place, not really sure how it even stayed upright. I doubt he could even see it behind him and had no idea what it was doing. Never knew whether it made it to its destination or not, but my guess would be not.

Seen a fairly good sized home-made one behind a 1500 Chevy one time, now that was a little different story. He needed every bit of the two lanes on the interstate to get it back under control after it started swayin'.

I figured they wouldn't weigh enough to even feel behind a full-size pickup, but guess when they start doing that at interstate speeds.....

 

[steved]

One of the worst things you can do with any trailer without a suspension is to run the tires pumped up hard. You got to run them under max inflation, so the tire takes up the bumps.

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[dieselfitter]

If you build it, design it so it has proper tongue weight.

 

[SWI Don]

Look at the higher end Timberwolf's and the like. They make them with suspension, they are just not cheap.

 

[GM_Grimmy]

I can tow my AllWoodLogSplitter, the Oak series, down the interstate no problem, 70-75 mph. Hardly know it's back there. It was more then $2k though.

 

[jrider]

Chances are, if the splitter is less than $2,000 it's light enough to roll up a ramp into the back of a truck. I sure as heck wouldn't use this as criteria when choosing a splitter.

 

[Tjcole50]

Yea figured back of the bed would be best. I just didn't know if someone has some model they knew of. Hell maybe even a mod done to a splitter to allow a safer higher speed would be fine too

 

[mainewoods]

Almost every commercially made splitter is rated for 35 -45 mph, max. Do yourself and everyone else on the highway a favor, haul it on a utility trailer or in the bed of a truck.

 

[stihl sawing]

Chances are, if the splitter is less than $2,000 it's light enough to roll up a ramp into the back of a truck. I sure as heck wouldn't use this as criteria when choosing a splitter.

You won't roll mine up a ramp in the back of a truck. I don't know what it weighs but if you can you are one bad hombre. It was less than 2000.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Others have posted this in the past. Use a utility trailer, which of course has springs and multiple uses. Mount a hitch ball on the front rail. Then strap the back down and you are good to go. If loading is a problem add a cheap winch to the trailer. I am sure a search would pull up some pictures. My splitter has been modified before I bought it with volkswagon hubs and tires. There is no suspension. Low tire pressure works very well. Be sure you have a gas shut-off on the engine and run it dry. Towing otherwise will get gas in the crankcase.

 

[ttyR2]

My neighbor had the hitch ball idea too, Sandhill. I'm going to do that with my little utility trailer so I can load the splitter in it. Eventually I hope to rebuild my splitter so it has a decent frame with a suspended axle under it for highway towing.

How low can you run the pressure on the little utility tires these splitters have without destroying them going down the road?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Yea figured back of the bed would be best. I just didn't know if someone has some model they knew of. Hell maybe even a mod done to a splitter to allow a safer higher speed would be fine too

Buy the splitter you like and put a "torsion" axle under it...

SR

 

[mainewoods]

Most commercial splitters, I'm sure there are exceptions, do not have highway speed rated bearings, or suspension systems built into them. Narrow wheel base and small tires make them unsafe at high speeds. You Tube is full of "towing gone wrong" video's.

 

[steved]

[quote="ttyR2, post: 4752483, member: 55849"

How low can you run the pressure on the little utility tires these splitters have without destroying them going down the road?[/quote]


YMMV.

Its one of those things that you need to have a feel for...

The way my splitter is built, I would guess nearly half the weight is on the hitch. It might weigh 500#, and by dividing that in half on the hitch (250#) and the other half (250#) on the tires, then dividing by two tires; I have probably 125# on each tire. Considering my tires are rated at nearly 1000# each...they would probably almost support the load when completely flat.

If I were to do one thing to my splitter, it would be a suspension and bigger tires to raise the working height...but then you have to contend with working around all that too...

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[stihl sawing]

best thing if you need to haul it somewhere is a trailer with a small winch installed, then comes the risk of tying it down. it won't go anywhere with these fasstraps. getting it out shouldn't be a problem. But then again you can't always get a trailer where you want to go. Guess you could unload it and pull it back in the woods with the truck then.

 

[stihl sawing]

You would need a wheel on the front jack of the splitter instead of the flat foot. It would be better to have a trailer with the gate that doubles as a ramp.