Unloading gravel from a flatbed trailer

[acohen100]

I have never had this problem but here is what I would do. I would build a wooden sled that sits in the back of the trailer with chains attached to the front running the length of the trailer. Then load up. When I got home I would hook the chains up to the tractor, or a winch, and pull everything off by hauling on the chains and dragging the sled forward.

 

[Skyco]

call the quarry tell them how much rock you want. a guy shows up, and dumps it where you want it. cant think of anything any easier

Yeah if you have a really FAT wallet that needs a major weight loss

When I bought my 10 acres in the mountains of NC a few years back I had a guy deliver 28 tons of gravel, cost me $700. Then I found out the gravel was $10-13 a ton! You are buying the delivery not the rock

So I bought a 5 ton capacity dump trailer and have hauled about 175 tons, 5 tons at a time, I can do 4 loads in a day, the quarry is 25 miles away.

So discounting fuel and wear and tear on my truck I've spent say $1800 on the rock and $5000 on the trailer, so I'm at $6800, where he would have me done for $4375. Of course I could turn around and get $4000 for the trailer so I'd be at $2800. Quite a savings. Besides I like hauling my own, I get to dump it exactly where I want it. I'm keeping the trailer as it is really stout and is useful for lots of things...I even haul the tractor in it at times.

 

[Harry c]

I sometimes haul upwards of 3 ton of gravel on my flatbed trailer that I put box sides on. The problem is of course unloading it. I usually drive it up on a ridge with the tail of the trailer on the ground and use the tractor loader to unload it which works but is slow and difficult.

What I'm wondering is if anyone has found a quick and easy way to unload such a payload, poor man style.

thanks

My flatbed is 6 x 10 with 6" high wooden sides and a solid steel treadplate floor. To unload sand or gravel I can get much of it by reaching the FEL over the sides. Alternate sides and you can get most of the load. Finish with a shovel scraping it all to the back where you can reach it with the FEL. I can unload mulch, sand, gravel, etc without getting any on the ground.

The easiest way to simply get it on the ground is to remove the "tailgate", reach in from the rear with the FEL and backdrag the gravel out onto the ground. Leave it in a pile that then serves as a ramp to let you drive up onto the trailer. Continue to backdrag until you have a good solid ramp. Then just drive up onto the tail of the trailer, scoop up a bucket full, back off the trailer and off you go. Maintain your "ramp" as you make the additional trips and just backdrag the very last out. Pull the trailer forward out of the way and just handle the pile on the ground (your ramp) as usual. No shovel or sweat required. If you're hauling multiple loads just leave the ramp and back up to it with the next load.

NOTE: Do not unhook the trailer from the tow vehicle. The front of the trailer will definitely come up when you drive the tractor up on the rear if it's not attached.

 

[Jim_in_Omaha]

Thanks for all the responses. I gives me some more ideas.