dump trailer power unit troubleshooting question

[mneal]

I borrowed a neighbors 2004 Tow-Rite dump trailer to buy some crushed shell and during my use of it the power down stopped working. :-( It worked intermittently at first and now nothing. I took the remote apart hoping thinking it was that but was not that. The remote is 3 wire, gets +12V in one side, one output goes to a small blade input of the high current solenoid, the other side goes to what appears to be a reversing switch on one output of the remote. I am confused how the pump reverses, anyone know how they are wired ?

 

[Skyco]

On mine the pump doesn't reverse- IOW it isn't power down. The down function is simply a solenoid valve that lets pressure bleed back from the cylinder into the reservoir.

 

[RollTideRam]

Does the remote plug in? Does it work when you wiggle it? My winch remote has done this before. I rented an EZ dumper trailer last week and it had power down. JC

 

[mneal]

I called the manufacture today and got a very knowledgeable/helpful guy that helped me troubleshoot it via the phone. Turns out the remote is bad. The new remote should be here tomorrow and I think/hope that will fix it.

 

[Skyco]

I rented an EZ dumper trailer last week and it had power down. JC

I wonder why one would need power down on a dump trailer?
There is plenty of weight to drop back down when the pressure is bled.
I wonder if they mean "ya hold the power down button and it comes down", it is an electrically operated valve on my trailer so in one manner of salesmanship speak it is "power down" but it doesn't reverse the pump and retract the cylinders in...
Looking at their website it mentions in troubleshooting if the bed won't go down the coil may be bad. - Coil -as in the solenoid relief valve like mine has. I really can't see any purpose in actually being able to force the bed down.
So when coming down does the motor run?

 

[RollTideRam]

The motor made the same whine up and down. I don't know why it had power down though. JC

 

[AlanB]

I wonder why one would need power down on a dump trailer?
There is plenty of weight to drop back down when the pressure is bled.
I wonder if they mean "ya hold the power down button and it comes down", it is an electrically operated valve on my trailer so in one manner of salesmanship speak it is "power down" but it doesn't reverse the pump and retract the cylinders in...
Looking at their website it mentions in troubleshooting if the bed won't go down the coil may be bad. - Coil -as in the solenoid relief valve like mine has. I really can't see any purpose in actually being able to force the bed down.
So when coming down does the motor run?

Couple reasons spring to my mind quick, but the short version is, Power down would be really nice when you want a controlled lowering with a large weight, particularly on the back, of the dump trailer.

Go see my thread on Hydraulics forum about my dump trailer.

A dump trailer with a skidsteer or other equipment on it and power down would sure be nice.

 

[RollTideRam]

AlanB, How do you like your trailer other than the problem you are having? I have a Homesteader dealer nearby. He has a few for rental but they were both out when I needed one. I had priced one a few months ago and he told me on the heavier duty trailers (10K axles) they came with power up/down. JC

 

[AlanB]

AlanB, How do you like your trailer other than the problem you are having? I have a Homesteader dealer nearby. He has a few for rental but they were both out when I needed one. I had priced one a few months ago and he told me on the heavier duty trailers (10K axles) they came with power up/down. JC

Do I like the trailer.

Yes with Caveat's.

I wish I had heavier axles. I have tandem 5200 lb axles. That has 15" load range D tires, 6 bolt wheels. I haul 4 tons regularly rated for 7500 lbs.

I chew tires off pretty fast.

I wish it was bigger when hauling mulch, smaller when a worker goes to haul gravel or dirt.

It is topheavy with the tires under the body, and it is tall. Often I wish my wheels were outside the bed and the bed was lower, then just about as often I wish that the bed, and particularly the dump height was higher (particularly when doing mulch)

I redid my back gate, made it into two swinging gates. The drop spread deal is almost worthless for me, if you only haul grain or clean rock or sand, maybe it is fine, we usually haul clean stuff one way, then debris back the other. Debris out the standard gate is more work then it is worth. There is a thread on the trailer section where I modified mine.

Would I buy it again?

As I like to tell stories, here goes, I usually like to build stuff, so I wanted to build a dump trailer. Started collecting peices, I have the axles (given too me by my dad) and wheels and tires (picked up along the way) a little of this and a little of that to build one. Got to the point of wanting one real bad (about 5 years) and decided to buy everything I needed. Realized I was going to spend as much (even including what I had on hand) as I could just go buy this unit for. While "mine" would have the scissor and some personal touches, I would still have to buy it.

Took the checkbook one night and bought the Homesteader, probably a bit against SWMBO..................

SWMBO said I was just lazy and wanted to buy another toy. A common theme around our place, and I must admit, maybe right more often then not

About a month after she had it, she comes up and asks me why I had waited so dang long to buy the thing, I should have just bought it 5 years ago

It stays hooked to the dually about 80% of the time, it was used all day yesterday, and today, and will go back out Friday.

Yes, I would like some things different, but they would all be tradeoff's Thinking again of building another (still have the axles) that would do some things better then the one I have.

Edit, you far from Ft. Rucker? There is a place just outside mother Rucker that had a huge selection of dump trailers, thought about going and picking one up sometime last time I was there TDY. If I had been in a Truck instead of a car, one would have probably come home with me. I do not remember the name, but it looks like a junkyard, it is a big auction house, on the right as you go to Rucker from Uhhhm, enterprise I think (East). LOTS of variety there to choose from and good prices.

 

[RollTideRam]

I think I know the place, they advertise in the heavy equipment trader. I am probably closer to you than I am this place. I am near Huntsville. I was ready to purchase a new dump trailer, but decided to wait and see if I have enough money to buy fuel through the summer. The trailer I rented was not deckover and when I got it high enough to dump the rear of the trailer was in the ground. JC

 

[AlanB]

I think I know the place, they advertise in the heavy equipment trader. I am probably closer to you than I am this place. I am near Huntsville. I was ready to purchase a new dump trailer, but decided to wait and see if I have enough money to buy fuel through the summer. The trailer I rented was not deckover and when I got it high enough to dump the rear of the trailer was in the ground. JC

Heck, you and I are "relatively" close then. Nice area, I have some freinds that live just north of Huntsville.

Anyway, your last sentence is one of the big compromises.

One of the original basic thoughts when I bought the dump trailer was to make spreading mulch easier.

That was why I wanted the high one, and the thought was to put a grain door in the back, and a "funnel" type arrangement in the bed to feed towards the grain door. Put a wheelbarrow behind the trailer, and tilt the trailer up and feed the mulch into the wheelbarrow.

Even as high as mine is, when it dumps, the tail is lower then the wheelbarrow.

Which led us too the problem in the other thread.

Still contemplating how best to resolve this, a mulch mule or similar mulch blower is a very high dollar item that I just cannot see us coming out ahead with.

In the FWIW the trailer is with me now, picking up 4t of Crusher run this afternoon for either my neighbor or myself.

 

[ampsucker]

one possible reason for the "power down" option may have to do with the pump design. you didn't clearly state it was hydraulic (could be electric only) or how the hydraulic works. if for example, it is actuated by a threaded rod driven by the motor to force fluid from a piston, it would be necessary for the motor to retract the rod to allow for lowering. in that case, "power down" is the only way to get the thing down and reset for the next cycle.

amp