Ideas to unload my 880 trac vac ??

[Treemonkey1000]

To keep the lexan from getting all scratched up from coarse material you could have it so the lexan pulls out easily. That light of metal on the back of the trailer is pretty light I would think you would need to reinforce that if you went with the pusher method. I don't blame you for not wanting to have to get off the tractor..
I am surprised more of the Brainiacs on this site haven't chimed in with much more wisdom than I can give you.

 

[Kevin M]

Here is what I'm thinking of.

 

[rswyan]

I have .... I think ..... a Model 1080 (?) ...... and used to own an 880 ...

One of the best things you could to get that thing to dump cleanly is do something to raise the box higher off the ground, so that it could get some dump angle to it .....

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Does the pivot point of the trailer allow it to dump without using something to tilt it? Meaning with the thing full does it take much force to tilt it? Also like the other guy said to get a higher tilt angle would certainly help dump the load easier.

 

[Kevin M]

I have a set of tires I got from scraping a Mtd tractor , They are much bigger then the existing tires , I'm gonna check the axle size to see if they will fit. If not I will make them fit , raising it would make it dump better !

 

[Kevin M]

Even full it doesn't take to much force to dump it , its pretty balanced

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Bigger tires will make it more tip prone if you are working on hilly areas as well keep in mind.
The Hydraulic Guru's on here could help you with all of the plumbing requirements to run your door opener and lift ram. That stuff is still foreign to me. I think if I were doing the Mods I would use and electric screw lift to raise the bed up to dump and a electric latch to hold the door closed until you want to dump it.. That is just stuff I am more familiar with.
You could go really low tech and have a spring push the trailer up to dump. Then you would have to get it to come back down and latch....

 

[Kevin M]

I'm good on the hydraulics, its the geometry and design I'm looking for help on.

 

[rswyan]

I have a set of tires I got from scraping a Mtd tractor , They are much bigger then the existing tires , I'm gonna check the axle size to see if they will fit. If not I will make them fit .....

Biggest problem will be inadequate clearance to the bottom of the box (it's tight, even with the stock tires) ..... you'll have to replace the axle V-brackets that bolt to the bottom of the box with taller ones .... as well as modifying (extending) the stand/support on the front of the box where it latches ...

raising it would make it dump better !

It will make all the difference in the world :thumbsup:

Personally, I wouldn't expend the effort on doing anything with hydraulic on the unit .... for what you're going to get out of it, it's alot of investment (time and money) for little return ..... couple that with the power of hydraulics and light construction of the unit and I see things getting torn up.

Here's an idea that might make life a little easier: spring-loaded rear door that can be opened and moved out of the way to dump, without actually taking it off the unit:

 

[Kevin M]

All good points ! Stay tuned I will report back later this afternoon.