Trailer Building Legals

[woodsteach]

I have a student building 36' combine header trailer and I have some of questions:

How much does a header weigh?

Are lights required?

Safety Chains?

This trailer is going to be pulled down the highway.

I get tired of the good ole farmer getting by with the SMV, no lights, no brakes etc.

How is it that they can pull this down the road with no tags and my 31' gooseneck has the brakes, tags, lights, safety chain, the brake away brake activator and this "farm trailer" isn't required to have this stuff. 

Or is it required and farmers are exempt? or just get by with it.

If the student makes this and pulls it down the road w/o lights,breaks, safety chains can it come back on me as I let it leave knowing it was illegal?

woodsteach (teaching metals as well)

well after some more searching I found this:

       """Raising safety standards of trailers.(Machinery)
Farmers Weekly
| July 06, 2007 | COPYRIGHT 2007 Reed Business Information Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)Copyright

Ensuring your combine header trailer is safe and legal on the roads could be trickier than you think, says Geoff Ashcroft

Combine header trailers sound like an unlikely candidate for controversy. Under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1996, they are classed as an agricultural trailed appliance conveyor, as long as they meet certain set criteria.

These include an unladen weight of less than 510kg, an indelible mark showing that weight and a pneumatic tyre fitted to each wheel. Moreover, they must be designed and built for the purpose of conveying a single agricultural trailed appliance or one agricultural, horticultural or forestry implement.

But if the header carrier has an unladen weight of more than 510kg it is classed as an ordinary trailer. And if the carrier and its load then exceed 750kg, it must be fitted with brakes.

And here lies an additional dilemma, since many combines do not offer a trailer braking service with which to couple the header trailer.

"Even if you stay below 20mph and tow the header behind a tractor, if the weight criterion is not met and you're out on the public road, then you're breaking the law according to Construction and Use Regs," warns independent transport adviser Mike Braithwaite.

It is a scenario that seems to have crept up on manufacturers, many of which continue to provide header trailers that clearly fall outside the regulations."""


So you are telling me that a $300,000 combine that pulls its own header trailer doesn't have a light/brake hook up!!!

[DouginUtah]

Here's a start...

http://www.nsp.state.ne.us/findfile.asp?id2=116  (About four Answers from the bottom.)

http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache%3AXebivjJTfnwJ%3Awww.ineda.com%2FPDF%2520files%2520in%2520Reference%2520Library%2FNE%2520Trailer%2520Brakes.pdf+nebraska+trailer+rules&hl=en&gl=us&sig=AFQjCNG9wMevzpAGl749goegS0ZvomWKWA&pli=1

[zopi]

agricultural trailed appliance conveyor

Whoever came up with thst phrase ought to be fired...then shot...

out of a cannon.

[red oaks lumber]

if you would have bought the next model up for 301,000 it came stock with wiring.
 anything pulled behind "farm equipment" is exempt

[zopi]

Nowhere have I ever seen da fuzz messing with a farmer operating equipment in reasonable fashion...saw a guy once with a big tandem disk which blew a cylinder seal on a state road..he got some attention from the THP...

[Don_Papenburg]

In Illinois ,Implements of husbandry(farm implements) are exemt from many of the rules and regs except axle weights .  However if you are towing with anything besides a tractor /combine  you can be subject to regular rules of the road. 
 If you are hauling farm to farm you can bypass some laws . However taking products to market puts you under I DOT regs. 
 A trailer for a combine head towed by a tractor at tractor speeds would be safe enough without brakes .  I pull two headers and carts with an 85hp utility tractor and can stop fast enough that I can slide the headers if they are not fastened .  My cart has lights red tail and amber warning lamps it also has DOT reflective tape  on the back and sides.  If I was the teacher I would make him install the reflective tape and warning lamps as a minimum to get a passing grade.   Even if these things are not required it makes sence to install them for safety.
 Surge brakes would not require any hookups to the tow vehicle .   Combines were not designed as tow vehicles hence no provisions for lights or brakes .

[ksu_chainsaw]

Even though a header trailer doesnt need anything more than a SMV sign when pulled behind a combine or tractor, most of the header trailers in this area are usually pulled behind a pickup.  I would say he needs a pair of lights on the back, with reflective tape down both sides of the trailer.  The other night I was going down the highway and barely saw a set of brakelights- a header trailer behind a pickup- the only reason I saw his lights at night was because he had the brake lights at the top of the headache rack- and no flashers going 35 MPH on a 65 MPH highway.

Thats my opinion on the subject.

Charles

[woodsteach]

Thanks for the replies.

Charles, yep this one will be pulled w/a pickup 99% of the time I'm sure. 

The student said that the header weighed 16k, if that is correct (sometimes the story gets bigger), and it is pulled behind a pickup how can it not have breaks and lights.  Does anyone know how much a 35' header weighs?

woodsteach

[nas]

Just checked the JD website and a 35' header weighs in at 7712lb.http://www.deere.com/specsapp/CustomerSpecificationServlet?sbu=Ag&pciModel=0635DH&displayModelName=635%20Draper&tM=FR&pNbr=0635DH

Nick

[Ed]

I was behind a combine last night, he was pulling the grain header himself.
The trailer was a purchased one, there were no lights and no SMV sign. The back had 2 red refelectors (tape) that was it.

Ed

[dewwood]

I think a lot of those conveyances pulling combine headers are wagons which are not treated the same as trailers for DOT purposes.

[Don_Papenburg]

That is true .  BUT you should still have brains enough to put lights ,reflectors and smv  if you plan to pull it down a road that others use.  especially at night.

[timberfaller390]

Nowhere have I ever seen da fuzz messing with a farmer operating equipment in reasonable fashion...saw a guy once with a big tandem disk which blew a cylinder seal on a state road..he got some attention from the THP...

We had one of the local idiots with a badge stop Bob Johnston who has done alot of the steam work for MGM and the smithsoneion, for driving a steam traction engine down a public road. Bob told the cop that he had street bands on the steel wheels and an SMV tag and there was nothing he could do about it. He also said unless the cop could show him the law where it said that he couldn't drive an agricultural vehicle down the road for agricultural purposes then he would stoke his fire and be on his way. The cop just had to stand there and watch   

[ksu_chainsaw]

The only way a header trailer would be 16K would be if they stacked 2 corn heads on there on end- similar to custom cutter trailers- but those are required to have brakes- since they are not strictly "farm trailers." 

Around this area that trailer wont have a total weight over 10,000lbs, just check what type of spindles he puts on there to see how fast he can pull it- if he uses the ag type spindles, the max speed of the trailer is 45MPH, but they have a greater weight load- this is what I usually see on header trailers.

Charles

[woodsteach]

Thanks guys,

I'm not against the "small farmer" trying to make a  living, and his job does require driving down the roads.  But the larger farmers:  2 tractor/trailer rigs,2 combines, tractor/grain carts etc and then not want to put lights on the trailer is just STUPID  .

But like was said: put on the lights, reflectors, smv something to protect others.

sorry for the rant

woodsteach

[IMERC]

so what's a "header trailer"

[beenthere]

A trailer to put the large corn or grain heads from the combines.

http://www.fastline.com/v100/listings.aspx?category=Header%20Trailer

They are so wide, they don't fit down the road very well, unless on a trailer. Even then, the combines are pretty big for the roads. 

[IMERC]

looked at the link...

not sure what I'm looking at...

[Brian_Rhoad]

Here in PA it is illegal to use a SMV triangle on a vehicle traveling more than 25 mph. Most of the larger tractors can travel more than 25 mph. But they also travel less than that, especially when going up a hill with a load. I've also been told it may be illegle to use a SMV triangle and 4 way flashers at the same time. When you start adding lights you have other DOT regulations to follow. Such as the towing vehicle must be licensed and inspected and have brakes just like any other highway vehicle on all 4 wheels. Wagons are no longer wagons but are trailers that must be licensed and inspected and have brakes on all 4 wheels. The state has no licensing or inspection proceedure for farm equipment. Can you imagine farmers having to get their tractors and wagons licensed and inspected? What a mess that would be! I know of an area west of me where the local police tried to make the farmers do that. I never heard what the outcome was.

[beenthere]

looked at the link...

not sure what I'm looking at...

There are several trailers for hauling the heads shown.

Maybe this link is better.
http://www.trailers4u.com/Header_Trailer.htm