Help me buy the correct Dump trailer

[jel1988]

I wrote another post some time ago on a dump trailer, the time to jump off the fence is here. Just wanted a little more information from experienced trailer guys. I need a trailer to haul; construction debris, shingles, aggregates and excavation spoil. On an infrequent basis my mini TLB weighing in at 1.5T length 10.5'. I'm going to tow with either 2011,2016 F150(4wd) with towing package and ratings of a little over 5T, I also have a 95 F350 (2wd). All trips will be short, 4-5miles however there are significant changes in elevation +-200 vertical feet at slopes reaching 5% again for short distances less than a mile.

Trailer spec's
Used to transport backhoe vs Material only
Box size 6.5*12 vs 5*8.5
capacity 6T vs 3.5T
frame 6" C channel vs Square tubing
suspension slipper spring vs ordinary leaf springs
brakes both axles vs brakes single axle
hoist single post telescopic front mounted vs scissor hoist
tire 235 80/16 Carlilse vs 205 75/14
box floor 12ga. vs 12ga floor
box cross members ever 16" vs 16" O/C
28" deck height vs 28" deck height
Price $6000 + extra's vs $4300 + extra's
Upgrades
10ga floor add $200
tarp add $350
drop axles are available reduces deck height 4"
Penny for your thoughts!
PS We don't have pennies anymore in Canada. The manufacturer is also de-rating the 6T to a 5T so I don't have to have a class A licence in Canada, this is still less expensive than buying a 5T and having 2' added
If you wish to look at the trailers yourselves go to Miskatrailers.com and look at the 6T industrial Single post hoist vs scissor hoist 3.5T

 

[kevinwak]

Do you have another trailer already for transporting the backhoe?

My dump trailer experience has been with rental 14' 14,000 pound models. ($130/day rental and only four miles away). I only had a F150 at the time and only hauled material across the yard. I was wishing for a smaller trailer. My experience with the large unit made me wanting an 8 or 10' 7000 pound model. The heavier trailer ate into my payload. I would go for the smaller one., and get the optional brakes on the second axle.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I would never buy a box tube trailer. Being in the trailer business part time for 25 years we have scrapped a dozen box tube trailers but never a structure steel trailer such as C Channel.

Other than that I would also never buy another powder coated trailer. Paint is much better in the long run.

Get Radial tires only! Bias are junk....

The rest is self explanatory.

 

[Dadnatron]

I just purchased a 16' Load Trail Deck Over gooseneck with drop sides.

I know your pain. I spent a long time on this purchase.

If you are hauling anything of note, I would definitely go with the 10ga floor and get the tarp. If you are only hauling equipment infrequently, I wouldn't go with the drop axles. It limits your ability to clear your bed and the height isn't 'that' high if you have good ramps. Concerning ramps, I would definitely get UNDER bed mounted. If you get them along the side, they can become bent while loading material. I like the scissor lift. Physics says it has the upper hand on early bed pushing, but 6T vs 3.5T is a big difference and I don't know which would come out ahead in that contest.

Size of the box is going to depend on your typical needs. Just realize that small box gets REAL small if you are hauling anything other than heavy dirt and aggregate. Waste, branches, demolition, etc will fill it up before hardly any real weight has been added.

I would go brakes on both axles. Stopping shouldn't really be a place to skimp in my opinion.

I like the channel over box if they run the electrical through the frame. Make sure you really look at the electrical connections and don't accept crappy connections.

Springs, I have no opinion or knowledge as to which of your options would be preferable.

 

[fried1765]

I would never buy a box tube trailer. Being in the trailer business part time for 25 years we have scrapped a dozen box tube trailers but never a structure steel trailer such as C Channel.

Other than that I would also never buy another powder coated trailer. Paint is much better in the long run.

Get Radial tires only! Bias are junk....

The rest is self explanatory.

Amen on the powder coat!
Rust forms more quickly under chipped powder coat, than bare steel in the middle of an ocean!

 

[Ford850]

I think powder coating vs paint is much like LT vs ST tires. The reason ST tires and powder coating both get bad reviews is due to lower quality versions. High quality ST tires are hard to beat. The negative comments come from the low quality junk sold (or included on new trailers) as low cost options. At least with tires, we can see the brand and research the quality while making decisions. Powder coating can be excellent, and more durable than paint. The problem is that many places do very poor prep work and provide poor quality coating. It looks nice when new and they can brag about it being PC'd but the coating fails early. High quality PC is hard to beat, but I doubt any trailer manufacturers are equipped to prep and coat in a high quality way.

 

[boggen]

V shaped sides (angled sides), so top of the sides are level with side of fenders. (funnel shape) so if you using tractor, you are not trying to 1/4" your way to side of trailer and end up hitting side of trailer. a few inches on ugly ground, is a few inches into side of trailer with tractor.

eletrical in metal conduit, not in the frame, ground ran to axles. along with to rear of trailer.

V shape bottom. so water collects in the center. even after the bottom gets a few dents and bangs in it. the bottom does not have to be aggressively sloped to center. 1/2" maybe 1" max. just enough so water collects in center and runs out.

3 holes in front (each corner, plus in center) to let water out
2 holes in back (one in each corner)

see about making sure the framework for sides and bottom are a full weld, vs on tac welding every so often. dust, grass, mud, leaves, insects, RAIN, gets in between the sheet metal and frame work and rusts it from the inside out.

looks like you already have ramps that both unfold out backwards, but also open left/right acting as doors vs ramps.

along with rear support legs for loading tractor into trailer.

===========
re-looking at pictures. looks like fenders for wheels is fairly heavy gauge metal. move the fenders to the inside, and the side walls to the outside. and have a BENCH on the inside. something to walk on when you run tractor in.

 

[kenmac]

I bought a Tow Master rental after the rental time was up. It has a rolled I beam frame. It has Hyd surge brakes that I removed for electric brakes. I have hauled Bob cat 325 mini ex, with no issues. Mine has a single hyd dump cylinder. Mine has torsion axles. Springs may have been better

 

[Chevyistop]

I will second that about staying away from box tube frame. I bought this 5x10 10k only a month ago and I knew the landscape supplier put to much topsoil in. I ask for 3 yards and he gave me at least 5. As soon as I hit the lift button the cylinder pushed the frame down instead of lifting the bed. I ordered a new load trail 5x10 10k today

 

[kenmac]

The frame on my Towmaster is 6'' I beam

 

[Diamondpilot]

I will second that about staying away from box tube frame. I bought this 5x10 10k only a month ago and I knew the landscape supplier put to much topsoil in. I ask for 3 yards and he gave me at least 5. As soon as I hit the lift button the cylinder pushed the frame down instead of lifting the bed. I ordered a new load trail 5x10 10k todayView attachment 506076View attachment 506077View attachment 506078

Who's paying for the new trailer?

 

[Chevyistop]

Insurance is as of now, I haven't heard if they are going after the landscape supplier or not. When I first call the company right after damage happened they offered me free material lol .. I don't need $5k worth of dirt. So if insurance doesn't want to recoup the money from them I will go after my deductible at least.

 

[Cord]

I had a 12' tandem axle over tire dump trailer. It was a love-hate relationship. I like the added height because the trailer could dump a nice tight pile. The between tire trailers have to be pulled forward to totally empty the box. What I hated about the trailer was it's short length. The trailer was a bear to back up and was exceptionally sensitive to being properly loaded. This was the only trailer that I almost lost control of when I was towing. I had a load of gravel in it from the quarry. The moment I hit 55 that trailer set to a violent sway. When I got home, I checked the tires are there were rub marks half way up the sidewall. Never trusted that trailer again and sold it a while later.

 

[rdinatal]

I find this thread very helpful as I am looking for a dump trailer. The information here is enlightening!

-R

 

[Haoleguy]

We have in the past had the frame material discussion....whether box, channel, or I beam material. There are 2 frames for most dump trailers. The main which holds the axles and lift mechanism and the dump bed frame. It sounds like I-beam and/or C-channel is the best material for both frames with no box framing anywhere....correct? Are there areas, e.g. cross members, where box frame is acceptable or only open I-beam or C-channel everywhere? The reason I ask is that if you look closely at dump trailer specs most seem to have box frame somewhere in the whole trailer. I'm assuming they do that to lower cost and weight?

 

[Diamondpilot]

We have in the past had the frame material discussion....whether box, channel, or I beam material. There are 2 frames for most dump trailers. The main which holds the axles and lift mechanism and the dump bed frame. It sounds like I-beam and/or C-channel is the best material for both frames with no box framing anywhere....correct? Are there areas, e.g. cross members, where box frame is acceptable or only open I-beam or C-channel everywhere? The reason I ask is that if you look closely at dump trailer specs most seem to have box frame somewhere in the whole trailer. I'm assuming they do that to lower cost and weight?

I personally only like to see structure steel on trailers and stay away from box stuff.

 

[Al 2]

Don't have a lot of experience with dump trailers but have a number of trailers around that are rusted out. Agree with 'C' channel for sure and the trailer you linked has 'C' channel. For those with box frames possibly drill small hole in all sections and spray in motor oil to combat rust., especially in locations that use salt on their roads in winter. Sometimes water will get into box frame and freeze and split tube. Possibly run wires in some kind of poly pipe or pvc pipe instead of steel pipe. If you have a tarp on it it will last longer if it has some kind of cover on it or rolls into a 'box' when not in use.
Al

 

[Haoleguy]

I'm finding that almost all manufacturers, if not all, use box tube for their bed frames. Many will use channel steel for cross members attached to the bed frame. The boxed bed frame materials differ in dimension(2" x 3" to 2" x 6") and thickness(0.120" to 0.188"). The smaller dimension box material is usually the thicker steel. It looks like BWise is using a heavy boxed material for their main frames. So my question is that since almost all 10k to 14k dump trailers use box steel somewhere in their frames is the concern only open ended boxed material ? Clearly dimension and thickness are key for strength if using box.

Chevyistop - It's disappointing that your MaxxD trailer cracked. Thanks for sharing with us as we can learn from that example. It looks like the main frame material was boxed 5" x 3" x 3/16"(0.188"). Looks new enough to not be a rust weakened example.

 

[plowhog]

Whatever trailer you buy, look very carefully at how you will chain down equipment loads, such as an excavator or tractor. If the trailer doesn't have them, make sure you have secure attachment points added inside the box.

There are many reasons to rate how much a tow vehicle can handle. Power and braking are two. Power is less of a concern for me. If I can only go 35 mph up a grade, it's more annoying to who is following behind me than it is to me. But another is braking. Going down a steep grade with inadequate brakes while towing is a recipe for disaster. I'll take heavy duty brakes every time and edge into braking overkill if I can.