Any advice on 7x14 14K dump trailer for my new truck?

[In.the.Piñons]

I should be picking up a new (to me) pickup truck in a few days. It's 22 F-350 XLT 6.2L V8 with 10 spd auto, crew cab with a 8ft bed. Tow rating is 14,800lbs bumper and 15,400bls (IIRC) for a goose-neck.

Now I'm looking at dump trailers to haul gravel, dirt, trash, wood etc. I'm at elevation so will be hauling from 4.5Kft ASL to about 6.5K ASL. Steep grades, but low speed limit on the climb. 25-35mph depending on route.

I owned diesels in the past and know how well they perform at elevation, but this time round I'm happy to settle for something that "gets the job done good enough". I've got about 140 yards of road base and gravel I want to haul up, but after that it will be about (guessing) 5-20 loads a year. It's not a daily driver, so it's not really going to get a lot of use. Maybe 5K miles a year and hauling stuff around the ranch (lots of short trips).

Anyway, back to the trailer. Are there any down sides to getting a 7x14ft trailer with 4ft sides? My tractor's loader will clear it no problems, but they are a little heavier vs the 2ft sides, which takes away from the load capacity a bit. I imagine most equipment (tractors/skid steers/loaders etc) could clear the 4ft walls OK?

Obviously, when hauling dirt/gravel etc weight will be the limiting factor, but it would be nice to have the high sides when hauling wood or taking a load to the dump. Also I'd imagine I could overload it a little bit when just transporting dirt/wood/gravel from one end of the ranch to the other (few miles) at 10mph.

When shopping trailers today, there was a nice 7x14 trailer with 4ft walls, but it had a GVWR of 15,200lbs. The guy told me he couldn't sell it to me due to my trucks weight ratings (14,800lbs, so over by 400lbs) ... because of their insurance. Is this common? I mean, just because the trailer can handle a little more weight, does not mean you have to use every bit of it's GVWR!

Any other thoughts on dump trailers? Worth it to get 7 gauge steel over 10?

 

[Midniteoyl]

See a lot of the low sided trailers with added wood when needed. Might be a good way to go.

 

[Hay Dude]

I should be picking up a new (to me) pickup truck in a few days. It's 22 F-350 XLT 6.2L V8 with 10 spd auto, crew cab with a 8ft bed. Tow rating is 14,800lbs bumper and 15,400bls (IIRC) for a goose-neck.

Now I'm looking at dump trailers to haul gravel, dirt, trash, wood etc. I'm at elevation so will be hauling from 4.5Kft ASL to about 6.5K ASL. Steep grades, but low speed limit on the climb. 25-35mph depending on route.

I owned diesels in the past and know how well they perform at elevation, but this time round I'm happy to settle for something that "gets the job done good enough". I've got about 140 yards of road base and gravel I want to haul up, but after that it will be about (guessing) 5-20 loads a year. It's not a daily driver, so it's not really going to get a lot of use. Maybe 5K miles a year and hauling stuff around the ranch (lots of short trips).

Anyway, back to the trailer. Are there any down sides to getting a 7x14ft trailer with 4ft sides? My tractor's loader will clear it no problems, but they are a little heavier vs the 2ft sides, which takes away from the load capacity a bit. I imagine most equipment (tractors/skid steers/loaders etc) could clear the 4ft walls OK?

Obviously, when hauling dirt/gravel etc weight will be the limiting factor, but it would be nice to have the high sides when hauling wood or taking a load to the dump. Also I'd imagine I could overload it a little bit when just transporting dirt/wood/gravel from one end of the ranch to the other (few miles) at 10mph.

When shopping trailers today, there was a nice 7x14 trailer with 4ft walls, but it had a GVWR of 15,200lbs. The guy told me he couldn't sell it to me due to my trucks weight ratings (14,800lbs, so over by 400lbs) ... because of their insurance. Is this common?

No, it’s not common, but it IS moronic.
Everyone knows you could de-rate the trailer to a lower rate, but that’s not even necessary. Maybe he thought you were going to need a CDL.

I mean, just because the trailer can handle a little more weight, does not mean you have to use every bit of it's GVWR!

Any other thoughts on dump trailers? Worth it to get 7 gauge steel over 10?

7 will weigh more. Tougher, but less load cap. I would do 7 ga if you are going to be dumping large rocks, or heavy chunks of hardwood, etc into it. 10 is fine for general use. If dumping heavy, sharp junk into the bed, you could always line the bed with junk plywood to help keep from denting it.

 

[4570Man]

I would get the tall sides. The 2 ft sides don’t hold enough trash to make the trip worth it. Even with 4ft sides I can usually only fit 3500 pounds or so of trash. I’d definitely get the 7 gauge and I’d get a telescoping cylinder. This load of sand weighed 5.3 tons and my trailer did dump it with a scissor hoist but it’s easy to overload a scissors hoist.

 

[In.the.Piñons]

Thanks for the help guys!

I spent all day calling around to see what kind of a deal I could get. Best deal I could find was a Lamar that ticked all the boxes. It had 3ft sides, 7 gauge bottom and telescoping cylinder for $13,000 OTD.

Then, just as I was getting ready to call the guy back to purchase, the wife checked FB market place one last time. Someone just posted a 1 year old, barely used southland trailer. 4ft sides, 10 gauge, scissor hoist, for $8.5k. New they are not the best deal at $12K, but this one was too good a deal to pass up.

So the total for the truck and trailer is $45,300 + sales tax. I'm pretty happy with that, given the truck still has 15 months & 10K miles on the factory drive train warranty. It doesn't look like it's ever had a trailer hooked up to it and the bed looks almost new. Hopefully, it has plenty off life left in it.

 

[fwerring]

Then, just as I was getting ready to call the guy back to purchase, the wife checked FB market place one last time. Someone just posted a 1 year old, barely used southland trailer. 4ft sides, 10 gauge, scissor hoist, for $8.5k.

For me the great deals usually pop up the day after I made a purchase

 

[Fxfymn413]

I bought an Iron Bull 14x7x2 for just under $11K about a year ago. I really like the trailer. It came standard with the tarp and uses an 8 gauge bottom instead of the more common 11 or 12 gauge.

Well built, all LED lights, ramps, etc.

 

[Fixastuff]

I have a dump trailer and it is very handy but for any large amount of material it is more economical to pay a full sized dump truck.(not even counting the time wasted). So unless the 140yards you need is very very close by to pick up I don’t think your looking at it the correct way.

 

[4570Man]

I have a dump trailer and it is very handy but for any large amount of material it is more economical to pay a full sized dump truck.(not even counting the time wasted). So unless the 140yards you need is very very close by to pick up I don’t think your looking at it the correct way.

I call dump trucks for all my hauling. Local trips are usually $150 which doesn’t make sense to make 4 trips in the dump trailer to save that much. Plus I can load whatever i want in those demolition beds that would knock a hole through a dump trailer.

 

[kozal01]

I personally wouldn't get the taller sides and just build up the sides with wood if you need it. Its nice to be able to take them off If I ever need to. My tractor can reach over the taller sides of my 7x14 trailer but if you'll ever be working with smaller loaders the low sides may be necessary. If I was to buy new I would get thicker steel as mine has been beat to death from loading rocks, concrete and other debris from it being used to haul demo material by my buddy that I bought the trailer from. My floor need some work to close up gaps that have opened up from years of abuse.

 

[WM75Guy]

My haul vehicle is my 2024 GMC 3500HD 4WD with the 6.6 Duramax/ Allison 10 speed auto transmission. I started with a Big Tex 14GX 14' GN scissor lift with 2' sides, capacity of 7.2 yards. GVWR of 15,900#, 11,260# of cargo. I was hauling 6 yds of dry topsoil, probably slightly overloaded at 12,000#, but it fit in the bed level with the sides with room to spare. It wouldn't lift the load without raking some out with the tractor and shoveling some from the front to the back.

Traded it in on a Big Tex 14GT 14' bumper pull with 2' sides and telescopic ram. My model has the same capacity as the GN model. It is easier to hook up and lifts 6 yards without any problems. I did switch out to load range G trailer tires instead of the factory E rated tires as I haul heavy most of the time. Since I bought mine the newer 14TD model has been derated to a GVWR of 14,000# with a cargo capacity of 10,030#.

Find out the weight of the material per yard you plan on hauling. Unless you are planning on hauling light materials like trash or leaves the 4' sidewalls will add weight and decrease cargo capacity. The 6 yards of topsoil fits fine with 2' sides and lets the tarp fit flush with the sides. I use a large hoe to rake it level before rolling out the tarp.

Topsoil weights 2,000# - 2,800# per yard depending on how wet it is. Rock is heavier than dirt per yard. I would be limited to 4-5 yards of rock. For me telescopic ram is the only way to go now that they are available on small trailers. Mine has a 12-ton ram. No more shoveling material to get it to dump.

 

[Hay Dude]

I like my single axle 4x4 dump truck, but I fully admit a dump trailer is an excellent choice. Cost-wise, Trailers are a joke to buy/own/insure/license/repair compared to owning a dump truck.

But I like having a dump truck. With each passing year, trailers are less enjoyable to hook/unhook. I can’t wait to get a hay truck and park the hay trailer

 

[In.the.Piñons]

I picked up the trailer yesterday. It's in really good shape, so if it's not a great fit I can always resell for what I payed.

It was a seven hour round trip to pick it up. The 6.2 gasser got 16.2 mpg on the way down doing 75 most of the way. There were a few mountain passes, which it pulled just fine. 9.1 mpg on the way home towing the 4,500lb trailer. The 48gal tank sure was nice.

 

[In.the.Piñons]

I have a dump trailer and it is very handy but for any large amount of material it is more economical to pay a full sized dump truck.(not even counting the time wasted). So unless the 140yards you need is very very close by to pick up I don’t think your looking at it the correct way.

I was quoted $2,500 to deliver 140 yards of gravel. They wouldn't use their big end dump truck to spread the gravel due to the camber of my road, so it was going to be delivered in a lot of trips using smaller trucks. Maybe I could do better at one of the other gravel yards, but this trailer is more about convenience than saving money. I also want to move around a lot of soil on my ranch and that gets old really quick with a .75 yard bucket, and 20-30min round trips.

 

[In.the.Piñons]

I like my single axle 4x4 dump truck, but I fully admit a dump trailer is an excellent choice. Cost-wise, Trailers are a joke to buy/own/insure/license/repair compared to owning a dump truck.

But I like having a dump truck. With each passing year, trailers are less enjoyable to hook/unhook. I can’t wait to get a hay truck and park the hay trailer

View attachment 3798322

Nice dump truck! I though about going that route, but decided against it for all the reasons you listed. I miss driving a "big rig" since I sold my motor home with a 450 Cummins.

 

[nisaacs]

I picked up the trailer yesterday. It's in really good shape, so if it's not a great fit I can always resell for what I payed.

You will not regret buying a dump trailer, they go hand in hand with a tractor/loader. I use mine more than any other trailer. They even work well for hauling large hay bales, that the customer can't unload, just dump them out. Pictures of your trailer??

(12) 3x3x8, 27,460 GCW or 1025 per bale.

 

[LouNY]

Well even though the OP has bought his trailer I'll throw in my thoughts.
I've looked and thought about dump trailers and came to the conclusion the one I'd want is the deckover with the fold down sides so it could be loaded from the side with materials on pallets or anything using forks.

 

[4570Man]

Well even though the OP has bought his trailer I'll throw in my thoughts.
I've looked and thought about dump trailers and came to the conclusion the one I'd want is the deckover with the fold down sides so it could be loaded from the side with materials on pallets or anything using forks.
View attachment 3803272

I can load and unload 2 pallets in my regular dump trailer. I could probably push 3 in but I couldn’t unload it without dragging it with a chain. It’s rare that I would want to haul more than 2 pallets at once because I have the big loads delivered and just have to pickup material if I run short. It’s also not much trouble to load a bundle of lumber in a regular dump trailer. You just set half the bundle on the end of the trailer and then reposition the lift and push it the rest of the way in. That’s the same way I load logs if I’m loading them with a skid steer instead of my excavator. I’m not in love with folding sides because they tend to be janky plus they limit you to short sides.

 

[Gregster613]

Well even though the OP has bought his trailer I'll throw in my thoughts.
I've looked and thought about dump trailers and came to the conclusion the one I'd want is the deckover with the fold down sides so it could be loaded from the side with materials on pallets or anything using forks.
View attachment 3803272

LouNY, That's a nice trailer and idea for sure!! - but how many loads of heavier stuff until the sides get tweaked enough so that the easy/quick load/unload feature disappears? I'm sure that will happen. The tailgate on my 1 ton dump bed has tweaked enough that it's no longer "easy" to open/close. It still functions but.....and just how heavy are those sides to swing back up after you drop them down? Looks like an ordeal in itself!

 

[In.the.Piñons]

You will not regret buying a dump trailer, they go hand in hand with a tractor/loader. I use mine more than any other trailer. They even work well for hauling large hay bales, that the customer can't unload, just dump them out. Pictures of your trailer??

(12) 3x3x8, 27,460 GCW or 1025 per bale.

View attachment 3803261

That's a serious setup, nice! 12 bales is a lot to haul at once in a 16ft trailer.

Here's a pic of the new truck and trailer. It's already getting put to good use moving stuff around the ranch.