"Removable" Dump Trailer Sides - Not That Removable

[Gordon Gould]

I bought a used Pronovost dump trailer a couple years ago. It is a great little trailer.



It is advertised as having removable sides. I wanted to remove to sides to make a flat bed. "Removable" is a little misleading maybe. The corner posts are 1-1/4" square tubing and the corner pockets they are pressed into are 1-1/2" X 1/8" square tubing so it is a force fit from the start. Then any deformation from use over time only tightens things up.



The sides and deck are only formed up 12 Ga ( .104" ) so you can't pry against or beat on them w/o stoving them up. There wasn't a spec of wiggle in the corners - just like they were welded in. I ended up making a set of screw jacks that bolt and clamp onto the corner posts to try and jack the posts up out of the pockets.



They worked and I did't bend it all up but things came apart much harder than I thought they would. I worked the back and front together a little at a time.





I have to change something to make this easier w/o losing much strenght.

gg

 

[52wej]

Not knowing how often you will need to remove the the sides, it would appear that you have a very good solution already. To borrow from Larry the Cable Guy, "Now that there is creative engineering, I don't care who you are!"

In all seriousness it would appear that one of the keys to the quality of the trailer is the tight fit of the side posts and their pockets. Would some anti-sieze in the pockets help make them come apart easier at a later date? Again you have a really good solution already. W Jones

 

[Redlands Okie]

"Removable" Dump Trailer Sides - Not That Removable

Nice work and idea. Not much help on future solution.

Could you weld on the bottom part of your rig to the outside of the trailor and leave it for feature use. Put a short bolt in the bottom threaded hole if need be to keep it clean and usable.

 

[coldsteelva]

Scrape the paint/powdercoat off (takes up space) and apply a liberal coating of Fluid film.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Gordon, maybe some Teflon spray? This holds up pretty good, is VERY slick and if you sprayed it each time that the sides were removed, it may just be enough to help out with the problem.

I always love your posts with pictures, your place is always so pleasant to look at, I can only dream of such surroundings. :thumbsup:

 

[LouNY]

Hauling dirt and stirring up dust I wouldn't use fluid film or grease or anything that would allow the dust to stick and build up, maybe some powdered graphite.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

Looks a bit overloaded?

David

 

[bcp]

I would clean up any rust in the pocket, then sand/grind a few thousandths off the posts so they slide in easily. Weld a nut on the inside of the post's bolt hole to clamp it to the stake pocket, instead of a through bolt. Then it can be looser in the pocket for removal, and still tight and rattle-free in use.

Bruce

 

[Gordon Gould]

Looks a bit overloaded?

David

I forgot to tell the wife to stop shoveling !!!

Good idea Bruce. Reduce the potential of crushing the pocket with the bolt. I was originally thinking never-seize but maybe fluid-film, teflon, or graphite would be better ??? Never used either FF or graphite.

gg

 

[LouNY]

Powdered graphite comes in a plastic squeeze bottle, it is a dry powder so it doesn't have any greasy or oily film to attract and hold grit and dust. Works well in lock cylinders, latches control cables where the liquid on spray lubes can attract and hold grit. I like FF for the corrosion protection but it will hold some grit.

 

[AxleHub]

Gordon,

I'd suggest something a bit differently than using a grinder to clean up the insert posts. I'd use some 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper preferably with a pad sander. Why that? Because a grinder tends to make a surface that is not smoothly flat. True it will get the rust and old paint off really fast - but what you really want is highly smooth surfaces - even if only surface smooth and not all the way down to the metal. IMO you want a non friction prepared surface so sandblasting would also be rougher.

Then when you apply whatever lubricant you decide on - its acting off of smoothness and not a textured surface like a grinder can give. Will 400 grit take a long time? No - because "clean" is not your goal - "smooth" is the goal imo.

P.S. and sand length-ways - not sideways. Also maybe consider a "polymer spray" rather than a petroleum based spray for the lubricant.

jmho

 

[Gordon Gould]

Thank you for those suggestions and the solid concepts. That all makes a lot of sense.

gg

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

My vote would be Neverseize and a second (flatbed) trailer. Hey, it's not my money! :drink:

 

[3Lfarms]

A molybdenum disulfide solid film lubricant would be ideal, but expensive. It’s $30-40 a can. It sprays on like paint, dries to the touch in about 5 min and cures hard enough that it’s difficult to scrape off and is remarkably slick when both surfaces are coated with it. Since it’s dry, no dust collects.
Anytime you have two pieces of metal that need to slide against each other, it is the best you can do without messy oil or grease.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I am learning about all kinds of stuff here. Thanks.

Loctite Anti Seize, Moly Paste, 8oz. Brush Top Can 5148 | Zoro.com

gg

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I am learning about all kinds of stuff here. Thanks.

Loctite Anti Seize, Moly Paste, 8oz. Brush Top Can 5148 | Zoro.com

gg

How do you use it?