Hello All,
I’m looking for advice on heavy duty, multi-purpose trailer. We are in the reno/repair bus. and frequently need to haul materials, sand/gravel, garbage etc. I’m thinking something tandem axle, elec. brakes with hydraulic dump. BTW it will be towed with an ’05 E-250 van. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Regards,
TN
Replies
Fill out your profile, trailers like these are pretty much regionalized. There may be some national brands but you might find better info from someone in your area. No use in someone in Oklahoma sharing the hottest thing since sex if you live in Maine. Friend of mine had local fabricator build him two killer dump jobs to his specs.
Welcome by the way.
rasonc,
Thks for the welcome...I'm not looking for brand-specific info...just a general "what to look for" ie. size, capacity, new vs.used, etc. from experience.
Custom built is a possibility.
BTW how is the sex in Maine ?
TN
"BTW how is the sex in Maine ?"
I would not know, barely knowledgeable about here in North Carolina. (:-)
Buddy's trailers are really super. I borrowed some of his guys and the trailer when I got over my head last year. He has two sizes. I think he did the first one at 8' and then went to 10'. They do get heavy. He has solid metal sides with a 18" row of expanded metal at the top, tarp on auto roll, battery on board for tilt.
Good luck, Bob
What makes you think there's sex in Maine?I have a double axle - think that is important 'cause the uneven loading of demo debris will make a trailer want to fishtail.Mine is a 12' but I'd comnsider a 14' because it is necessary if I haul lumer.My lift is a single cylinder. Some guys look for power up and power down too.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Definately get power down like Pif suggested-if you intend to haul some materials like gravel,where you'd like to dump some off then lower the hoist and move the trailer and dump some more off.
With power down you can control the descent instead of a big crash.
One non-regional thing is that they are heavy empty, at least the ones with the 4' tall box. Not exactly something that you'd want to haul around for show :)
The other opinion I can give is this: If you buy a used one, make sure to check it out pretty well. The axles take a beating on these things due to the weight that they're subjected to. Keeping the hubs greased is important and you'll need to keep the battery charged up so it will dump - there's nothing worse than having a full load and the thing won't take a dump for you.
Otherwise, they are wonderful. Wouldn't trade one for anything when hauling demo debris.
After much shopping, I decided on a model with the wheels under the bed rather than on the outside. Makes for a narrower trailer which is easier to get in tight spots. Mine also has removable wooden sides which makes loading and unloading palleted goods with a forklift possible. 12' length makes it useful for hauling 16'-20' long materials.
Birth, school, work, death.....................
http://grantlogan.net/
I own a single wheel tandum axle 14' goosneck with 3' sides. The bed is high and about 4" too narrow for our case 1845C. It has steel sidewalls that are not detachable.
If I had to do it over, I would get a lowboy gooseneck, one that is wide enough for our skid loader or tractor with ramps and has detachable sides. Detachable sides on a dump unit make for smooth pickups of palletize products or a forklift bundle of lumber.
Examples in Louisiana http://www.northshreve.com/main.htm. I especially like the last one on this page. Speaking of Louisiana, these things are in high demand and cost have gone up becasue fo the hurricanes.
Sometimes battery drain is a problem when they sit. I ran two heavy duty battery leads from the truck to trailer with heavy plug so I never have battery problems. I do not have to worry about the trailer battery charging enough while transporting. A solar charger was suggested here in BT, good idea, but I choose the other route as I imagined the routy activity arond the tralier and possible damage to the solar charger.
Get a hitch lock, and make sure the serial number is welded or well etched in the unit in more than one place (the second location should be well hidden). Mine was stolen. I found it myself after about 4 months, but had a hard time taking possesion as the serial ID plate had been removed. I had to get a Texas Department of Saftey Vehicle Recovery Specialist to talk to two of my employees and walk her around the unit sighting all of the dent, dings and other oddities before she would release the unit to us. It worked as they were not and had not been present at the recovery site prior to the call.
Edited 2/15/2006 3:10 pm ET by txlandlord
Edited 2/15/2006 3:28 pm ET by txlandlord
I've been pondering a dump trailer for a while but didn't think we could find one that works for us. Currently we have an enclosed trailer and a 6.5'x16' equipment trailer that we put wood sideboards on.
The equipment trailer is great for getting a job set up, hauling materials, and then using as a trash bin once the job is underway. The downside is it's not a dump trailer so we have to unload every dump run.
TX posted a link and the first trailer on the "dump trailers" page caught my attention. I have never seen a 16' dump trailer that was not a gooseneck. So now I'm thinking, could we use this for all of our needs? The 16' length is really nice because we can haul most material easily.
Would this trailer prove to be too much to haul behind an F250? Any other caveats to note?
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
I have a smallish dump trailer that I all but never use... a buddy has it now on his farm and has rigged the hyd to work off my tractor.. that he also has... but anyway... why i never use it...
because you can buy a pretty nice C60 or C65 dumptruck for less than you can a good trailer... and as you know or would soon find out... you always overload anything thats head'n for the dump... my current "go to the dump" truck is a 1987 GMC single axle 22.5" wheels (split rims..hate those) with a detroit diesel got it from the local university where it had never left the grounds has a 18ft steel bed with 4ft sides... and 43,000 actual miles... i can get just about as much in it as i can a rented rool off.. and $35-65 per load is alot better than $275.... but i've had c60 dumps with 350 sbc and 10ft dump beds ... ck ebay there are always old farm/grain trucks and always pretty cheap... and who hasn't always wanted their own dumptruck...
p
That's probably one of the best ideas mentioned.
"I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class and sole control of those who produce wealth. Communisum is the goal!" - Roger Baldwin Founder of the ACLU
I started looking at dump trailers a few years ago and I'm really glad I took my time.
I run a small carpentry buisness and wanted something to primarilly haul debris to the dump, but that could also transport materials, concrete forms, firewood once in a while.
One of the things that held me back from investing in a tandem axle, hydraulic dump trailer was that my company van is a 3/4 ton, but only has a V-6 in it and I don't plan on replacing it anytime soon (in fact, I'm hoping to make it last until I retire).
The trailer I finally decided on was a single axle tilt bed, 5x10. It has stake pockets in the bed so I put plywood sides on it 3' tall. When it's full of consturction debris I dump somewhere around a ton, give or take.
Stay with me here. I said "tilt bed" right? Well, this darned thing is so beautifully designed that if I'm even a little bit carefull loading it I can literally lift the front of the box with one hand, dumping my load in less than 10 seconds and not spill my coffee. I can't tell you (and I don't want to try to remember) how many hours I've spent unloading a pick up or my van at the dump over the years.
And the best part? Danged thing only cost me 1200 beans, brand new. It's the first trailer I have owned, so I did have to invest in a hitch and electric brake set up for my van which added a few hundred, but I'm telling you man, I can't believe how good an investment that thing has been.
Cheap to register and insure (unlike a truck) and if it sits for 6 months in between dump runs I don't mind. Great investment for a small timer like me.
TIPI,TIPI,TIPI!
When JimB told me about his "tilt-bed", I thought hmm, that's great! A low-buck dump trailer! And it is, for odd/ small jobs.
As for a Dump Trailer, mine is a tandem axle Top Hat brand 6x12 w/ 4' sides, 12,500# capacity (this is only because the hitch & ball are maxed out at 12.5K). It will hold 30-35 squares of old roofing, or your average framing/roofing/rough-in cleanup on new construction. I paid $6500 for mine brand new in October last year; haven't charged the (el cheapo) battery yet! Keep in mind, too, that I live in Mobile, AL, home of hurricanes Ivan and Katrina.
Even now that I'm not roofing, having what I call a "rolling dumpster" is nice to have. Not to mention I charge my tree-cutting buddies "rent" to borrow it for their jobs.
Oh yeah, someone else said these things weigh a lot...they're right. my DT weighs as much unloaded as my 7x14 enclosed trailer does loaded with tools and nails...I set the brake controller for about 4.0 empty, up to 7.5 loaded...vs. 3.0 max (loaded) for the 7x14. And mine comes with 235/85 series tires, E range, same as what my truck came with.Jason Pharez Construction
Framing & Exterior Remodeling
"I paid $6500 for mine brand new..."
Yeah, well, we all don't make the big bucks like you and Diesel, you know! <BFG>TIPI,TIPI,TIPI!
LOL Jim!
I actually traded my old truck for it---that money was supposed to be a down payment on my new truck, but you know.....
The crappy thing is now I ain't gonna have much use for it!Jason Pharez Construction
Framing & Exterior Remodeling
Jim, How does it work dumping a tiltbed trailer. Do you tilt it up, hop in the van an punch it so you drive it out from under the the load? It is hard to imagine it just sliding out of the bed with such a minimal angle.I currently have an old f350 flatbed/stakeside dump and it is handy every now and then but it is also a pain in the but to find a parking space for it and it always seems to have a minor mechanical issue that needs to be dealt with anytime i go to use it. I guess a trailer has the same parking issues but presumably a lot less maintenance. If I could find a simple cheap trailer to replace the old ford dumper i would for it.Karl
"It is hard to imagine it just sliding out of the bed with such a minimal angle."
Yeah, for sure, Karl. It only works well if I get the wheels right to the edge of the drop off at the transfer station. The bed pivots right above the wheels, so the back of the bed can tip WAY below the level of the tires as long as it doesn't hit anything (like the ground).
Glad you asked, I didn't want to really confuse people by saying all this in the initial post. TIPI,TIPI,TIPI!
Jim,I think some clarification is in order.When I started working in the Chicago area, our dumps had ramped areas that you would drive up and dump your trash down in to a large dumpster. The one I spent the most time at had probably a 15' drop when the dumpster was empty.Here in VA, the facility we use the most is just a steel building that people drive through and dump their trash onto the ground. BFI employees then come through with an excavator with a thumb and pick up the trash and put them in containers which are hauled off via rail.If I had never worked in IL I would have no idea that you could pull something off like you did. Whenever I was at the dump in IL I always dreamed of building a box with a 6x6 at the front that you could chain to the edge of the dumpster and drive forward to pull most of the trash off the bed. Your solution is a lot more elegant.
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
The trailer looks like a good solution to some problems, but i am more impressed with the pine forest / trees. It reminds me of Tennesse and some of my old watersking / fishing campgrounds in mississippi and Alabama.
I am in a part of Texas where those pine forest that (in the morning) are as quite as a church mouse on Tuesday are no where around, with tall pines swaying in the breeze and an 8" carpet of pine needles on the floor of the forest.
sounds like you described pickwick.... only water i know that covers mississippi, TN, & AL... we'd ride the dirtbikes all morning (cover 2-3 states) and ski all afternoon in the summers... (in the winter it was just the bikes)......even ski at nite when a full moon... the campground was "bruntons branch" had hot showers and was free... very nice..
p
Yep, Pickwick qualifies...been there.
But, I was not refering to a lake in all three states, but different lakes in each state.
Sardis, Mississippi / Arkabutler, Mississippi / Logan Martin, ALA / Lake Martin, ALA / Paris Landing, TN / Enid, Mississippi / Heber Springs, AR / Lake Hamilton, AR / Good fishing at Reelfoot Lake, TN
There are some more but can not think of them now.
we'd ride the dirtbikes all morning (cover 2-3 states) and ski all afternoon in the summers... You sound like my kind of guy.....dirt bikes and water skiing...you are not my cousin Terry are you?
Terry and I has two Susuki trail bikes and would ride until we were in trouble with mom and dad. We skied a lot on Logan Martin in ALA, love it at about 5 in the afternoon when the water is like glass. After dinner (we had a lake house with dock), we would go night fishing for crappie. Hang laterns over the bow of the ski boat and some nights you could catch them as fast as you could get your hook re-baited.
My cousin and I have grown up, both of us ride crusiers bikes (2005 Harley Road King in full dress and a 2006 Suzuki C90 1500 CC Boulevard). He has a lake house on Lake Martin in ALA, and a Donzi in the boat house. I have a small pond on my property with some catfish and blue gill. We have plans to dig a much bigger lake / pond...big enough to do some jet skiing....I hope work will begin this Spring.
I'm in Memphis... so any lake within 150 miles was game.... Enid, sardis, heber, but most afternoons we'd ski the mississippi river... jump'n Exxon barge wakes is as close to offshore powerboats as you can get... jump'n em at nite was even more stupid... only lost one boat to the mississippi... and sadly lost one friend...
my dad at 80 has really just quit ride'n, both brothers ride... I'm the only one on a harley (was an ultra but now more of a roadking...took 150lbs off) it's been as far south as KeyWest, but I also keep a zx7, and a collection of 70's choppers... never too many toys, just lack the time for their use... these days I have a place on Horseshoe Lake... 30min into Arkansas from the Mississippi river Bridge... keep the normal Jetskis, fishingboats, skiboats, pontoon ect... but most days there I fish for the large black bream (1lb is good size) on a flyrod... dirtbike days I was always on a Penton/KTM...
p
I am from Memphis...my folks live in Gernmantown...was just there last Christmas
I know and have been to all the places you mention...
I have two of these first was a learning experience, double axel under the box with with a dual ram dump and removable sides. things I learned 10 watch the battery a dead one will not go up or down 2) if load is heavy the bed may bow and the sides would come undone on thier own ( not good ) a light trailer can be a weak trailer and vise versa. My second trailer is a lot nicer in most ways except 1) a lot heaveier empty which also makes it a lot heavier when I load it ( Go figure ) I can now load my bobcat in the trailer and take both in one trip rather than two but this is a very heavy load and I would get a ticket if stopped due to max weight for legal towing GMC 2500 hd 10000# trailer is about 4000 and bobcat is 7600# oops didnt think of that when I made my purchase. I think these can be better then a dump truck because you have lower insurace and if on a long term job you can leave it behind untill you need it. I paid 6800 but its built very well and I have been very happy
My experiences have been about like the others. A 4,500 lb. trailer is a lot to pull on a bumper hitch, much less so on a gooseneck.
A year ago the guy I was working with bought one and I said how in the past we found them to be very handy, but it's quite a load, especially hauling a skid steer. He bought a 14' 12,000 gvw bumper hitch model and it scared him the first time it was loaded with a few tons of gravel. Now he just uses it for a garbage trailer.
Back home in Wyoming all the sheetrock guys drive 1 ton vans and pull 12' dump trailers. Most contractors seem to be getting 14' goosenecks.
We don't see a lot of them, but there have been a few dual axle dump trailers that look to have GVWs in the 7,000-8,000 lb. range, run a narrow 12' and probably weight something like 2,500-3,000 lbs. That would be a great size for a 3/4 ton.
On the other hand, when you're hauling bulky loads get a big trailer.
If you have a skidsteer, or plan on getting one, check to make sure it will fit in the trailer. Our big JD skidsteer had maybe a half inch clearance on each side so it was like giving birth unloading the thing.
Another guy I worked for bought a 1 ton dumptruck instead of a trailer and it was a joke since the dump bed was so heavy and left little capacity for much of a load. A bigger truck would have been much better, or a dump trailer. After loading a dump truck I've really appreciated the lower height of the dump trailer.
If a lot of your loading is by hand, a trailer with the tires tucked under the bed would make for a little more work.
Cheers,
Don
I have the under tandem axle with the wheels under the bed also. 5 ton model, single cylinder, cost 4k a few years back. We use it at the shop as a dumpster and on bigger jobs haul it to the site. I really like it. Worth every dime just to not be one of the guys unloading for an hour by hand. The only change I would make is to make sure you get a double acting cylinder. Mine is a single meaning powers on the upstroke only and "coasts" down when the bed comes back down. In the winter (Ohio) when the oil is thick you seem to be standing there for 10 minutes waiting for the damn thing. DanT
Have to agree with the DT folks, but would tend toward a 'small DT" vs a big 5 yard job.
Dump bed on 3/4T PU was best investment of welding time spent.
3/4 Ton 4x4 '73 chevy frame/350/auto with '63 cab. Custom bed with 2ea 4" hyd cylinders for lift, beefing up frame and the dump itself added about 500 # to the chassis, essentially dumps the regualar bed. Empty truck weight about 6400#. Cost about $400 in hyd cylinders, pump, etc., mostly surplus, did use over 50# of welding rod.
Have had 3800# of reclaim gravel ( and roof tear-off (with 4 ft high stakes sides) in the bed and the dump mechanism handles that OK.
Have a tandem axle 18 ft flatbed trailer (non-dump, haul backhoe around) also, but to me the biggest advantage of the 3/4 T DT vs trailer is getting a load of gravel or whatever back into a tight spot, lots easier than trying to back a trailer. That doesnt matter if all you drive on is paved areas at transfer stations or such. My insurance is only $200 yr on the DT, license $60, which makes it about 4X more per year in overhead cost than the trailer, but the DT is used as a spare vechicle also, grandkids love to ride in it. 11 MPG
If you want to consider converting your own PU into a dump, I could post detail pix next week when I may have some time.
I sorta wished for a dump trailer for a while, but have decided to try a different plan first.
I'm in San Jose, CA and recently, I've been noticing several companies that just pick up and haul stuff. A couple look like franchise operations - nice clean trucks and websites. Others are just some guy with an old beater 3/4T pickup.
Since few of my jobs generate much waste, I'm going to try one of these outfits. It may be a good way to avoid the cost of buying, insuring, licensing, and maintaining my own trailer.
We have an 18', 20klb, dual tandem axle gooseneck dump trailer. What a waste. The trailer weighs in at about 10klb by itself. So that only leaves you about 10klb worth of load capacity. Originally we pulled it with a F250 diesel but we burned up the tranny because the trailer is just too big. The hoist seems undersized given the capacity of the trailer and the battery is always dead. I have added a second battery and that helped but we still use a backhoe to "help' it dump most of the time. This trailer is now sitting in my barn with the gooseneck cut off and the hoist removed. I am adding a pintle hitch, a larger hoist and a third axle so that we can use it. It will now be a 30klb trailer and be pulled by one of our dump trucks. What a waste.
Justin
Anyone have any experience with "Big Tex" trailers? I see them all over Northern Calif. and they look pretty nice. Been considering one myself!
They are all over the place up here in Washington too, Kid (and stay the f*ck down there, will ya? We are getting overrun with Californians up here).TIPI,TIPI,TIPI!
just as an option... I purchase this dump kit off ebay maybe 2 yrs ago... still haven't built a trailer or truck to go with it... but you have to plan these things... the dump kit use's an airbag and the exhaust from your truck to make it lift... says it can dump 10,000lbs.... it was cheap late at nite and i was on ebay... so it might happen someday....
as for small dumptrucks I paid $800 for my first C60 with a 10ft bed guy had used it for doing asphalt patches... paid $1800 for one with a 16ft bed came from the place that shreds papers for people... current one that i love with the air brakes and 16ft bed and detroit diesel and still under 50k miles i paid $1800 for it at an auction... but i see them all the time for less than 3k if you get it from an old farmer pretty good bet it's been cared for...
p
I remember bumper stickers "Don't Californicate Oregon" back in the 70's. Of course the guy who's truck it was on turned to be a refugee from L.A. "I'm up Jack! Pull up the ladder!"
I'm telling you, man, it seems like a river of them moving up here these past few years. I guess it's good for the economy and all, but I can't believe the changes in our little town in the 25 years we've lived here.
Where are you at in Oregon? Some beautiful country down there. TIPI,TIPI,TIPI!
http://www.bigtextrailers.com/spec/12lx.html
All depends on what your needs are.
Hey TN: I got an easy dumper 9,999 gvw dual axel and I like it alot.I pull it with my 4 runner whoops(I didnt say that) The deck is 6x 10 I paid $3,600 for it in 2000.The distrbutor was in new hampsher and he cut out the middle man
Easy dumper makes a good trailer also foster made a great trailer but I think they got bought out.
If I got another one I would get a low profile ,they are easyer to get equipment into.Also chose your gate option carefully,The new barn door tailgate combos are nice
Greg
Lead,Follow,or Get the Hell Out of the Way!
Edited 2/16/2006 8:49 pm ET by greggo
That's another thing that was just brought up. I went to the factory and picked mine up. Dual 3500 lb axles, brakes on all wheels, dual hydralics-$3700 6 mos ago.
Birth, school, work, death.....................
http://grantlogan.net/