Iplayfarmer
Super Member
Rather than resurrect an old thread, I've chosen to post this follow up to fill you in on what's happening with my hydraulic dump cart.
Since the first small patches of dirt have been liberated from the snow, I've been using the dump cart for the occasional job around the house. As I suspected, I don't use the dump feature very much. I do use it, though.
I drove around the pasture today picking up all the garbage and wood lying around. It was nice to just back up to the burn pile and pull the lever rather than have to shovel the stuff out or pick it out one or two pieces at a time.
I've included a picture of the generator, the air compressor, the dog and the kids all piled into the trailer coming back from stapling plywood on the the panels for the lambs' pen.
Here are some things that have happened since the last post about the dump trailer.
- I pulled the ram off and bled the air out by running the ram out, and then tipping it upside down to run the ram back in. I did this a few times and it really seemed to help the performance of that first few inches of dump.
- I bought a solar battery charger from Harbor Freight that I plan to keep on the dump cart when it is not in use to be sure that I always start with a fresh battery. I haven't had this long enough to have a review for it.
- The paint I used is not my favorite. Some of you may remember that I used a direct to metal paint. It's flaking off in a few places. It's not bad, but after only 6 months of only mild use, it shouldn't be flaking. Next time I'll go with a true primer and a topcoat.
- I am really glad that people on the forum here convinced me to go with natural wood finish. I really like the look of this trailer.
- I also re-cut the rod that connects the hydraulic power pack to the lever out front to give me a little more clearance to the tractor seat when I pull the lever to dump. I still don't have enough clearance, but if I move the lever back any more, it will come uncomfortably close to the actual dump box of the trailer. I'm going to experiment on paper with bending the rod and some other ways of making the connection to get full actuation of the power pack with less travel in the lever.
This post is getting very long so I'll quit there. If I think of more I'll add it as another post.
Since the first small patches of dirt have been liberated from the snow, I've been using the dump cart for the occasional job around the house. As I suspected, I don't use the dump feature very much. I do use it, though.
I drove around the pasture today picking up all the garbage and wood lying around. It was nice to just back up to the burn pile and pull the lever rather than have to shovel the stuff out or pick it out one or two pieces at a time.
I've included a picture of the generator, the air compressor, the dog and the kids all piled into the trailer coming back from stapling plywood on the the panels for the lambs' pen.
Here are some things that have happened since the last post about the dump trailer.
- I pulled the ram off and bled the air out by running the ram out, and then tipping it upside down to run the ram back in. I did this a few times and it really seemed to help the performance of that first few inches of dump.
- I bought a solar battery charger from Harbor Freight that I plan to keep on the dump cart when it is not in use to be sure that I always start with a fresh battery. I haven't had this long enough to have a review for it.
- The paint I used is not my favorite. Some of you may remember that I used a direct to metal paint. It's flaking off in a few places. It's not bad, but after only 6 months of only mild use, it shouldn't be flaking. Next time I'll go with a true primer and a topcoat.
- I am really glad that people on the forum here convinced me to go with natural wood finish. I really like the look of this trailer.
- I also re-cut the rod that connects the hydraulic power pack to the lever out front to give me a little more clearance to the tractor seat when I pull the lever to dump. I still don't have enough clearance, but if I move the lever back any more, it will come uncomfortably close to the actual dump box of the trailer. I'm going to experiment on paper with bending the rod and some other ways of making the connection to get full actuation of the power pack with less travel in the lever.
This post is getting very long so I'll quit there. If I think of more I'll add it as another post.