Pickup bed 2 ton unloaders - Loadhandler, HF, ???

[newbury]

And here's a pic showing how we use a 20+ year old plastic slide as a chute for directing the gravel. This made it SOOO easy. My son would crank the handle, fill the slide, I'd lift up one end of the slide an dump it in the well we were filling.

 

[jbwilson]

The trailer unloader sounds ideal for what I need. However they don't appear to sell it in Australia, and so thinking of making one to fit a 6' x 4' box trailer for the purposes of making several unloadings of clay soil (about 1 ton per load).

I'm thinking that I would use neoprene rubber sheeting about 3mm thick for the slider - would this be adequate? Is there anything else I could use (preferably cheaper)? The idea would be to use a 10+' x 4' sheet, the extra length allowing a 2' fold in the material across the width of the trailer before loading. This would separate the weight of the load when turning the handle of the unloader (someone on TBN came up with this concept, but I cannot find the thread).

The mechanism for rolling the slider seems straight forward in my mind - but is it?

Thank you for you replies.

 

[CADplans]

Well it took a week but it works GREAT.


After loading I just wrapped the excess tarp over the top of the load paid ($14 for 1,760 lbs) and drove off.

For unloading we folded up the excess tarp hanging off the tailgate, hooked up the loadhandler and my son cranked the load off rather easily in about 5 minutes or less.

If I can find a suitable surface with a real slippy surface it might even handle 1.5 tons.

/edit - I also have a short vid showing how easy it is to use but posting vids here is a pain.

I live near Roanoke VA,,, and I can have 17 tons delivered, spread/dumped as I want it for $325.
The guy is running about 60 miles, round trip.

Do the math,, I figure for $55 premium over the cost of the stone,,, the truck driver is hauling, and delivering 19 pickup loads.
I would have to drive my pickup 1,140 miles for a $55 savings.

A couple weeks ago, I had 3 loads delivered. 102,000 pounds of stone.
that would have been 57 trips, and 3,420 miles of driving,,, in one day,,,
AND a LOT of unloading,,,
Instead,, I simply spread each load,, while the next one was coming,, and wrote one check at the end. :thumbsup:
I think delivery is cheaper than DIY even if you are one mile from the stone yard,,,

 

[Sprinklerman]

I found a slide in dump body unit for $ 600 that was in good shape , Just push a button

 

[CADplans]

I found a slide in dump body unit for $ 600 that was in good shape , Just push a button

I own one in the form of a trailer,,, and still do not haul my own gravel,,,

I could haul 3-4 tons per load,, AHHHHH,,, the push button is GREAT. :thumbsup:

 

[newbury]

I live near Roanoke VA,,, and I can have 17 tons delivered, spread/dumped as I want it for $325.
The guy is running about 60 miles, round trip.

Do the math,, I figure for $55 premium over the cost of the stone,,, the truck driver is hauling, and delivering 19 pickup loads.
I would have to drive my pickup 1,140 miles for a $55 savings.

A couple weeks ago, I had 3 loads delivered. 102,000 pounds of stone.
that would have been 57 trips, and 3,420 miles of driving,,, in one day,,,
AND a LOT of unloading,,,
Instead,, I simply spread each load,, while the next one was coming,, and wrote one check at the end. :thumbsup:
I think delivery is cheaper than DIY even if you are one mile from the stone yard,,,

That's real nice for YOU. We were getting quotes of $150/truck load above the cost of material, with about 3 yards per truck load minimum.

Most of the time we only want a yard or two for our purposes, I'm on a 1/4 acre lot in suburbia, my son is on a half acre. My truck will carry 4,000 lbs in the bed, but I need to shovel off the top half for fear of tearing the unloader, which is only rated for a ton.

The purpose of this thread was not to advocate that everyone go out and haul their own stone, rather to attest to the quality and value of the HF unloader.

Obviously to REALLY save money I could just walk the 13 miles with a wheelbarrow, it would just take longer. But I thought the $40 for the unloader was well worth it.