Power Tilt or gravity tilt trailer

[ids]

Hello,
I was wondering if anyone had any opinions of these different kinds of trailers? I was looking at two, they are 22' long, 10K GVWR, they both come in diamond plate or wood, and from what I heard I should go with the wood. I have a 7K Kubota, and pulling it with a Z71 off road package, I believe I can pull 10,300, although the hitch says 12K with a weight distributing hitch.

The issue is the tilt, one is a power up/down tilt, and the other is a gravity fed system, basically I unlock a pin, walk to the back and the tilt drops, as I drive my tractor up, once it passes the pivot point, it is supposed to go back into position. the main difference I see is price, the gravity is about 3K, where as the power up/down is about 5K - I would spend the 5K but only if it really helps..I just started a small business, just basic gravel, backhoe, etc..


thanks for any help
Steve

 

[wkpoor]

I debated for a year on getting a tilt trailer. Didn't end up with one but if I had of I was going to get power tilt. Reason is if you are only planning on ever hauling one item the gravity my be alright but multiple items you could need power to enable you to tilt to unload.

 

[wingbone]

I don't tow mine a lot, but I have a 22' split tilt 14k Liberty and it's very easy to load. When it tilts, you are driving up a very slight incline and it goes back down very easy.

 

[Sawdust Farmer]

One problem with the gravity tilt is that if you load the front too heavy with something difficult to move (gravel, dirt, sand, etc.) you're going to have a tough time tilting it back to unload.

 

[ids]

I guess that does make sense - I was hoping that sometimes I might be able to haul dirt/gravel and if needed to use the tilt to help unload it, I know its not a dump trailer, but it might help..If I do load the trailer with anything other than a vehicle, I might be able to tilt it down then..especially if the weight in the front of the trailer is more than anything I could put in the back.

thanks

 

[George2615]

I have a tilt bed trailer. It has a 20' deck and 82" between the fenders. It was a manual tilt using a manually operated hydraulic jack. My trailer had a price difference of $1600 more for the power tilt vs. manual. I bought the manual tilt trailer and changed out the manual cylinder for an electric / hydraulic pump and cylinder. I didn't need both power up / down so got the power up / gravity down unit. Note: a power up and down unit would have added about $110 more to my cost. I bought the 12V electric / hydraulic unit, cylinder, and hose and fluid for under $600. It does full tilt up in about 5 seconds and holds in place. Once loaded the release lever on the unit is pushed releasing the pressure and the load weight lowers it back down. Mine has a wood deck which I feel is much safer. A metal deck can be very slippery in winter. No ramps to worry about.

 

[ids]

George - thanks...but I dont' think this trailer is even a manual tilt (manually operated hydraulic jack) - I was just told it was gravity tilt, you unhook a latch, stand on the back and it goes down, when you drive the car or tractor on, it will tilt back up, then you lock it down. The difference between this and a power/up tilt is about 2K, which is a lot....

 

[aczlan]

If it is manual tilt you should be able to convert it to hyd tilt for under $2000, you would just need to do some welding.

Aaron Z

 

[ids]

Thank you Aaron, but its a gravity system, you walk to the back and the tilt goes down, you drive the tractor up and the tilt come back to level...the difference in price between this and the complete power up/down is about 2K, 3K vs. 5K, so if the conversion was 5K, maybe I should just go with the full power.

 

[aczlan]

Thank you Aaron, but its a gravity system, you walk to the back and the tilt goes down, you drive the tractor up and the tilt come back to level...the difference in price between this and the complete power up/down is about 2K, 3K vs. 5K, so if the conversion was 5K, maybe I should just go with the full power.

The difference should not be much more than adding the mounts for the ends of the cylinder and mounting the pump/control unit.
Prices/parts:
Power Pack (Pump/Reservoir and Controls) - $360
Cylinder ((rough guess on size) 2X25.625X1.375 DA) - $110
Hyd hose (60" x 3/8" NPT) x 2 - $22
Adapters (NPT- 8 ORFS, just a guess) - $20
Welding for brackets (just a guess, should be less) - $300
Battery, Box, Cables and misc stuff - $100

Estimated Total - $912

That would give you a dump with power up/down and a remote for under $1000.

There are several who have made trailers that you could get ideas on mounting stuff from, one is this thread, see post 59 for pump/batt mounting ideas.

If you look at the dumping and non-dumping trailers side by side, it should be pretty obvious how they have the ram mounted and you should be able to add a ram/pump for less than $2000.

Is is worth your time to get it added after the fact? That is up to you and how adventurous you feel.

Aaron Z