Dual Dump Deck

[rjmack]

i'm thinking of building a dumping deck this year, but would like it to dump either over the back, or over the side. i have seen trucks from the '50's that had side dump decks, but not any detailed photos.

does anyone have any plans or photos for one of these?

 

[2458n]

I have a 1 ton dump bed on a 4wheel drive,diesel dualley. The bed was made by Crysteel and is called a triple tipper. It dumps over the back ,or over either side. Probably expensive in the 90's when it was new. Bought at goverment auction. The hyd. cly. is in the middle of the frame and attachs to the floor of the bed with what looks like a gooseneck ball and socket. Hinges are brackets with a 1 inch pin. Six total brackets- you choose where to put the two pins in to create the hinges.

 

[jimmysisson]

Here's a new one: Pronovost- Dump trailers - Off-road service I almost bought one with a tractor I looked at but had to pass. They work slick, but look tricky to fabricate. This is a build that would interest me next year...
Jim

 

[rjmack]

i don`t think these designs would be all that hard to build, but i`m going to have to look into the cost of the multistage cylinder... that looks like it might be a pricey part.

it does seem to make sense over trying to build something with different cylinders for each function though:thumbsup:

 

[sae8425]

You are all living on the wrong continent!

3 way tipping bodies, while never evidently very popular in North America (or at least in the USA) are widely used all over the world by a who's who of major automotive manufacturers.

Starting with (what was Mercedes) check out the agricultural specification Unimogs. They've been fitted with this technology since the early 1950's.

Toyota fits them to trucks as small as sub 2 ton cab over (forward control) chassis cabs in almost every country they sell in except for (you guessed it) America (and perhaps Canada as well).

Isuzu and Mitsubishi are two other firms who offer such systems around the world.

And then there are a number of upfitters operating in Europe,Asia, and Africa who are able to undertake such conversions without difficulty.

And when you look at trailer manufacturers, there must be at least a half dozen in Europe who currently have such designs in their product range. And these are road legal trailers (55 mph limited - just like trucks are in most of Europe), not agricultural / forestry off-road only trailers.

I only know of one American aftermarket body builder that currently offers a 3 way tipper: Truckcraft, of Chambersburg, PA.

The model is the TC-502 Metro - see: TruckCraft Corporation ::: Truck Bodies and Equipment

This is a 3 way tipping system that uses the Unimog type cup & ball pivots (by far the simplest and most trouble free 3 way pivot design) and a hybrid scissors lift that can rotate sideways (so no 5 to 6 section extending hydraulic ram is needed like on a Unimog, or a Toyota, or etc.).

No, this isn't a cheap system, and Truckcraft seemed uninterested in offering retrofits for older vehicles when I last spoke with them in early 2010, but it does seem to be a very well thought out design.

3 way tipping systems is a subject I have a bit of experience with.

Once you have pulled alongside a ditch (or a feed trough) and tipped your cargo off to the side in a neat line as you inch forward you will NEVER go back to rear only tipping!

Long ago I had a Bedford MK 4WD (ex British Army) that I put a Unimog type 3 way tipper system on. Totally transformed the vehicles capabilities!

Two of my current Unimogs have 3 way tipping systems on them. The bigger of the two, in Low, Low, Low range (at about 1200 rpm) only covers about 100 yards an hour; so you can walk/shuffle alongside to accurately direct gravel, feed, concrete, etc. out of a swiveling chute.

I have one European 3 way tipping trailer (turntable type front axle, drawbar pull, road legal, 4 ton tipping load capacity in any direction).

And I am currently designing a 3 way tipping system that will fit my F-350 7.3L PSD (which is the sorriest excuse for a useful truck that I've ever had the misfortune of owning: oh how I look forward to the day that I finish converting my Isuzu NPR to 4WD and can sell that POS Ford!). But it's new owner will at least have a 3 way tipping body to impress the neighbors with.

Lots of information about 3 way tipping systems is out there: you might well have to dig around a bit to find some of it, but it is there!

 

[davygp38]

I have worked on three major railroads on the east coast, and they use three way dumps all the time. The downside I see for the average guy is the expense, and the weight. On the larger dump trucks, there is large ring gear that turns the whole bed prior to dumping. For a dump trailer a big ring gear would raise the center of gravity up to high, and be quite heavy.

 

[PACountryGuy]

So how much do these 3-way dump trailers cost in the 5-foot by 8-foot range?

 

[sae8425]

davygp38,

The ring gear system you describe is (most likely) a much larger version of the systems fitted to what are generally known as 'dumpers' (or 'site dumpers') in Europe.

These range from sub 2 ton (about 2 cu yd) up to perhaps 12-15 ton (and about the same in cu yd). These are, in the main, 4WD with articulating frames (the driver sits over the engine in the rear section, and the hopper is mounted to the front section). Many are also fully hydrostatic systems.

4 to 6 ton versions of these are now often seen at equipment auctions in America, but the smaller units (you can get them down to about 3/4 ton if you forgo the swiveling) do not seem to be of much interest in America.

Older versions were 2WD (front), non articulating and rear wheel steer.

The Unimog type system that I referred to is not nearly as complex or heavy.

This system basically consists of a 2 in trailer ball mounted horizontally, with a short length of 2.5 dia pipe mounted vertically that has been cut away to allow it to pivot on/lift away from the ball. This pipe has a hole that accepts a pin to prevent the pipe from lifting off the ball (drilled so that the pin is located in the narrower shank area below the ball).

One of these are mounted at each corner of the bed sub-frame and a 5 or 6 section hydraulic ram is fitted in the centre of the trailer on a dual pivoting (fore/aft and L/R) sub-frame.

When collapsed this assembly is perhaps 8 inches high and fits into a space that is about 12 inches by 12 inches.

Now, the Unimogs also have a 3 point mounted sub-frame that isolates the frame and load bed twisting (this also dispenses with the treated 2x4s that seem to be widely used in America as well), but this does raise the bed height by about 4 to 6 inches.

But the 3 way pivoting components themselves don't weigh more than 150 lbs (ram, 2 inch balls, contoured pipes and the dual pivoting sub-frame).

Limitations? Well, there are 3 different capacity rams, and the smallest ones are much happier if you keep the loads under 4 tons.

PACountryGuy,

My European 3 way tipping trailer cost me just over $3200 to buy and then another $1200 to have it shipped to America. Then I had to go collect it from the port. So with fuel, depreciation, time, electricity, etc. I guess that I have about $3750 in it all together

Second best $3750 that I've yet spent on a piece of equipment. The best $3750 expenditure was buying a Helac 180 degree 'wrist' coupler.

What an absolutely fantastic piece of equipment!

When I last spoke to TruckCraft they wanted about $9000 for the TC-502.