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.