This is our most common question.
And here’s what I always say – I’m Brad, the owner here at Alltrades Trailers.
Choosing the right plant trailer for your excavator isn’t as simple as finding one big enough for the machine to fit on.
- Weight,
- dimensions,
- attachments,
- towing capacity and
- how you’ll use the trailer day to day
all come into it.
First thing we have to do is get the spec right and that’s when you’ll end up with a safer, easier and more practical way to move your equipment between jobs.
Get it wrong, and you’re looking at overloaded axles, an unsafe tow, or a trailer you outgrow within a year. We really don’t want that. Terrible for everyone!
Here’s what to work through before you buy.
Start With the Weight of Your Excavator
Our first consideration is the operating weight of your excavator – not its model name or footprint on paper.
Then add everything else that travels with it: buckets, augers, grabs, hydraulic hammers, along with any other attachments you carry regularly. That’s because it all counts toward the load.
The figure that matters on the trailer side is called the payload capacity.
Payload is the trailer’s Aggregate Trailer Mass (ATM) minus its tare weight.
A trailer with a 4,500kg ATM and a 1,000kg tare weight, for example, has a maximum payload of 3,500kg. Make sense?
Whatever trailer you choose, it needs enough payload to cover your excavator and everything else riding along with it and we always want to have a bit of a margin added to. To keep everything just that bit safer.
Check the Dimensions As Well
Weight isn’t the only factor.
Your excavator needs to sit correctly on the trailer, so its overall width, track length and loaded weight distribution all need to line up with the deck.
Ramps, deck design and tie-down points should suit your specific machine as well. A trailer built around your equipment makes loading, unloading and securing the excavator considerably easier and safer every time you use it.
Now, because we make these trailers every single day, we can give you a load of experise here.
Can Your Vehicle Actually Tow It?
I know, seems obvious, right?! Yeah, not so much.
Your tow vehicle needs to be rated for the trailer AND its actual loaded weight, not the trailer’s empty weight. Towbar and coupling ratings matter too, along with how the loaded trailer affects the tow vehicle’s handling and braking.
Queensland Government guidance is clear on this: manufacturer towing limits should never be exceeded, and it’s the driver’s responsibility to make sure the towing combination is safe and within its loaded mass limits at all times.
OUR BIGGEST TIP
If you’re buying a new excavator trailer, think past this year’s fleet.
- Might you upgrade to a larger excavator down the track?
- Add more attachments?
- Need extra storage or different loading options as the business grows?
A plant trailer with a little headroom built in often makes more sense long-term than one specified right on today’s limit. Buy for where the business is heading, not only where it is now.
Sure, we’d love you to buy more trailers from us – but not until you need us, and when you know you’d have great advice from us.
And this tip is one of thiose bits of advice that has saved our customers $$ over the years.
Not Sure What Plant Trailer You Need?
Easy. Just ask us. We’ve been doing this a long time use the best quality materials so we can offer a 12-month Manufacturer’s Warranty.
We also act for manufacturers, such as Digga and their Digga Ezi-Loada Ramps.
Tell us your excavator’s make and model, the attachments you carry, and what you’ll be towing with – and we’ll help you land on the right trailer specification for the job. Use the form below or call us on 1300 611 301.
Hope we can help you soon.
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