Max towing capacity of a M35?

[porkysplace]

Goday !

I have a new Duece and a half question. This is a tractor not a long frame question. What is the towing capacity of a duece and a half tractor ? Is it the same as a Duece and a half truck ?? I am in Florida. The application is to pull a Cape Canaveral Custom Deltal 28 foot boat (8600 pounds without 140 gallons diesel/ 100 gallons water/ pluse 50 gallons waste) (8600+1400+300). Plus triple axle trailer rated at 9 Tons.

Is a multi fuel Duece a good choice ?

Thank you for your consideration.
Joe

No get a 5 ton
M275 tractor
empty weight 11,179 lb
loaded max weight 18,529 lb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M35_2½-ton_cargo_truck

 

[drivebymashing]

I have hauled 5 tons in the bed and towed 10 tons with my deuce. I could of outran it on foot. Here in the mountains bicycles would be passing you. I would not recommend it for more than a few miles.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

I pulled an XM-818 Tractor home (130 miles) behind an M35A2 Deuce using a Medium Tow Bar.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND this combination ! ! !
The HEAVIER 5-Ton wanted to push the tail end of the Deuce from side to side even thought he west Texas roads were all mostly straight and level. Even with about a ton of tires and other stuff in the Deuce's bed, this is a DANGEROUS COMBINATION.

Deuce = 13.500 Lbs. +2,000-2,500 in the bed.
5-Ton = 19,500 Lbs. approx... Maybe 21,000 with the monster winch rack behind the cab - I have not had an opportunity to weigh it yet.

 

[NDT]

The manufacturer seems to think a M275 can haul a 36,000 lb trailer.

 

[rustystud]

The manufacturer seems to think a M275 can haul a 36,000 lb trailer.

Remember that's towing as a fifth wheel not a trailer behind the truck. It's crazy how towing from the hitch is so different then towing from the bed (fifth wheel) . My 1 ton dually tows a fifth wheel trailer like it's not even there, but tow our 18ft RV trailer from the rear hitch and it can toss me all around if it wants too ! I've had to add an "equalizer" and "sway control"
just to keep this trailer in line ! I think the next time I tow it I will be adding some serious weight to the bed. The reason I mention all this is to remind people of the dynamics of weight distribution and the effects it can have on your vehicle. As was mentioned in an earlier post, it's all about "control" !

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

TRAILER vs. SEMI-TRAILER

Technically speaking, a TRAILER is a towed vehicle which bears MOST of its own weight and the weight of its LOAD on it's own load-bearing axles. IE: a load "balanced" on one or more axles "centered" under the carriage - OR - as with M989 type Ammunition Trailers, an arrangement of axles usually featuring trailing axles near the rear of the trailer's chassis as well as "steering-type-axles" near the front of the chassis often directionally controlled by the trailer's orientation to the motive vehicle (towing vehicle). ONLY a relatively small "TONGUE WEIGHT" is carried by the tow vehicle when a TRAILER is hitched to it.

WHEREAS, a SEMI-TRAILER is a towed vehicle whose load is substantially borne by the towing vehicle - a Semi-Tractor - typically upon a "Fifth-Wheel & King Pin" hitching and pivoting mechanical linkage.

HENCE, inherently, a SEMI-TRAILER will apply a traction enhancing LOAD upon the TRACTOR's drive axles, while the TRAILER adds only its tongue weight to the towing vehicle.

With regards to STEERING a trailer or semi-trailer....
A SEMI-TRAILER with a portion of its weight upon the TRACTOR's Fifth Wheel will "naturally" track behind the line of travel;
BUT a force must be applied to a TRAILER through it's tongue to the "balanced" load on its axles in order to overcome the straight-line inertial motion of the moving trailer in order to change its course in a turn.
SIMILARLY, the balanced load arrangement on a TRAILER will inherently allow it to "rock n roll" back there and assert "counter-steering forces upon the tail end of the towing vehicle.

I hope this helps to understand the difference in towing designs and why the military so often favors full TRAILER configurations over SEMI-TRAILERs, particularly in OFF-ROAD combinations.

Towing another vehicle on a TOW BAR (ie: when I towed the 5-ton tractor with our deuce) is, by the load bearing theory much like a TRAILER with minimal load on the towing vehicle, it is also "WORSE THAN" a bumper-pulled trailer in that there is no mechanical application of steering forces by the tow vehicle upon the steer-axle of the vehicle being towed. The towed vehicle's steering axle must receive and react to directional changes "sensed" from the road below its rolling wheels, thereby requiring INCREASED effort by the towing vehicle to overcome this resistance, therein dictating to the whole combination unit the desired direction of movement or path.

 

[rustystud]

Technically speaking, a TRAILER is a towed vehicle which bears MOST of its own weight and the weight of its LOAD on it's own load-bearing axles. IE: a load "balanced" on one or more axles "centered" under the carriage - OR - as with M989 type Ammunition Trailers, an arrangement of axles usually featuring trailing axles near the rear of the trailer's chassis as well as "steering-type-axles" near the front of the chassis often directionally controlled by the trailer's orientation to the motive vehicle (towing vehicle). ONLY a relatively small "TONGUE WEIGHT" is carried by the tow vehicle when a TRAILER is hitched to it.

WHEREAS, a SEMI-TRAILER is a towed vehicle whose load is substantially borne by the towing vehicle - a Semi-Tractor - typically upon a "Fifth-Wheel & King Pin" hitching and pivoting mechanical linkage.

HENCE, inherently, a SEMI-TRAILER will apply a traction enhancing LOAD upon the TRACTOR's drive axles, while the TRAILER adds only its tongue weight to the towing vehicle.

With regards to STEERING a trailer or semi-trailer....
A SEMI-TRAILER with a portion of its weight upon the TRACTOR's Fifth Wheel will "naturally" track behind the line of travel;
BUT a force must be applied to a TRAILER through it's tongue to the "balanced" load on its axles in order to overcome the straight-line inertial motion of the moving trailer in order to change its course in a turn.
SIMILARLY, the balanced load arrangement on a TRAILER will inherently allow it to "rock n roll" back there and assert "counter-steering forces upon the tail end of the towing vehicle.

I hope this helps to understand the difference in towing designs and why the military so often favors full TRAILER configurations over SEMI-TRAILERs, particularly in OFF-ROAD combinations.

Towing another vehicle on a TOW BAR (ie: when I towed the 5-ton tractor with our deuce) is, by the load bearing theory much like a TRAILER with minimal load on the towing vehicle, it is also "WORSE THAN" a bumper-pulled trailer in that there is no mechanical application of steering forces by the tow vehicle upon the steer-axle of the vehicle being towed. The towed vehicle's steering axle must receive and react to directional changes "sensed" from the road below its rolling wheels, thereby requiring INCREASED effort by the towing vehicle to overcome this resistance, therein dictating to the whole combination unit the desired direction of movement or path.

Yeah ! What he said !

 

[mohicanjoe]

Thank You all.

It is amazing what a little math and physics can do to your project !

Thank you for each of your insights and thoughtful consideration.

Joe.