Recommendations for Pickup Truck Unloader?

[jymbee]

Not owning a dump truck any longer I spend too much time shoveling out a pickup truck load of material such as mulch, topsoil, crusher run, etc.

Been looking at these manual truck bed unloaders where you install this thing, roll out the mat, fill the bed and unload via a cranking mechanism mounted on the tailgate. I intend to buy something buy reviews seem to be all over the place so I'd appreciate some input as to their effectiveness from folks who have actually used one.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Have the Haul Master one from Harbor Freight. Works pretty decent for smaller loads. Definitely not something you would load up the bed to the rails with unless it was just dry mulch or something else light. Also works best with a plastic bed liner. Rubber mats and spray-on liners have way too much friction, and paint just gets messed up.

 

[California]

Another vote for HF's unloader.

I just used it to carry/unload a 4x8 trailer load of fallen Redwood limbs and branches, maybe a 800 lb load. It worked fine, just like the videos on YouTube. I don't know how much more weight it would move with such rough objects, without tearing.

I made an adapter to mount it in place of the trailer's tailgate, which has drop-in pins. And welded a socket into the end opposite the crank, to turn it with my drill and a 3/8 adapter. (This didn't work until it was near empty).

Here's my thread describing this modification, with photos.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/threads/harbor-freight-tools-that-dont-suck.114176/page-324#post-7158215

In summary - recommended.

 

[dfkrug]

I recommend it. I bought mine when it first came out in the mid 90s when it was called the LoadHandler. I used it initially to move dirt that I excavated with my homemade mini excavator and my Toyota 4x4 PU. Definitely need the low-friction bedliner or pad.

I have moved dirt, sand, gravel, mulch, fertilizer, split firewood, lumber and scrap metal. The FW splits are the only material that did not work well, cuz the wheel well humps cause hangups. But that problem could be avoided with neat stacking.

My LH was stored unused for years after I made my redneck Samurai dumptruck, but I am back to using it. It works super-well to pick up 1200# of con-mix at a time at the materials yard. I use my gen 1 4x4 Taco. Unloads in 10 seconds with the crank. I have done about 10-12 loads in the past year, and plan another load soon. The drag sheet has no visible signs of wear.

 

[California]

Using the unloader after modifying it to mount on the trailer.

 

[dfkrug]

Using the unloader after modifying it to mount on the trailer.

I see why you went that way for a trailer mount. Lacking a tailgate, the crank handle has no clearance. I never tried a trailer mount. I found that I could load up one of my trailers, then use the tractor's loader to lift the front to have it dump.

 

[newbury]

One can also just put something "heavy" down, (like a sheet of strong canvas), or a sheet of plywood, chain it to an immovable object, and drive away.

 

[jymbee]

Have the Haul Master one from Harbor Freight. Works pretty decent for smaller loads. Definitely not something you would load up the bed to the rails with unless it was just dry mulch or something else light. Also works best with a plastic bed liner. Rubber mats and spray-on liners have way too much friction, and paint just gets messed up.

Things to consider. Perhaps something like an old piece of paneling under the mat to reduce friction?

 

[jymbee]

I recommend it. I bought mine when it first came out in the mid 90s when it was called the LoadHandler. I used it initially to move dirt that I excavated with my homemade mini excavator and my Toyota 4x4 PU. Definitely need the low-friction bedliner or pad.

I have moved dirt, sand, gravel, mulch, fertilizer, split firewood, lumber and scrap metal. The FW splits are the only material that did not work well, cuz the wheel well humps cause hangups. But that problem could be avoided with neat stacking.

My LH was stored unused for years after I made my redneck Samurai dumptruck, but I am back to using it. It works super-well to pick up 1200# of con-mix at a time at the materials yard. I use my gen 1 4x4 Taco. Unloads in 10 seconds with the crank. I have done about 10-12 loads in the past year, and plan another load soon. The drag sheet has no visible signs of wear.

Good inff course any material left behind in front of and behind the wheel humps would require a bit of hand work, but pretty minor. I lost count of all the loads of various materials I had to unload by hand-- shovel & fork.

Are the drag sheets replaceable if somehow torn or just worn out?

Thanks for the input.

 

[jymbee]

One can also just put something "heavy" down, (like a sheet of strong canvas), or a sheet of plywood, chain it to an immovable object, and drive away.

Thought of something along those lines. Perhaps a "box" of some kind that I can pull off the bed with the tractor. But I can see there would be numerous advantages to something like these crank unloaders.

Such as being able easily unload into the tractor bucket to be spread out some distance away.

Moving material to the back of the truck where I can more easily (without having to climb in/out of the truck bed) unload into a wheelbarrow to transfer to tight spaces-- such as inside my fenced in garden.

 

[California]

Things to consider. Perhaps something like an old piece of paneling under the mat to reduce friction?

My trailer in post #5 above has a steel floor down the center then plywood for the left/right floor panels, I think to improve traction when loading a 4-wheeler. The manufacturer was Snow Bear so maybe the trailer was designed for a snowmobile.

At any rate it didn't feel like there was much friction between the plasticized fabric and that floor.

In that photo I had the trailer tilted as far as the 3-point could lift its front, and I had to gouge a rut in the ground for the crank handle to turn 360 degrees. I'm considering shortening the crank handle because it was fairly easy to turn the crank and I don't need so much leverage.

 

[BackRoad]

Your profile mentions having forks for your tractor. Using IBC totes with a cut bladder makes handling mulch and similar much more efficient and waaaay less effort...

They fill with a loader bucket at the nursery and I use my tractor for unloading and moving at home. I just tilt them to dump, else tilt and scoup out by the shovel as I'm spreading it. You can use a strap to fasten the tote to the forks, but it's not required.

The photo shows them in my utility trailer, with about 3cy of mushroom soil for the garden, but they work in the PU bed also, just fill them to what weight your tractor will lift. I put a 4 x 8 OSB panel under them when using my truck.

 

[dfkrug]

Are the drag sheets replaceable if somehow torn or just worn out?

You can cut and fit any tarp onto the LoadHandler axle to replace the original sheet. But that original sheet is really tough. Better than any tarp I have purchased for other uses.

You can buy the super-thick silver tarps at HF or online, but I would heat-seal or hem any edge you cut to make it the correct width.

When I bought my Toyota pickup new in '03, there was already a trend to make the bedliners more anti-slip. I looked and was able to find a new Toyota brand bedliner that was the old style, with smooth surface. That makes a big difference. When I had a custom dual axle trailer built for me, one of the options was an all-steel deck, which works way better than wood.

 

[jymbee]

Your profile mentions having forks for your tractor. Using IBC totes with a cut bladder makes handling mulch and similar much more efficient and waaaay less effort...

They fill with a loader bucket at the nursery and I use my tractor for unloading and moving at home. I just tilt them to dump, else tilt and scoup out by the shovel as I'm spreading it. You can use a strap to fasten the tote to the forks, but it's not required.

The photo shows them in my utility trailer, with about 3cy of mushroom soil for the garden, but they work in the PU bed also, just fill them to what weight your tractor will lift. I put a 4 x 8 OSB panel under them when using my truck.

Interesting. I'll have to keep this in mind!

 

[California]

This didn't start as an IBC Totes thread but ...

HF's smallest trailer matches their dimensions exactly.

 

[ponytug]

This didn't start as an IBC Totes thread but ...

HF's smallest trailer matches their dimensions exactly.

Wow, on two counts. Is that siphoning the water out? And that the trailer is up to that weight.

Thanks for the photo.

All the best, Peter

 

[dfkrug]

I love to see what folks have done with IBC totes.

 

[California]

Wow, on two counts. Is that siphoning the water out? And that the trailer is up to that weight.

Thanks for the photo.

All the best, Peter

Well now that I've completely distracted Jymbee's unloader thread -

• I don't need highway-quality safety margin for that trailer.
• It has 2600 lbs on a half ton rated trailer. (300 gallons to overflow + hardware). The original 8 inch tires didn't pop but they plowed instead of rolled on disced ground. Impossible to back up a slope, I bent the tongue trying that. So I replaced them with 12" rims/wider tires off a Chevette.
  
  Trailer still serves after 12 years of this abuse.
• 
  
• There's a HF submersible bilge pump in the tote.
  
  Then a hose to that green lawn sprinkler anti backflow device. This prevents siphoning, ends the flow, when I turn off my dashboard pump switch.
• 
  
• All the flexible hose is poolsweep hose. Cheap from Goodwill's salvage bins. Then the watering wand is thin aluminum umbrella pole, into rigid plastic vacuum cleaner tube. Ultra light, easy to lift one-handed. And there's a hoop on the loader arm to carry the wand, while driving out to the new trees.
• 
  
• I love fabricating useful stuff. Like this, and that unloader trailer-mount posted above. Sometimes I wish I could have been a mechanical engineer. Now retired, I can play with projects like these.

Jymbee, back to you, Sorry for the interruption!