Dump Trailer - start to finish

[GuglioLS]

My wife and I took the new trailer up our hill and loaded it up with about a 1/2 cord of cut firewood.
Well I could not help myself. This is the very first time we have used the new dump trailer. And I wanted to see if it would lift a real load. I didn't want to dump the wood just lift it a little to check it out. It lifted it like it was empty.
The video is about 1 meg in size so if you have dial-up it's gonna take a bit to view it.



The end (for now)

 

[hazmat]

Fantastic job. Is there a tailgate in your future? I'd be interested in your design.

 

[HomeBrew2]

Really nice job!!! Cheers!

 

[jmc]

Larry,

That's a very nice looking trailer.

On your leaf springs, it looks like both ends are rigidly connected to the frame. I think one end has to float lengthwise to let the springs flatten when loaded.

Also you may have considered this but some cheap structural insurance would be to weld a diagonal strut between where the top cylinder attaches to the floor joist, and the side rail. (I couldn't see how you did the other end of the cylinder) I think the stress on those points is very high at first when lifting near horizontal and mostly wasted trying to stretch the trailer. On a related note, I noticed on my commercially made dump trailer that the cylinders didn't seem to move any faster when disconnected from the bed than when under a full load. I think this is because they use flow restrictors to keep from pounding the trailer when the cylinders open too fast. And that's even with a little 12v power pack and not the high flow from a tractor. This trailer also reinforced the cylinder attachment points on the frame. They put a strut from the attachment points to the next floor joists.

Anyway, great job on that project.

John

 

[GuglioLS]

Fantastic job. Is there a tailgate in your future? I'd be interested in your design.

Hey Stephen - (my middle name is Stephen)

Thanks for the compliment - yes there is a tailgate in my future. I needed to get the basic trailer working to complete gathering wood in preperation for this winter. The wood gathering is now complete which free's me up to start on the tailgate design & fabrication.

The tailgate will be pin & lever hinged on top & bottom to allow it to work as a dump gate and fold down like a truck tailgate.

 

[Catmando]

A well thought out project with attention to details.

 

[3RRL]

Hi Larry,
That is one nice dump trailer...top notch work. Came out really sweet! You sure did a great job documenting with narration and all those photos. Love that video too.

 

[GuglioLS]

Larry,

That's a very nice looking trailer.

On your leaf springs, it looks like both ends are rigidly connected to the frame. I think one end has to float lengthwise to let the springs flatten when loaded...........

John

John,

Thank you very much,

The leaf springs being rigidly connected - yes that is one of the issues I struggled with in my mind for a long time. As you are so observant to notice, I mounted them rigid. My decision to do it that way reduced the height of the bed by at least 6" and of course allowed me to use the end of the spring for the tilt hinge. But of course the draw back was loosing a lot (most) of the spring action. I have seen quite a few commercial trailers where the springs were rigid mounted, as well as most all Semi Trucks.

Top bracing for the cylinders - good point too. The angle iron that they are attached to at the top is 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" x 3/16" (very stout), plus the floor is bolted to it and the cylinders are close to the edges where the I beams and the diamond plating for the sides are. I figured it would work, and so far so good. As far as bracing for the bottom, the 3" channel does not even budge when the bed is lifted. The bed ID is ~ 50"X100" and the load capacity is around 2500# max. In the video there was about 1500# of wood in it.

 

[GuglioLS]

Steve (HomeBrew2)
Rob (3RRL)
? - (Catmando)

Hey gentlemen - thank you a million.

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks for the great post on how you built your trailer. You did a great job explaining it and why you did what you did. The thought process is what makes this so much fun!!!

From your dimensions, it looks like it will hold a yard of dirt pretty easily. Does that sound about right?

I'm wondering how it will perform with a heavy load of dirt over a period of time. I know you probably have lots going on, but if you find yourself hauling dirt with it sometime in the future, I'd sure love an update on how welll it works, or if you find you needed some modifictions.

Thanks,
Eddie