Dump Trailer: Single lift vs Double lift

[Ursa Major]

I am in the market for a dump trailer with GVWR in the area of 14,000 lbs. I'm looking at 'Sure Trac' and 'Bri-Mar' brands. Some trailers use two pistons to lift the bed and others have a center single lift arm. The SureTrac dealer advocated a "gravity assist"(?) benefit with their trailers that is supposed to be faster lift and drop time. Can anyone please explain pros/cons to the different lift systems?

 

[Wolfy]

Stay way from electric up and down systems. Going down takes forever and the pump wears out twice as fast. I had one in my 1 ton and got rid of it.

 

[Diamondpilot]

My uncle has a Bri-Mar 14,000# bumper pull dump and it works great. To be honest I can not remember what type of lift it has but the trailer is about a 2005. I think its double cylinders, about 90% sure. I know its power up gravity down. I have used it dozens of times myself and its great. Pull nice. Only down side to me is the powder coat paint. If it chips it rust very easily and then starts coming off in sheets. My 18' car haul trailer is painted and I simply keep a can of Black Spray paint in the tool box and make touch ups each and every time I use it.

His does have the slide in ramps, D-rings in the floor, and the two way dump gate/barn doors. Very nice trailer.

By the way, his trailer has been weighed by me many times. Its 4,200# empty with the spare tire. That leaves a honest 9,800# for pay load or 5 tons which I have hauled time and time again.

Chris

 

[magicheater]

Stay way from electric up and down systems. Going down takes forever and the pump wears out twice as fast. I had one in my 1 ton and got rid of it.

Not to mention the fewer dumps per battery charge! Another thing to consider is the dump angle, over 45 degrees is desirable! 50 is enough for most work.

 

[crazyal]

I would want the two cylinder model over the single. My dump truck is a single set up and if the dirt is not centered the box twists as it raises up. I think having two points over a single would stop this.

 

[CurlyDave]

An even bigger difference between those trailers is that the two-cylinder one is a "direct push" type, and the second one appears to be a "scissors lift".

As it was explained to me, the scissors lift type will not spontaneously raise if a heavy load is placed in the rear of the trailer (as when driving a tractor into it for transport), while the direct push type must somehow be restrained from lifting, or the weight in the rear will cause the front to rise.

The direct push type are less costly, but less versatile.

I have a single cylinder, direct push type, and so far, so good. While it is true that the single cylinder twists the box if the load is not centered, there are other reasons to center the load. If the load is not centered, the tires on one side will be overloaded, and the trailer will tend to move to the side when braking hard. Increasing the number of cylinders does nothing to change this issue.

If I load the trailer, the load is centered. If I am picking up a load of gravel at a quarry, most operators are very good at centering the load. If not, there is always a place to park and distribute the load properly. You would be amazed at how fast a concrete hoe does this work with sand or gravel. It doesn't have to be perfect, just good enough. The poor emergency handling of an off center load is an excellent reason to center your load no matter how many cylinders you have.

 

[SLHawkins]

Bri-Mar is a popular brand and I see a lot of them on the road. I am not as familiar with Sure-Trac. I have a Texas Bragg 14k dump trailer. I have hauled everything from brush, topsoil, gravel, tree stumps, to scrap metal. It is a single cylinder scissor lift and has lifted every load, except one. That load was the logs when I had too many stumps loaded toward the front. I have never had issues with the body twisting, nor inadvertent raising of the body (even when loading my tractor). Plus, eventhough the trailer has over 5yrs worth of dents and dings the paint is holding up. All it takes is a pressure wash and I get my new trailer shine back. So, if there is a Texas Bragg dealer near you, that brand is indeed worth considering. I also had concerns over single vs dual cylinders. Again, I have hauled 12,000 lbs loads on many occasion and have dumped them every time. Dump angle is a factor worth considering as well. Loose material won't pose a problem. But, if you haul topsoil, mulch, and the like, it will make a difference.

Hawk

 

[Dmace]

I had a dump truck with a single cylinder "scissor" type lift and while it worked fine, it was slow and I had to constantly keep all the pins greased and cleaned or they would bind making it slower. It was gravity down but had a power down feature which I had to use most of the time as it would get stuck all the way up.

My dump trailer is a single cylinder mounted right in the center. I have yet to see it twist while loaded, the bed is very rigid. I would go with the double cylinders as I am not a fan of the "scissor" type setup.

 

[mbrule]

I have a twin piston direct push, the cylinders are on the outside of the box lifting from the top of the sides. It works fine, I too make sure the load is centered for all reasons listed. I also watch it closely while dumping as I think a failure in one cylinder would be disastrous. One cylinder is always just slightly ahead of the other when it starts to dump. Seems to work fine though.

It has D-Rings on the floor, a 2" receiver in the front for a winch, split "barn door" gate, and ramps stowed under.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I had a Bri-Mar tandem dually gooseneck dump and like Diamondpilot said, the powder coated paint did not hold up well. The scissors lift might have been a little slow but I did not consider it to be an issue. Some of the trailers with twin cylinders I have looked at don't look like there is much steel holding those cylinders. The scissors setup looks to me like it would hold up longer with hard use. When I had my Dodge dually with a 4:10 rear, I would have that Bri-Mar loaded so much that I had to put the truck in 4 low to get it moving and had no issues dumping. I also added a second battery for reserve capacity. The wiring on the Bri-Mar could have been better although I never had an issue with it. Overall, a very stout and well built trailer.

I sold the Bri-Mar wanting to down size to a 14k but have not yet bought anything. For sure, whatever model I eventually buy will have a three way tailgate. My Bri-Mar had swing doors only. I would rather have a straight gate over them anyday.