Towing with a large cargo load

I'm in the process of putting a patio in at my house, and came across a great deal on flagstone. The problem is that it's on a pallet 100 miles away. The guy I'm buying it from estimates the pallet weighs between 2500 and 3000 lbs.

I have an 06 Mounty AWD with the 4.0 and the class II hitch. At this point, I can't find a trailer heavy enough to handle a 3000 lb load, which would be at the upper limit of my towing capacity anyway.

Could I put half of the flag stone in the back of the mounty, and the other half on my neighbors trailer? He has a HF trailer that he upgraded the springs, tires, and hitch, so it should be able to handle 1500 lbs. Would 1000-1200 lbs of flagstone in the back of the mounty and 1500 on the trailer behind be an option? I could potentially make two trips, but I'd rather get it all in one trip if possible.

Any thoughts?

 

[hazmat456]

You want to put a half ton in your truck while you tow another 3/4 ton? How will you turn? Just kidding, I would not do it though. I have pulled a 6000 lb camper with 750 on the hitch but that is with a weight distribution hitch and a 5.0, so it only increased rear axle load by 500# IMO make two trips or find a bigger trailer and load it evenly.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Rent a pickup at Uhaul for $20 and save your Mounty.

 

[gijoecam]

Rent a pickup at Uhaul for $20 and save your Mounty.

Exactly what I was thinking.... Hauling it or hauling/towing it is going to overload the rear axle by a LOT!! 300 lbs of tongue weight puts my Explorer Sport within 50 lbs of the rear GAWR... I wouldn't even consider throwing 1000+ lbs back there....

Not the right tool for the job. A U-haul is the way to go here....

-Joe

 

[mithesaint]

Rent a pickup at Uhaul for $20 and save your Mounty.

That was one of my original thoughts, but the $0.59/mile adds up quickly over 200+ miles.

Looks like I'll just be making two trips. Gas isn't that expensive, and there's no reason to grenade a transmission (or worse) to save a 200 mile round trip. Hey, I have a truck with 15 mpg city, guess I should use it for more than transportation, right?

The uhaul option is tempting though. Save the wear and tear on the Mounty for an extra $100 or so....

Tried to find a bigger trailer, but can't find one that will carry the load. Uhaul has a bigger one, but you need a class III hitch, and the larger trailer plus the load puts me way over my 3500 towing capacity.

 

[gijoecam]

Maybe call a rental car company and see if they have any trucks available? You only need it for a day, and usually they're good for 100 miles a day. For $59/day, you'd be better off paying for a second day than paying the mileage penalty, and provided you don't destroy the bed in the loading/unloading process, it might make for a viable option....

Just a thought...

 

[mithesaint]

In case anyone is following this, I ended up renting a truck from Budget. Total cost was about $130, or so including tax in the people's republic of NY. It was worth it, because it was pretty hilly, and the pallet was at least 3000 lbs. Totally worth the extra cost not to beat the crap out of the wifey's car.