Anyone own a Diamond C or Big Tex dump trailer?

[sixdogs]

I'm looking to buy either a 5' x 8' or 5' x 10' dump trailer for general farm use. The two brands nearest me are Diamond C and Big Tex. Does anyone own either that can comment?

Either or neither?

 

[SDiver40]

I dont have either of those brands. But I do have a 16' PJ
So far i'm very happy with how it's holding up.

 

[Cat_Driver]

I have a 16' Big Tex and I've taken almost 80 loads to various land fills or green waste recyclers.

I will say this they will haul over their stated load limit without a problem. I won't say here how much but it handles just fine.
I have to admit I beat mine up pretty well.

The one thing I didn't like is the hinges and they way big tex holds the dump doors while you're dumping. Mine kept slipping off then bending the doors hinges.

I made my own hook and lever system and never had them slip off again.

I don't like where they weld the read D rings at the door. I had a full load get hung up on the D ring when the dump was vertical and not dumping. The challenge was do you kick the jam off the D ring and Irish the entire load coming down on you or lower and remove the jam.

After I got back I welded plate steel ramps BEFORE the D ring now all the load slides out and never gets hung up.

 

[Tractorable]

I’ve been researching dump trailers a lot and based on what I’ve read the Diamond C’s are supposedly the Cadillac of dump trailers.

A 16ft deck-over dump trailer with fold down sides would be especially useful for farm use because it doubles as a flat bed and you could side load round bales or pallets of material with pallet forks on your tractor. A 16ft length would allow you to carry 16ft fence boards, gates, equipment, etc.

Some manufacturers are now offering telescopic dump cylinders on the front of the bed which are supposedly better than scissor lifts or dual lifts in the back. Be sure to match the GVWR of the trailer and tow vehicle so that you don’t exceed a combined 26,001 pounds or you’ll need a CDL.

Good luck and let us know what you end up going with.

 

[nisaacs]

I recommend you go with at least a 6'x12' x10.4k gvw. You never have enough trailer in either volume or weight capacity. I had a Parker 6'x10' that was an okay trailer but it was too short to balance the load. It was real hard to get hitch weight. It was rated 10.4k gvw with a scissors lift. The fenders were light weight and started cracking really bad. Get good diamond plate fenders.

I had a 7'x14'x14k Big Tex and 7'x16'x14k Load Trail that were good trailers. Currently running a 18k Lamar and 22k PJ in 7'x16'x3'. I think a Diamond C is a fine trailer but I don't like their tail gate.

Be sure and get a tarp kit, ramps. heavy duty fenders and power down. I also recommend the scissors lift over the single or dual cylinder types. The telescoping cylinder would be overkill on a trailer that size, plus they are slow.

 

[sixdogs]

I dont have either of those brands. But I do have a 16' PJ
So far i'm very happy with how it's holding up.

Never thought of PJ but looked into it and they have much thicker floor and side steel. I'm looking further.

I have a 16' Big Tex and I've taken almost 80 loads to various land fills or green waste recyclers.

I will say this they will haul over their stated load limit without a problem. I won't say here how much but it handles just fine.
I have to admit I beat mine up pretty well.

The one thing I didn't like is the hinges and they way big tex holds the dump doors while you're dumping. Mine kept slipping off then bending the doors hinges.

I made my own hook and lever system and never had them slip off again.

I don't like where they weld the read D rings at the door. I had a full load get hung up on the D ring when the dump was vertical and not dumping. The challenge was do you kick the jam off the D ring and Irish the entire load coming down on you or lower and remove the jam.

After I got back I welded plate steel ramps BEFORE the D ring now all the load slides out and never gets hung up.

I've seen comments on those hinges but I don't understand what goes wrong.

I致e been researching dump trailers a lot and based on what I致e read the Diamond C痴 are supposedly the Cadillac of dump trailers.

A 16ft deck-over dump trailer with food down sides would be especially useful for farm use because it doubles as a flat bed and you could side load round bales or pallets of material with pallet forks on your tractor. A 16ft length would allow you to carry 16ft fence boards, gates, equipment, etc.

Some manufacturers are now offering telescopic dump cylinders on the front of the bed which are supposedly better than scissor lifts or dual lifts in the back. Be sure to match the GVWR of the trailer and tow vehicle so that you don稚 exceed a combined 26,001 pounds or you値l need a CDL.

Good luck and let us know what you end up going with.

I'm going to look into cylinder options and trailer styles. There are a lot of low end trailers and a lot of good trailers. Years ago I would have bought the baddest trailer I could find but now need a quality medium duty creampuff.

I recommend you go with at least a 6'x12' x10.4k gvw. You never have enough trailer in either volume or weight capacity. I had a Parker 6'x10' that was an okay trailer but it was too short to balance the load. It was real hard to get hitch weight. It was rated 10.4k gvw with a scissors lift. The fenders were light weight and started cracking really bad. Get good diamond plate fenders.

I had a 7'x14'x14k Big Tex and 7'x16'x14k Load Trail that were good trailers. Currently running a 18k Lamar and 22k PJ in 7'x16'x3'. I think a Diamond C is a fine trailer but I don't like their tail gate.

Be sure and get a tarp kit, ramps. heavy duty fenders and power down. I also recommend the scissors lift over the single or dual cylinder types. The telescoping cylinder would be overkill on a trailer that size, plus they are slow.

When I started thinking about a dump trailer, my idea was for a narrow one (5') that I could pull alongside my chipper for easy load and easy dumping. Secondary need was for a ton load of gravel every now and then, some topsoil and that's about it. I've seen lots of trailers at auction and, if in good shape bring back almost all their cost. So I could buy, use and then sell in a few years. I take excellent care of things so they look nice.
A friend has a 5' x 8' trailer and that works great for him so that was my initial thinking. I bumped it to 10' because I agree more is better. I don't really want a 6' wide one because I don't think I need it. Same for a 14' or 16' since that's bigger that I have a use for but you guys have me thinking. I'm planning the tarp kit and 10K GVW.

I'm still thinking about the other things because guys like all of you with experience is worth paying attention to. Thank you all.

 

[Hay Dude]

Never thought of PJ but looked into it and they have much thicker floor and side steel. I'm looking further.




I've seen comments on those hinges but I don't understand what goes wrong.




I'm going to look into cylinder options and trailer styles. There are a lot of low end trailers and a lot of good trailers. Years ago I would have bought the baddest trailer I could find but now need a quality medium duty creampuff.




When I started thinking about a dump trailer, my idea was for a narrow one (5') that I could pull alongside my chipper for easy load and easy dumping. Secondary need was for a ton load of gravel every now and then, some topsoil and that's about it. I've seen lots of trailers at auction and, if in good shape bring back almost all their cost. So I could buy, use and then sell in a few years. I take excellent care of things so they look nice.
A friend has a 5' x 8' trailer and that works great for him so that was my initial thinking. I bumped it to 10' because I agree more is better. I don't really want a 6' wide one because I don't think I need it. Same for a 14' or 16' since that's bigger that I have a use for but you guys have me thinking. I'm planning the tarp kit and 10K GVW.

I'm still thinking about the other things because guys like all of you with experience is worth paying attention to. Thank you all.

Trailers are low in stock and finding exactly what you want may be tough. Covid regs have caused labor shortages, reducing production and demand is pretty strong.
I think you should probably be able to find what youre looking for fairly easily.
When it comes to the 2 brands, I had a Big Tex gooseneck for 5 years and liked it a lot. It was a better trailer than I expected, but I did park it in a barn when it wasnt being used. Diamond C would be a step up and a little more expensive. However in that size trailer, they are pretty competitive.

 

[bigtiller]

I'm looking to buy either a 5' x 8' or 5' x 10' dump trailer for general farm use. The two brands nearest me are Diamond C and Big Tex. Does anyone own either that can comment?

Either or neither?

I have the 5' x 10' Big Tex dump trailer.
It's perfect for me. It is the same overall width as my 3/4Ton GMC and easy to pull in heavy traffic.
The spare tire, tarp roller and charger are extra.
Barn doors were the only choice when I bought mine ~ 2 yrs ago.
The thing I wish it had is ramps. They weren't an option then.
I have hauled dirt, lots of brush and even blew chips from my wood chipper into it.

this one;

Big Tex Trailers 7SR Tandem Axle Single Ram Dump Trailer

 

[downsizingnow48]

I've got the 5x10 10k Load Trail. I like the size, easy to move around. I added side boards to increase the capacity. It holds plenty of crud. I have about 11000 miles on it, according to the pickup computer. That is a lot of trips to the dump. Strongly recommend the roll up tarp, it is a real time saver.

 

[BrkMstr]

PJ, BigTex, Bri-Mar, B-Wise are all owned by ATW, all of them are decent trailers - Prior to PJ being bought by ATW, like most small business it was run by a family one of the brothers left and started up LoadTrail - I like the way LoadTrail is built, two sheet's of 10ga make up the body split is in the middle of the bed rather than the sides, my choice as in my observation most start rusting at the weld edging - Diamond C is another good builder. All that I mention have quality lift system - Dexter Axles - you really can not go wrong with any one of them, they have all been building them for a long time - it comes down to the small points - what's included Tarp, side step, gate operation / 3 way etc, colors offered - but most importantly what's available as the market is high demand and they can not keep up with it.....