Dump trailer questions

[Sebculb]

Hey everyone,

So I work dirt with a couple old yellow backhoes in suburban and rural SW Costa Rica. Steep mountainous rainy terrain. I should own a dumptruck, either like a 6 meter single axle or a little 3 meter 4x4 type of thing. But dumptrucks are expensive and it's probably not going to happen soon.

I have a dual axle trailer I bought several years ago with the intention of hauling this little toy Kubota around from job to job. Then I realized the trailer was poorly built, didn't have brakes, and could get out of control on these steep mountain roads. Got scared and never used it. Sold the Kubota and moved up to yellow-sized machines.

Now I'm thinking of making the trailer into a dump trailer. My welding skills have progressed to where I can make it sturdy enough, so that's not an issue.

I dunno what to do about the fact that it doesn't have any brakes. I'm either scared or how much does it really matter anyway?

I'd be hauling it with a 91 Toyota 4 runner 6 cylinder engine. 4 door. What is the max amount yalls think I can haul in a dump trailer with that size car? If I can't haul at least 2-3 backhoe loader buckets if wet dirt it probably won't be worth it. Like 2 cubic meters. 3 would be great.

I've been driving big backhoes for like 6 years now and I'm getting pretty decent in scary situations, but I've never ever driven anything else like trailers or even something bigger than an suv. So I dunno anything if this is feasible, safe, or a dumb waste of time.

What do yalls think?

Thanks!

 

[Rockbadchild]

yes beaks on heavy trailer is crucial, the push from a dump trailer is insane and if it start swaying without brakes it will get interesting pretty quickly to say the least, your Toyota 4runner as a towing capacity 3500lb most 1500 truck is 12000lb, it is challenging to haul a small dump trailer fully loaded with a 1500 truck I cannot imaging doing it with a Toyota 4runner, not only your Toyota will get squatted real quick it wont be able to pull very much and has no weight to stop the trailer from swaying. I would not recommended it I think it will be dangerous and could damage your 4runner.

 

[Rockbadchild]

what is the dimension of your dump trailer ?

 

[bcp]

You might manage a dump with brakes and a capacity of 1 cubic yard. That's probably not worth the trouble.

Bruce

 

[Sebculb]

Okay, maybe I don't need to try to do this. Could be an expensive wild goose chase, kinda like that time I tried to make a sawmill with a 24" circular saw blade. Figured I'd better abandon it or I was going to die.

Maybe I'll pull the trailer apart and use one axle to make a small utility trailer and I dunno, make some farm implement with the other axle.

Thanks everyone for the warnings

 

[Sebculb]

what is the dimension of your dump trailer ?

It's not a dump trailer yet, it's just a half finished project with two axles that some other yahoo with poor welding skills was trying to make

 

[3Ts]

1 yard of dirt is about 3000#. 1 cu meter is about 1.25 yards, so almost 4000#, and depending on how much water is in it, it could be even heavier. You'll need a serious tow vehicle to move much dirt.

Here in the States, a trailer weighing 1500# is required to have brakes. I don't know the requirements in Costa Rica, but if you're on hilly roads, I'd sure recommend it regardless of the weight! It may be possible to add brakes without much cost depending on the axle. What you need is an axle with a brake flange. If you have that, you'll need a backing plate that bolts onto the flange and a brake hub (and the wiring), everything else is the same.

 

[mmancuso13]

Topsoil would have to be pretty wet to weigh 3K pounds.

1500-2200lbs more likely based on composition and moisture

 

[Rockbadchild]

ya loose gravel weight is not a exact science every material composition has its own specific gravity, 1 square meters of compacted gravel has a specific density of 2.2 to 2.4 and a swell factor of 25%, sand on the other hand would have a compacted specific density of 1.8 and a swell factor of more like 17%...

 

[Sebculb]

1 yard of dirt is about 3000#. 1 cu meter is about 1.25 yards, so almost 4000#, and depending on how much water is in it, it could be even heavier. You'll need a serious tow vehicle to move much dirt.

Here in the States, a trailer weighing 1500# is required to have brakes. I don't know the requirements in Costa Rica, but if you're on hilly roads, I'd sure recommend it regardless of the weight! It may be possible to add brakes without much cost depending on the axle. What you need is an axle with a brake flange. If you have that, you'll need a backing plate that bolts onto the flange and a brake hub (and the wiring), everything else is the same.


View attachment 744946

I'm pretty mechanical, so I could probably get some kind of brakes on there. What I can't wrap my simple little mind around is how to actuate them, be it electronically or tying into the cars brake system? I know electric trailer brakes exist but they don't seem to be readily available here. Maybe I'm asking in the wrong places but none of my mechanic buddies know where to get them.

 

[Sebculb]

So Im extremely stubborn and prone to foolish behavior sometimes. Most of the replies were, "don't do that! It's dangerous".

I personally am most worried about the lack of brakes. Perhaps I can engineer a solution there. But I've never driven any type of trailer or truck or anything bigger than an suv (except for the backhoes)and I know nothing about this except that there's a lot to know that I don't know (does that make any sense?) Could someone please explain the things that can go wrong with a heavy trailer on a mid to large size suv?

Someone mentioned swaying. But what if I build it low, wide and flat? Would that help? Someone else mentioned high speeds, there's no highways or anything similar here, just paved 2 lane country roads when you're lucky. If I had a heavy load I doubt I'd get above 25 mph.

Sorry for the slow responses, but I had been convinced to abandon this idea but now it's still nagging at the back of my brain.

Thanks!

 

[Topzide]

The Toyota won't pull that trailer with 1 bucket full let alone putting 2 on it! Brakes would help with the stopping of trailer when loaded or it will push you over road edge or through stops and turns. What you want to do needs a 3/4 - 1 ton truck(2500 - 3500). No way with Toyota Suv!

 

[bcp]

Sell the trailer. Use the money to hire or rent a dump truck when needed. Raise your rates, if needed. Barter work for someone with a dump truck.

Don't do something risky to you and others on the road.

Bruce

 

[Sebculb]

Sell the trailer. Use the money to hire or rent a dump truck when needed. Raise your rates, if needed. Barter work for someone with a dump truck.

Don't do something risky to you and others on the road.

Bruce

I've got two buddies with trucks that help me as needed. They're almost associates by now.

I'll probably make the trailer into some little utility trailer that can transport a cow or a concrete mixer or something. Does it need two axles for a decent sized cow? Brakes?

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Okay, maybe I don't need to try to do this. Could be an expensive wild goose chase, kinda like that time I tried to make a sawmill with a 24" circular saw blade. Figured I'd better abandon it or I was going to die.

Maybe I'll pull the trailer apart and use one axle to make a small utility trailer and I dunno, make some farm implement with the other axle.

Thanks everyone for the warnings

I lived down there a couple years. I know the roads, and those dang painted pom pom buses. Maybe 2 yards max if you have trailer. Brakes. Both axles. No more than that. The bigger the vehicle, the more right of way it has. That's traffic law down there.

 

[Trippy1313]

Yeah.... getting trailer brakes on that is definitely your #1... I've had a dump trailer with 4 yard of gravel push me downhill because the brakes weren't adjusted enough... not even because it didn't have them. It had them... and I was driving a big ole F350 Super duty. It was scary for a few seconds till I adjusted it way up.

 

[4570Man]

A 4 runner isn’t reasonably going to haul 4 yards of dirt even with trailer brakes. But trailer brakes are very much needed to haul pretty much anything with that vehicle.

 

[Trippy1313]

Oops, maybe bad wording. I meant to elude to simply the fact that a truck well rated to haul its load can still be very unsafe without proper trailer brakes.