Dump trailer - scissor lift or telescoping cylinder?

[DieselnHooters]

Lauren I bought a new N&N galvanized dump trailer this summer. It's got the telescopic three stage hydraulic cylinder that's power up, gravity down. Two 3500 lbs axels with brakes on all four wheels. Two way tailgate. It's lifted everything I put in it. Yes I've modded it. I installed the wireless remote for the dump. Mud flaps, fabricated aluminum ramps, spare tire mount, aluminum guard over the top cover, D hooks inside, chrome centers on wheels, mounted shovel and high mount led lights on the rear. I'm happy with mine. It's built like a battleship and built in Quebec.

Good looking dumper

Gravity down works fine save when its breath-freezing cold...takes forever to come down. The OP is in Ontario

 

[4shorts]

Good looking dumper

Gravity down works fine save when its breath-freezing cold...takes forever to come down. The OP is in Ontario

If it gets that cold that the gravity down is too slow just refil the reservoir with synthetic fluid :confused3: that will solve the problem.

 

[DieselnHooters]

If it gets that cold that the gravity down is too slow just refil the reservoir with synthetic fluid :confused3: that will solve the problem.

Oh OK I thought we were talking about an ag dumper for a tractor

 

[QRTRHRS]

Back in the low 70's I worked for a major semi trailer manufacturer, Fruehauf.
They sold up to 38' aluminum dump trailers that had 5 stage cylinders. The cylinders used graphite coated cord for packing with spanner nuts.
When we would repack the cylinders we just changed the packing and tightened the nut back up.
The trailers had a box in the center front of the bed for the cylinder. If dirt got stuck on one side of the box the trailer could fall over on flat level ground from the uneven weight!

I had to pick up a trailer that had fallen over and bring it back to the shop and repair it. They had the bed back down but the frame and bed were so warped that the right rear wheels were off the ground going down the highway. I had to take it easy bringing it back to the shop because it was teetering and bouncy.
The company had a SERIOUS frame rack with air and hydraulic jacks and large "I" Beams in the floor and up the walls that we used for that type of repair.

I pulled Fruehauf dumps for two years for an outfit that had 20 plus rigs. We hauled salt, coal, fly ash but no top soil or dirt that I can recall. The fly ash was mixed with water kind of like bread dough and could stick but during my time we had none go over. I never saw a tri-axle dump that did not use a single telescopic cylinder in the front center. We always called the hump over the cylinder a dog house same as the hump over the engine in a cab over.

The 20k Brimar I used to have had a single cylinder scizzors lift. It would not hesitate dumping topsoil loaded so heavy I had to use low range pulling it with my Dodge.

My choice would be a telescopic first, a scizzors second and twins last but never a single stand alone cylinder. I just like the simplicity of a telescopic.

 

[lhansman]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I had checked out your trailer Paul and noticed the modifications you have made but I saw it on YouTube and did not have an account so could not comment. The first dump I had came with the ramps mounted on the sides but I much prefer the under floor storage I have with my current Moritz. It is much nicer to just slide the ramps out and hook them on the rear edge then it is to carry them from the side to the back. Your aluminum ramps may not be a problem but I have already put a bow in the C-channel ramps that came with my Moritz due to the weight of the L45 so I had a new pair made with box tubing and they are still straight but they are heavy to lift.

My first dumper was gravity down which worked fine most of the time but there were a couple of occasions where it got hung up (due to lack of greasing on my part probably) but I like the power down feature as well. I have had a couple of situations where I was dumping over a steep slope and the trailer box was almost vertical when dumped so gravity would be very slow. Having had both, I prefer the power down.

I have been looking at the Load Trail trailers as I am thinking I am going to go to a tri-axle trailer. My current 7 ton dumper weighs about 4600 pounds with the pressure treated lumber I have lining the bottom, front and sides of the box and my additonal toolbox on the front to hold all my tie down chains, straps and load binders. Now that I have the Laurin cab on the L45 and the foam in all four tires by the time I load the trailer with the L45, my three hoe buckets, 4-in-1 bucket and my hydraulic forks I wind up being almost 1000 pounds overweight on the trailer and about 800 pounds over on the back axle of my F350. There are a few manufacturers who offer 8,000 pound axles which could solve my problem but I'm thinking if I am going to upgrade I might as well get the maximum cargo capacity possible hence my interest in a tri-axle.

A company called B-Wise Trailers (bwisetrailers.com) has a really cool video of a two way hydraulically operated ramp/dump gate on their trailers but they don't offer a tri-axle or 8,000 pound axles. Load Trail released a video in Sept. showing a rear hydraulic ramp/dump gate that looks very similar to B-Wise and if I can get a tri-axle deckover with the hydraulic ramp/dump gate I think I will go that route.

Load Trail offers the telescoping dump cylinder as an option and all large dump trucks use that cylinder type but unless there is a compelling reason to switch I think I will stick with the scissor lift. The one downside I see to the scissor lift is that there are a lot more grease fittings to keep lubricated on the scissor mechanism versus the telescoping cylinder.

Have a great Canadian Thanksgiving and or weekend for you Americans.

Regards,

Lauren

 

[LD1]

There are basically 4 different styles of dumps
Scissor, single cylinder, dual cylinder, and telescoping.

I dont think one is really better than the other. They all have their pros and cons. Scissors have way more grease points and moving parts. Single cylinders are simple but may not be as ridged. Dual cylinders are also pretty simple. The single and duals are probably the cheapest, but you also loose ground clearance. The telescoping is more expensive than single-stage cylinders, but easy to make and few lube points.

Again, they all have pros and cons. BUT, the whole arguments of dumping force, and greater or lesser angle, has little to do with what style is used, and more to do with how it is designed. Larger cylinders dump more, longer stroke cylinders dump to higher angles. That is true no matter what style get.

Cylinder angles, cylinder placement, and operating pressure of the system also come into play as to how much dumping force you have.

So you have to look at the ratings and specs individually for each trailer.

 

[crazyal]

I assumed that you would use ATF for a dump trailer. You shouldn't have any issues in cold weather.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I assumed that you would use ATF for a dump trailer. You shouldn't have any issues in cold weather.

My uncles has AW32

Chris

 

[Jeepnford]

I rented a couple of dump trailers recently. One was a Doolittle scissor lift and the other was a smaller Load Trail single cylinder. The scissor dumped quicker with less effort and also had a higher dump angle. It would dump easier than the single cylinder which I would have to drive forward ten feet or so to fully empty the box. I think a Load Trail with a scissor would have been fine.

 

[bcp]

I suspect there would be no functional difference if each was properly sized. If one style won't lift a load that another style will, the first was undersized, not the wrong design.

Bruce