Using FEL to dump trailer?

WVBill · May 5, 2006

Yes, the Load Handler is easy to install. It has brackets that hook it over the tailgate of a pickup and straps to hold it on when you're running empty. If your trailer floor isn't any thicker than a pickup tailgate it should work.

AndyMA · May 5, 2006

( OK last attemp here...don't laugh too hard.
Have you tried backing up real fast and then slamming on the brakes yet? How stong is your hitch?
Another thing to try is take off your side boards and drive real fast in a tight circle?
I know... crazy but tilting it didn't work...?? Maybe? LOL... )

Rob, Sorry I am laughing. Gravel doesn't slide real well. With my dump truck I can't even get some gravel out all the time when the bed is fully up. To get the load off the trailer, you basically need to get it beyond 45 degrees so the force vectors change. So if the trailer is 16 feet long, you need to pick the front edge of the trailer (not the tongue) more than 11.3 feet off the ground. Pretty close to impossible. Why not just use the bucket to remove the gravel from the back of the trailer?

Andy

PBinWA · May 5, 2006

I used chain link fence, a big tree, and some chain to unload my trailer and it worked well. But I was unloading horse poo so it stuck together a little better.

I got the idea from another thread somewhere on TBN and it worked well.

Basically, get a length of chainlink fence that is twice the length of your trailer, lay it flat on the trailer with half of it rolled up at the tongue end. Load your rock on top of the chain link fence, back up to a tree, unroll the rest of the fence over the top of the rock and then devise some method to tie the ends of the fence to the chain and wrap the chain around the tree. I used some steel pipe and a fence puller. Then drive the trailer away and everything should slide off the trailer. If you have good traction you can grab one end of the fence and pull it out from the rock pile or just unload the rocks until you can just lift the fence out from the remains.

Did this make sense? Let me know if you need more description. Its another option to consider.

daTeacha · May 5, 2006

If you go with the loadhandler (that's the thing I mentioned a while back but didn't name) be sure to put a plastic drop clothe or something else slick under it. The things don't work worth donkey dung if you lay them on a rubber bed mat --too much friction. Looking at your trailer bed, I'd be spending a buck or two on a cheap thin sheet of plastic to make sure the load handler isn't bogged down by friction with the wood.

If it doesn't fit over your trailer bed, you can just extend it with a couple of pieces of 2x far enough to let you turn the crank.

daTeacha · May 5, 2006

Npaden -- here's the real question -- What did you do to get those nice pics to show up in the thread without needing to be clicked as an attachment? It would be great if all pics were like that.

npaden · May 5, 2006

I host all my pictures on my personal website and just use the image tag to show them in the post.

I try to keep the pictures I include in the post to a minimum for what it takes to explain what I'm doing and the board requires them to be less than 640x480 in size (or the moderators will get upset). That way dial up users don't get killed when they try to read a thread.

I also save them on low resolution so they are smaller files and don't take as long to load. (they are generally under 100kb)

FWIW, Nathan

npaden · May 5, 2006

Failure #2.

I put the plastic drop sheet down on the trailer before I put the loadmaster down and it made things TOO slippery. I probably ran the loadmaster cloth out a little too far and didn't leave enough on the bar to start rolling back up or something. When I was slowing down to turn onto our road the whole thing slid forward on the trailer and now the loadmaster cloth isn't attached to the bar to roll up. I'm back to the same spot I was in before. A load of gravel on the trailer without a way to unload it, but this time I have a $90 piece of cloth under it. I'm going to try to slide it back toward the back with the loader but I'm not sure if that will work or not. Oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to be.

3RRL · May 5, 2006

npaden,
Sorry for your dissapointment. You may have to do the "tie it to the tree" method to get it off? But you still have to get that cloth out from under it somehow.
I'm telling you man, this is a perfect time to try the back-up fast and slam on the brakes thing....I KNEW it would come in handy. If nothing else, it will be a stress reliever and take your aggressions out. Pay back time...worth a try no??
Or maybe it will slide easier lifting the trailer up now?

Steve_Miller · May 5, 2006

I think you have the right idea to try as it slid forward that easy while slowing down, it should probably work in the reverse direction.

Steve

npaden · May 5, 2006

Thanks guys! Instead of giving up I went back out and chained up to the tongue of the trailer with the loader (I used the break away chain this time - was quick and easy and actually worked) and picked it up as far as I could (about 3 feet or so, the trailer tires were all still on the ground) and then went forward and back a few times and the gravel slid down toward the back of the trailer. Not enough to dump so that part is still a failure, but enough to get the cloth for the loadmaster hooked back up.

This was between rain showers and the loadmaster bar was wet and I couldn't get it dry enough to get a good grip to unload so I'll just do that in the morning.

I'll take some pics in the morning.

npaden · May 7, 2006

Success! The Loadhandler lived up to it's billing.

Here it is once I got the gravel slid back down and got it hooked up:

And here it is unloaded. It took about 5 minutes to unload. I couldn't turn the handle a complete turn and when I would try to switch the handle it would slip back so I used a pipe wrench to hold it while I swapped the handle in and out.

After it was unloaded I used the tractor to pick up the front of the trailer and even with the plastic it didn't slide out.

I ended up climbing in the trailer and pulled out the plastic and that pulled 90% of the gravel out. The plastic made things much cleaner and easier. I think the plastic was $8. I could probably use it for another load or two if I wanted to keep it around.

daTeacha · May 8, 2006

Yay!!! Now wasn't that a lot more fun than having someone deliver it? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

AndyMA · May 8, 2006

(
After it was unloaded I used the tractor to pick up the front of the trailer and even with the plastic it didn't slide out.
)

> 45 degrees , Physics doesn't lie /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

daTeacha · May 8, 2006

You need some geology, too. Different materials have different angles of repose. I defy you to pile BB shot into a pile with 45 degree slopes. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

AndyMA · May 8, 2006

( You need some geology, too. Different materials have different angles of repose. I defy you to pile BB shot into a pile with 45 degree slopes. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

That I understand. We're not talking about how "sharp" we can make a pile. We're talking about getting it off the trailer. Also if you look at your angles and mine I think we are going in the same direction. Here's a discussion of Angle of Repose

keeney · May 15, 2006

I'd be careful picking up a trailer tongue with the FEL.

I tried to do that with a small fishing boat to drain it. The trailer tongue slipped off the edge of the FEL and the trailer bounced pretty hard. Then it started rolling down the slight incline it was on.

- Rick

keeney · May 15, 2006

I'd be careful picking up a trailer tongue with the FEL.

I tried to do that with a small fishing boat to drain it. The trailer tongue slipped off the edge of the FEL and the trailer bounced pretty hard. Then it started rolling down the slight incline it was on.

- Rick

RollTideRam · May 15, 2006

I just read though this whole post and many ideas. I have made gravel runs with my 14x6 steel deck trailer with 24" sideboards usually twice a year to patch the driveway. Most of the time I used a Chinese backhoe to unload the 2-3 tons. Last year, I had some drop legs welded to both sides of the rear of the trailer. Now I just drive up on it and scoop off the gravel or mulch or whatever I'm hauling. My tractor is probably smaller though. I did this before the drop legs, and bent the back axle. JC

RollTideRam · May 15, 2006

I just read though this whole post and many ideas. I have made gravel runs with my 14x6 steel deck trailer with 24" sideboards usually twice a year to patch the driveway. Most of the time I used a Chinese backhoe to unload the 2-3 tons. Last year, I had some drop legs welded to both sides of the rear of the trailer. Now I just drive up on it and scoop off the gravel or mulch or whatever I'm hauling. My tractor is probably smaller though. I did this before the drop legs, and bent the back axle. JC