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bmuone

water tote and trailer

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bmuone

I am adding a new garden spot that is too far for water hose use. I am planning on putting a water tote (275 gallons) on a trailer and using a gravity flow method to water the rows. Question is ...would a boat trailer be sturdy enough to pull that tote around the 2 acre fairly flat area?  I see  a boat trailer on craigslists  but wanted more thought before going further. And this site always has the level headed folks with good advice. I would be pulling with a Kubota Bx tractor. 

Tks

Dayton

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Factory Dog

     Well, a gallon of water weighs approximately 8.4 pounds.  Multiplied by 275 gallons, you would have about 2310 lbs. on the trailer.  So I guess the first question would be concerning the load capacity rating of the trailer.  I am not familiar with boat trailers, but I do haul water in a 250 gal tank using my 5 x 10 utility trailer to water my blackberries.  I have found that the weight is not as big of an issue as the fact that water swashes around creating heavy forces in various directions.  I am on very hilly uneven ground and I would be a little leery of using a boat trailer myself.  Other things you might want to consider includes ground clearance and ability to use the same trailer for other things like hauling those beautiful red mowers around or hauling all that produce up to the house.  Hope this helps!  It's time for this old dog to hit the hay, so goodnight to all the great folks of Texas!!!!

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bmuone

Tks Factory Dog...I gave all those pointers some thought. I'm not familiar with boat trailers either. This one looks to be built well from what I can see in the picture. But pulling a boat and pulling a tote with water are two different enterprises. I think pulling slow around my place would not be a problem if it did not fold in the middle. I could just fill it half way or so. I have a utility trailer but was thinking I might designate the boat trailer to water tote only. I have a row of thornless blackberries so I'm thinking if you use that 250 gallons for blackberries only you much have a bunch of rows. :greetings-clappingyellow:   RIght now I am gonna go out and look at the blue sky for a few minutes to get my eyesight back after looking at this pink background. :eek:

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Navig8r

Boat trailer design typically relies on the boat on it as part of the structure... not to say it will or won't work for your needs, but the trailer will likely flex more than you'd think!

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Racinbob

You might want to check out farm implement places. When we lived up north I found an old 225 gallon tank sprayer and got it for a song since it was worthless to a farmer. I removed all the stuff that wasn't needed, tubed the tires and did a quick paint job. The discharge hose was 1" ID and I could gravity empty it faster than fill it. I had planted several hundred trees in rows 10' apart and 10' between the trees and they needed water the first couple years. With this setup I could run the tractor along side the rows with the tank tire outside of the row. At the right speed I could give each tree a nice drink without stopping. It worked great and was fun to boot.

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bmuone

Racinbob, you will not believe this but there was a sprayer that sounds exactly like what you are talking about on craigslist about the time I started this project. It was a John Deere on two wheels with the water tank above the wheels. But It  was gone before I got to it. All is not lost ... I have given up on the boat trailer idea and now have a trailer made from an old jeep bed. It is strong enough and I certainly plain to go slow and with less than a full load until I test it out. My area has been in a simi drought for several years and now it is raining almost everyday. My onions look OK but I am afraid the potato row may be water logged too long. Tks Racinbob...have a good day.

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Racinbob

It may have been bmuone. The tank was high so it would clear the crops. Empty it didn't weigh much but full it was close to a ton. Where I used it was pretty flat except for the south side. I didn't head that direction with a full tank.

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