Tractor/Atv dump trailer

[triptester]

I have made dump inserts for 2 trailers. The first one had a drop axle and a low 12 inch bed height. When dumping the load it ends up low and elongated.
The second trailer was has a 24 inch bed height which makes for much better dumping. With the higher dump bed there is less need to move the trailer to empty it completely.

 

[CADplans]

I have built a BUNCH of trailers over the years,,
for a yard trailer, short/wide tires seem to suit dumping the best.
I have hauled over 3,000 pounds of bricks on this little trailer,, no problems,,

 

[John_Mc]

I'm wondering what ever happened to this project. How about an update?

 

[js5020]

Whoops, sorry had a few life set backs and I had to build a snow plow for the Kubota BX23S. If the weather behaves itself I'll get back on this.

 

[John_Mc]

I just stumbled across this homebuilt ATV dump trailer video, which may give you a couple of ideas.

There are a few things I would change:

1. His trailer sits rather high, but he has left space between the frame and the dump bed to house his hydraulic components. I wonder if you could save some of that space if you moved everything but the cylinder out from under there and put it up on the tongue. If you are using an electric hoist to dump, you could save a lot of height.
2. I'd shift the center of gravity a bit forward to get positive tongue weight (better traction for the ATV, and help prevent getting negative tongue weight, which ball hitches really aren't intended to handle)
3. I'd add a rotating coupler for the ball hitch, as some of the commercial ATV trailers have, so if the trailer rolls, it's less likely to tack the ATV with it or damage the hitch.

Here's a second video the same guy added of a slight modification he made to make it easier to use his ATV winch to load logs in through the rear of the trailer. It's a nice, quick mod that adds a lot of utility to the trailer that is not as involved as building a crane. One thing I would do differently is just partially tip the dump bed and use the tailgate as a ramp to ease the logs in.

 

[js5020]

Well I am back on this project now that the weather has broken some. Got the front crossmember and axle welded on yesterday, and ran out of mig wire. Today I got more wire and the materials to make the lift, hopefully I have everything to complete it now.

 

[DerekF]

Well I am back on this project now that the weather has broken some. Got the front crossmember and axle welded on yesterday, and ran out of mig wire. Today I got more wire and the materials to make the lift, hopefully I have everything to complete it now.

I am currently in progress of a dump trailer build myself. Mine is only going to be 4'L 3'W and the box will be 2' Deep. It needs to be small and light enough for my quad to pull it but still big enough to get some work done. I am really struggling to figure out how I am going to do my hydraulic dump. I was wanting to use a double acting manual ram to lift it but when I did the math, the angle of the dump was only going to be 23 degrees if memory serves. Which is half of what most dump trailers are. So now I am really struggling to figure out how I can still use a manual ram without having to put it underneath where I have to get on my hands and knees and reach under to dump it. This is my first "built from scratch" project. So its a challenge. I will follow your project for inspiration!

 

[js5020]

Due to modifying an already built trailer I chose to not go the hydraulic lift route, just to much rework. Instead I'm going to use a winch, I can get pretty much unlimited height doing very little structural work and cost. Perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing but cost effective for what I am doing with it.

 

[DerekF]

Due to modifying an already built trailer I chose to not go the hydraulic lift route, just to much rework. Instead I'm going to use a winch, I can get pretty much unlimited height doing very little structural work and cost. Perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing but cost effective for what I am doing with it.

I see. That was a consideration of mine. I even have a spare winch. But I just really want to do hydraulics for aesthetics and lifting capability. The winch I have is just a little 2500lb one from harbor freight. I saw how much it struggled to even pull my quad when I played with it and I am not convinced it would pull a dump trailer. I am still going to follow along for inspiration anyway. Please keep posting pictures and descriptions of what you do.

 

[John_Mc]

I see. That was a consideration of mine. I even have a spare winch. But I just really want to do hydraulics for aesthetics and lifting capability. The winch I have is just a little 2500lb one from harbor freight. I saw how much it struggled to even pull my quad when I played with it and I am not convinced it would pull a dump trailer. I am still going to follow along for inspiration anyway. Please keep posting pictures and descriptions of what you do.

Those 2500# Harbor Freight winches have some design issues anyway. They are a great value for when you need a bit of pulling power, but they do tend to have problems with the cable jumping off and pulling down between the spool and the frame. This is probably because the spool holder is just a sort of U-shaped piece of metal surrounding the spool. The end away from the motor tends to get sprung out under load allowing a cable to pull down through. It would be a bummer if you got the cable jammed out in the middle of nowhere and were unable to dump, or were unable to lower after dumping.

The next size up of HF winch (3500# size) and larger ones have a more enclosed and supported design around the spool: take a look at the pictures on the links, and note the posts connecting both sides of the frame around the spool on the 3500# Badlands Winch which are missing on the 2500# Harbor Freight winches. The 3500# winches are also significantly faster.