best type of hoist for a dump trailer

[terryflt]

Hi what is the general consensus of what type of lift is best for a dump trailer
Is the single cyl mounted at the front of the box,the sissor lift type or the undermount cyl(s) I am looking at a 7500 or 10000 lb trailer

What type of wood would you use for the floor of a landscape trailer. It had spruce 2x8 originaly and it needs to be replaced. Should I use spruce again or go with pressure treated

Thanks Terry

 

[tulenutn2o]

Hi what is the general consensus of what type of lift is best for a dump trailer
Is the single cyl mounted at the front of the box,the sissor lift type or the undermount cyl(s) I am looking at a 7500 or 10000 lb trailer

What type of wood would you use for the floor of a landscape trailer. It had spruce 2x8 originaly and it needs to be replaced. Should I use spruce again or go with pressure treated

Thanks Terry

My 12000 lb uses a scissortype. Compact and durable. My .02

 

[Skyco]

The scissor lifts generally tilt higher, a consideration if you ever haul stuff that resists sliding out....cost more though due to the added complexity and needing a bigger hydraulic cylinder..
I've always used PT on wood trailer floors, had good results.

 

[Dmace]

Personally I prefer either single piston mounted to the bed or dual pistons for heavy loads. I had a scissor-type mount on my 1-ton dump truck and my father has a single piston mounted to the bed of his 1-ton dump truck. Both lifted to the same angle and both seem to be able to handle the same size load (3 tons +/-) without a problem.
The difference I noticed was the single piston was slightly faster going up, much easier going down and much quieter. My scissor type lift was slow and had many pivot points that all needed to be greased weekly. They would bind up after multiple use making it slow to dump and sometimes it would not go down on it's own (gravity drop) so I would have to use the power down feature just to lower the bed. Some say the scissor type setup can lift heavy loads from fully lowered better due to the angle of the piston but in the real world I did not see any difference in similar setups. Another thing is the extra weight of the scissor lift means less weight you can haul with the same trailer.
Here's my 9,990lb dump trailer, no problem lifting heavy loads without a scissor lift.

 

[sandman2234]

I built an UGLY dump trailer/flatbed and used a scissor lift setup. I also had some aluminum from an old 40'T/T flatbed that I used for the deck on the part of the bed thaT dumps. I haven't found any more of the floor decking "cheap", so the front part remains unskinned. I priced out new decking for the rest of it, but it is almost $1000.00 for what I need. Considering I bought the flatbed trailer for $550, then sold it for the same (new owner stripped deck and delivered it to me), then I sold $750 of aluminum for decking out a trailer that the owner wanted "lighten". I had almost enough left to do my UGLY trailer, but almost doesn't count. To match, I need to buy the front section.
Dirt slides really easy on aluminun, doesn't rot, and as long as somebody doesn't drop heavy stuff from up high, it will never need replacing.(this aluminum has been out in the weather since 1975)
David from jax

 

[Diamondpilot]

For a dump trailer a scissor lift is really not needed but I have never seen a real dump truck without one. Much stronger, more durable, and made for day in and out use.

As for wood just go with PT lumber.

Chris

 

[QRTRHRS]

For a dump trailer a scissor lift is really not needed but I have never seen a real dump truck without one. Much stronger, more durable, and made for day in and out use.

As for wood just go with PT lumber.

Chris

Been quite a few years but I drove a variety of dumps way back when. The single axles had the scissors lift but the tandems on up had a dog house up front on the box with a multi-stage piston. They were strong and fast.

I have seen small dumps set up with a dog house style lift parked at dealers lots but never checked any out up close.

 

[skipmarcy]

When I bought my dump trailer I looked at alot of brands and models and all the twin cylinder models had a lower frame assembly - my single cylinder/scissors type had much better ground clearance, this was very important to me especially since I got a "low" rider instead of a deck-over. Mine was an Anderson 12K, 12'. I also bolted 3/4" plywood to the floor when new to keep the floor from getting "bellied" between the crossmembers. I could drop huge pieces of concrete in it with my FEL and not harm the metal floor at all so materials would dump out smoothly.

 

[Ryan03]

Been quite a few years but I drove a variety of dumps way back when. The single axles had the scissors lift but the tandems on up had a dog house up front on the box with a multi-stage piston. They were strong and fast.

I have seen small dumps set up with a dog house style lift parked at dealers lots but never checked any out up close.

X2, all of our dumps with 6 yd. and up boxes use a front mount telescopic cylinder. Our older trucks used a scissor hoist, which we got away from due to issues with multiple pivot point seizures {salt trucks}, these were also very prone to failure when a load would stick in the bed and the operator would back up and hit the brakes to shift the load back [not the correct thing to do, but most of us have probably done it at least once or twice]. Most times this would sheer the top of the ram off, or tear the lower cylinder pin bosses right out of the lift frame. The telescopic lifts have proven to be much more trouble free in our application, as the only failures we have seen were are due to corrosion of the chrome on the ram. The only real downfal I see to the front mount telescopic is the cost of the ram, which is steep, especialy when you get into a 3 or 4 stage cylinder required with some of the longer dump boxes. Here is a pic of one of our dumps that took a double roll with the bed up a couple feet. The cab, and box among other things had to be replaced, but the front mount cylinder was reused and is still untouched to this day !!!!

 

[KWentling]

Be aware of the corrosion problems related to the use of the new ACQ treated lumber (the green stuff). It eats steel. Fasteners need to be hot dipped galvanized or stainless steel. There are also special coated fasteners. Where the lumber contacts the frame would be a problem. I'd use something other than ACQ treated.
I'll bet in the future we'll see deck collapses. etc. in the news because unaware people using this new lumber. I hate the stuff.

Kim