(ET) Hauling the ET to the farm....

[sf bright net (S. Frankenfield)]

Dave Barden wrote:

>All I have for transporting is a little Toyota van (1/2ton?).  I'm a 
>little
>concerned about the weight.  The E12s with batteries is what about 700
>pounds?  If so it shouldn't be a problem.

I offer a rough parallel:

I believe my Gravely 4 wheeler is about 800#.  I've hauled it in my '88
[small] Toyota p/u, rated @ 1100#, without any problems though I have
dedicated a pair of clear, southern yellow pine,2x12s for the ramps.  Also,
I have to remove the mower from the tractor to get it between the wheel
wells.

>I do have a come-a-long and with a little jury
>rigging could find something in the van to hook to then winch it in.  But
>I'm afraid I'd run out of room before I got the machine completely winched
>up the ramp and into the van.

The come-along works fine for me and I think it's safer.   I've done this
with the Gravely several times.  Again, though the difference being the p/u
with a nearly 6.5 ft. bed.  What I did was leave the come-along attached to
the tractor to serve as a hefty "hold down" in the front then, set the
parking break and tied off the rear as best I could.

Without a second person to help out I've decided that the use of the
come-along is a lot safer than trying to drive/guide a tractor up the ramp
since, with the come-along I can move slowly: unfortunately, in the real
world, ramp boards want to sag; the tractor isn't alligned on the ramps
just right; etc.  Clearly, the weight of the machine would kill, mame,
badly damage if it fell even a short distance, so I'd go with the
come-along.


Good luck,

Steve F.

newbie who's looking for a GE E-T.