Furniture, flooring and window dressings are important parts of interior decorating. However, there is one element that is even more important. Lights can be very small or even hidden within the rest of a room, but they remain absolutely essential to getting the look you want. I've spent my career helping people decorate their homes, and I can tell you that lighting is the most important decision you will make for any room. From track lighting on the ceiling to floor lights along the baseboard, this blog will help you choose exactly the right type of lighting to fit your personal style.
Tractors are built to be powerful machines that can plow, harvest and transport large amounts of crops, but this power comes with a sacrifice -- tractors have extremely low fuel economies. At 6.5 to 7 miles per gallon, driving a diesel tractor even a short distance to a field costs money. If you own a farm, you can reduce your operating expenses by towing your tractor to your fields with a more fuel-efficient truck. Here's how to do so safely.
Check Your Truck's Towing Capacity
Before hooking a trailer up to your tractor, you'll need to check your truck's towing capacity. Tractors are heavier than many recreational campers, jet skis and boats, and some trucks aren't able to safely tow a tractor.
For instance, one tractor weighs between 6,675 and 7,143 pounds (depending on which options are selected). This is much heavier than a number of 2015 trucks, SUVs and crossovers' towing limits, which start at just 1,000 pounds according to Online Towing Guide. Many trucks have higher towing capacities that let them safely tow a trailer, but not all do.
To determine whether your truck can tow your tractor, look up your truck's maximum towing capacity and your tractor's weight in the respective owner's manuals. Your truck's towing capacity should be greater than your tractor's gross weight. If it's not, you'll need a different vehicle if you want to tow your tractor.
Check Your Hitch's Size
If you use your truck to tow other trailers, then you'll need to make sure that the trailer you're putting your tractor on has the same size hitch as your truck. Hitches come in three classes, as Numotion Store explains:
To see what size hitch your truck and trailer have, you can either look on them for a mark that says the size or measure their diameter.
You shouldn't tow your tractor unless the hitches are an exact match. If your trailer's hitch is smaller than your truck's, the trailer won't fit on the truck. If, on the other hand, your truck has a smaller hitch than your trailer, the trailer might seem to fit on the truck's hitch. But if you were to go over a bump, the trailer could slide off the hitch and crash.
If you already have a hitch on your truck, but it's not the right size, you may be able to purchase an adjustable hitch for your vehicle. Adjustable hitches contain three balls, one of each size. You can rotate them as needed to match trailers' hitches.
Check Whether Your Trailer Needs Electric Brakes
Electric brakes help stop a trailer that's carrying a heavy load. Whether your trailer needs electric brakes depends on the weight of your trailer and the province or territory you live in. In Alberta, for instance, all trailers weighing over 1 ton need to be equipped with brakes. To see whether you're required to put electric brakes on your trailer, check its weight in its owner's manual and contact your province or territory's motor vehicles department.
If you're looking for ways to reduce the operating expenses of your farm, consider towing your tractor to your fields when planting, fertilizing and harvesting crops. As a farm owner, you already have a trailer, and you likely already have a truck. The truck may even have a hitch on it. Using your truck to tow your less fuel-efficient tractor to fields can help you save money. All you need to do is check your truck's towing capacity, hitch and trailer's brake requirements to safely tow your tractor.
If for some reason you need to take your tractor an especially long distance, it could be smart to hire a company that specializes in heavy duty towing to make sure you don't put unnecessary stress on your truck and trailer.
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