Dump Style Trailer

lakngulf · Dec 20, 2010

I have some great top soil at some family farmland that has been well "fertlized" over the years. I have hauled a couple of trailer loads home to use in my garden, primarily for tomatoes. They seem to love the natural compost.

Problem is even though I have a tractor at both ends of the trip, I have found no good way, other than manual shovel, to get the dirt off my 16 foot trailer. I have reached the age where the shoveling is just no fun anymore. Also, I have to borrow a tractor on one end of the trip.

What experience does anyone have with the dump trailer? I have researched them a bit on internet, and found some possibilities. I am not sure I would use one enough to justify purchase, and rental is a possiblity. Do the hydraulics work well? For what jobs do they come in handy?

Redneck in training · Dec 20, 2010

Look at this:
Unload a pickup.com - Loadhandler, the easy way to unload your pickup

Airedale · Dec 20, 2010

I purchased a small dump trailer to use around the farm a few years ago and for me it has been one of the best and useful pieces of equipment I own.

I use it all the time for hauling feed, hay, wood, gravel-soil and plain old yard debris.

Al

Freds · Dec 20, 2010

I would love to have a dump trailer, the problem is, it would be my least used piece of equipment, but it would sure come in handy when needed. There are some nice ones out there that come with their own hydraulics and battery, which is perfect for those of us that don't have rear hydraulic hookups on our tractors. I was trying hard last year to talk myself into getting one...

lakngulf · Dec 20, 2010

Freds said:
I was trying hard last year to talk myself into getting one...

Yes, I think that is what I am trying to do.

Couple of Achers · Dec 20, 2010

I have reached the age where the shoveling is just no fun anymore.

I hear ya. All though, I reached that stage a few years back. So I bit the bullet and bought one. I wanted one that I could safely pull with a half ton pick up. So I bought a 5x8, single axle, 6,000 lb. gvw. I also opted for the double rear swinging doors in the back. And I'm glad I did. The standard option was a spreader tailgate. I couldn't quite see the usefulness in that. Since a spreader gate is designed to be used while in motion. You can't run the dump and drive the pick up at the same time. The swinging doors also allows me to load the trailer with a fork lift for loading pallets. I have to say that this has been one of the most useful trailers I own. Forget the dump feature for a moment. I use it to haul almost everything else. From seed corn, to fertilizer, pallets of anything can be loaded straight in the back. And with a 6,000 lb axle, I can easily haul a couple tons. Got a big load of sheet rock or plywood to haul? You're not going to overload this trailer. I added a 2x12 all the way around the top for hauling things like wood chips, mulch, or lawn clippings.
As far as the hyd. They couldn't be simpler. Electric over hyd. with a single acting cylinder. Power up, and gravity down. The battery on board also is used for the break away break controller so you don't have that little battery that always seems to be dead to deal with.
This one happens to be a Maxi-Dump out of Janesville, Wi. I am not affiliated with them in anyway. I'm just letting you know what brand this one is. I ordered it over the phone and they delivered it to my front door. It has been a wonderful assets here for the farm and gardens.

bigtiller · Dec 20, 2010

That's gotta be one of the cutest little dumpers I have ever seen.

JFS2295 · Dec 20, 2010

Time for me to get the "Most whacked out idea" here on TBY.

What I did was get a used section of chain link fence from my local yard before they threw it in the trash, tall as wide as my trailer and of course as long with extra length. I had some 2.5x2.5x1/4 angle iron and cut four pieces to the width, then doubled the angle on both ends so they sandwiched the chain link (after I cut the fence to final length of my trailer) with through bolts.

| |
| |____
|_____======================================= ??

I also ran cable intertwined on the edges of the unsecured chain link between the angle sandwiches and one down the center, all secured to the angles. And of course two large forged eye-bolts through the pulling end angle bars.

This would be laid on my flatbed trailer and a tarp placed on top before the dirt would be dumped on. At the receiving end I was able to pull the dirt off the trailer with my fence section, then once the trailer was pulled away lift up the fence end with the FEL and roll it and the dirt half over. I then came around to the other side, re-hooked my FEL and eyebolts, then continued to roll out the fence and tarp so I could get another load.

lakngulf · Dec 20, 2010

JFS2295 said:
Time for me to get the "Most whacked out idea" here on TBY.

You might just have a decent idea there. If the chain link will "slide" the load off the trailer then it is a decent idea. My problem would be that I would have my tractor at the loading area and not at the unloading, so retrieving the chain link/tarp for the next trip would be difficult. A few months ago I took my trailer for a big load of hardwood mulch. I placed a tarp on the floor of the trailer, and had enough tarp to wrap over the top. Then I unloaded one FEL bucket at a time, and had to do a lot of shoveling. In the end I had more mulch than places to put it, so I wanted to get the remainder off the trailer. I hooked the FEL to the tarp and pulled it off. To this day the tarp is still there loaded with mulch, that I will have to shovel into the FEL bucket.

foggy1111 · Dec 20, 2010

JFS2295 said:
Time for me to get the "Most whacked out idea" here on TBY.

What I did was get a used section of chain link fence from my local yard before they threw it in the trash, tall as wide as my trailer and of course as long with extra length. I had some 2.5x2.5x1/4 angle iron and cut four pieces to the width, then doubled the angle on both ends so they sandwiched the chain link (after I cut the fence to final length of my trailer) with through bolts.

| |
| |____
|_____======================================= ??

I also ran cable intertwined on the edges of the unsecured chain link between the angle sandwiches and one down the center, all secured to the angles. And of course two large forged eye-bolts through the pulling end angle bars.

This would be laid on my flatbed trailer and a tarp placed on top before the dirt would be dumped on. At the receiving end I was able to pull the dirt off the trailer with my fence section, then once the trailer was pulled away lift up the fence end with the FEL and roll it and the dirt half over. I then came around to the other side, re-hooked my FEL and eyebolts, then continued to roll out the fence and tarp so I could get another load.