Dump trailer

[Nat]

I sold my old dump truck because I can't justify the expense of tag and insurance for no more than I use it, and it was awfully slow on the road. Since I need a dump often I thought I would build me a dump trailer.
It seems like there is a lot of interest in dump trailers so I thought I would build it on this website as well as in my shop. I went yesterday and bought the steel. I got 6-20' sticks of 5" channel, 2-20' sticks of 2X2X1/4" angle - 4X8'X11gaflat metal, and 1 piece of 1/2"X4"X4" flat bar. Total cost was 642.00
I went on Wed. and bought the pump/valve/resivoir/motor, hitch and tongue jack. The cost for those was 497.00
I started this morning cutting the steel to length. The trailer will be 6' X 12'

 

[Nat]

Here I have the sub frame welded together sitting on the bucks It is just a 6' X 12' rectangle butt welded together

 

[Nat]

I always make an A-frame tongue because it stops the frame from racking. The tongue is made of 5" channel the same as the frame. Here is the tongue with the hitch and jack mounted

 

[Nat]

In this pic it shows how far the A-frame goes back under the front of the subframe, and how I terminate the A-frame. I also have the main frame welded together sitting on top of the subframe as it will be when it is finished. the main frame sticks back 1' behind the subframe

 

[Nat]

The hinge will be in 10" from the back. Since the main frame is 1 ' longer than the subframe the back of the trailer will get closer to the ground when it dumps, but that won't be a problem. I will make the hinge out of the 1/2"x4" flat bar, with the hinge pin being 1 1/4 rod, cause that is what I already had. It shoul be more than enough. Here you can see the overhang on the back.

 

[Nat]

Here is a shot of the Pump. I got it at Northern, it's a 1800 psi, 1.6 gallon per minute pump with a 20' cord set. It will be power up, and gravity down.
The cyl is a 4" 2 stage cyl that I have had for years. The first stage has a 24 " stroke, and the second stage is a 3" stroke with 28" of travel. I'm not sure why the 2 stages don't travel the same distance, but it realy doesn't matter to me anyway.
I could have gotten a 4" X 24" cyl from Northern for 109.00, but the store closest to me doesn't stock it so I would have had to have them order it and no telling how long that would have taken. A 4"x 24" cyl would work good, but the 2 stage will give a steeper dump angle so that can't hurt, and like I said I already had it.
Here is a pic of the pump and cyl

 

[Nat]

I'll keep you posted as I get more done, but that isn't bad for 5 hours work. Later, Nat

 

[RonR]

Great Job. Making me drool wanting a dump trailer. I'm planning on some jobs this spring of selling composted zoo doo, and dumping it would certainly be easier than using a shovel!

The trailer I have to haul my tractor boast of the A frame being intergral to the rails, they have been notched and welded to form on continuous piece. Your way is easier to fab.

Keep posting!

ron

 

[Cliff_Johns]

Very interesting picture essay. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest. I really like project sequences. It's a great way to learn from others on TBN.

Thanks again,
Cliff

 

[GoodGuy]

Nat.....
Did you buy a set of Plans or are you winging it? Why 6x12? What are you using for cutting the Material & Welding with? I built a 25' Race Car Hauler years ago & it was a real bugger to keep square; everytime I welded it the thing kept moving on me. How do you keep it square? What's your shoe size? /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Got carried away didn't I? Thanks

 

[AlanB]

You sure have my interest Nat. I keep debating between build or buy, As I keep adding up buying all the materials, the bought ones do not look so bad......

I have been slowly accumulating the parts though as they come available "right"

 

[Nat]

I have never bought a set of plans in my life. I just wing it but wing it with 52 years of experience. I have a good set of heavy steel bucks and a lot of clamps. I have found that measuring from corner to corner about a dozen times and clamping , then tapping to square then measurie again then lightly tacking all around before welding helps it stay square.
The reason for the size is that works well with 20' sticks of steel, and the old dump truck was also about 70 sq ft.
size 12. HTH, later, Nat

 

[Renze]

Goodguy,

Before i started working as a construction drawer in stainless sheetmetal business, i spent 2 years in the steel structure business. What we did was welding short pieces (2 foot) of angle iron, rod and whatever else was available, in the corners of the square frame to weld.
When these temporary supports are tack welded, about a half inch long, on only one side, it is pretty easy to either grind them loose or simply break them off with a big wrench or sledge.

These temporary reinforcements that are welded on in the tack-welding assembly process, prevented 90% of all heat warpage during the final welding.

Another thing to keep in mind that mirrored welding equals up all warpage forces. Welding at one corner then at the opposed side, and dont weld all the welds on one end at once, just keep going around it welding various positions and directions untill you've covered all welds.

Oh, and buy yourself a set of these carpenter's glueing clamps, those are of great help in most situations.

 

[GoodGuy]

Thanks for Info !!
An interesting project that I as well as many others will look forward to watching it as you progress, Thanks for sharing
Eric

 

[escavader]

Its looking good so far,I wanted a dump truck,but all i could find in my price range was the tired ones.By the time i tinkered it up,registered it,got it inspected and insured,it aint worth it.I can get alot of gravel and loam hauled,for what id be dishing out each year.But building my own dump trailer,that has possibilitys.
Not to jump ahead,but at 6 by 12by? How many yard trailer are you gonna have?How much weight will,that be and will it be a tandem?
It looks really good so far,we are all watching
ALAN

 

[Nat]

Alan, the old dump I had was not just tired is was give out, that was another reason for getting rid of it.
The reasons for 6x12 are , it works good with 20' sticks of steel with little waste, it is about the same sixe as the old dump, and, I don't know, just seemed like 6 x 12 would be a good size. With 2' sideboards it will hold 5 1/3 yards. That will be about right for mulch, maybe a little more dirt than I would want to haul, and about 2 times more gravel than anyone should haul behind a pickup. I have a Dodge 3500 diesel, so pulling it loaded to 10,000 lbs won't be a problem.
I looked at several factory dump trailers before deciding to build one and the cheapest decent size was a 6 x 12 with 2 3500 lb axles and a 3 ton dump capicity and it was over 4,000.00. I will have about 1600.00 in this when I get finished so a weeks work asn't bad for 2400.00 .
With the 20,000 lb tag costing 312.00 and a years insurance at 210.00 and it getting 6 mpg it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know I needed to get rid of the truck but I still need to haul and dump stuff often, so the dump trailer was the next step.
I'll take some pics of progress tommorow, Later, Nat

 

[Nat]

I worked on the trailer today and have the cyl mounted. There will be a lot of stress when the cyl extends so I made a truss on the bed side of the cyl. I will also do something similar on the anchor end. This fuzzy pic shows the cyl in place. The anchor end is 11" lower than the live end. I'm no engineer and don't know how to figure the lift capacity, but just guessing from a bunch of years of this sort of stuff, I'm sure the lift will excede the trailer limit of 10,000 lbs.
Later, Nat

 

[Nat]

I have the hinge done for the dump. The 5" channel subframe web isn't strong enough for the hinge so I had to put a sleeve in it. I have a piece of 1/2 x 4 plate that goes from the top of the mainframe extending down to the bottom of the subframe. I cut a hole in the 5" channel and capped the open side with a piece of 4'' X 4 1/2" X 3/8" plate and welded a piece of 2" ID DOM tube from the channel to the flat plate. I was going to use 1 1/4 shaft for the hinge pin, but decided to use some 2" that I had laying around. The 2" shaft wasn't long enough to extend thru and drill for a cotter key, so I welded a cap on one end and drilled and tapped a hole in the end and will bolt a piece of flat bar to keep the pin in place. It's hard to discribe what I'm talking about, but maybe this pic will Help.

 

[Zork]

Nice job, I'd like to copy this some time. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[have_blue]

Nat,

Great project! Looks like tons of fun!

I have a 1.5 acre pond under construction that is visited by all kinds of dump trailers during the dry season. (weight limit excludes dump trucks!)

I guess I have had maybe 15 different ones in my pond, and I have seen maybe half of them fail or sustain damage.

Most of the damage is due to overload! It's such a temptation to overload them! Just a scoop or 2 extra can break something!

I have seen poor designs. Sometimes the ram is not direct enough, and rips itself from the frame. Sometimes the frame is not rigid enough and flexes as it dumps, putting the cylinder in an ungodly bind. The best one I saw had small-ish twin cylinders that dumped fast and with plenty of power. And those BATTERIES! All but 1 had battery problems. He had a direct hookup to his truck alternator.

I had a good laugh at 1 guy that overloaded a bunch of dirt to the rear so he would have power to dump. Well, when he ran over a big bump, it would nearly lift his rear pickup truck wheels off the ground! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Good luck with your project!