Dump Trailer - start to finish

[GuglioLS]

My wife and I took the new trailer up our hill and loaded it up with about a 1/2 cord of cut firewood.
Well I could not help myself. This is the very first time we have used the new dump trailer. And I wanted to see if it would lift a real load. I didn't want to dump the wood just lift it a little to check it out. It lifted it like it was empty.
The video is about 1 meg in size so if you have dial-up it's gonna take a bit to view it.



The end (for now)

 

[hazmat]

Fantastic job. Is there a tailgate in your future? I'd be interested in your design.

 

[HomeBrew2]

Really nice job!!! Cheers!

 

[jmc]

Larry,

That's a very nice looking trailer.

On your leaf springs, it looks like both ends are rigidly connected to the frame. I think one end has to float lengthwise to let the springs flatten when loaded.

Also you may have considered this but some cheap structural insurance would be to weld a diagonal strut between where the top cylinder attaches to the floor joist, and the side rail. (I couldn't see how you did the other end of the cylinder) I think the stress on those points is very high at first when lifting near horizontal and mostly wasted trying to stretch the trailer. On a related note, I noticed on my commercially made dump trailer that the cylinders didn't seem to move any faster when disconnected from the bed than when under a full load. I think this is because they use flow restrictors to keep from pounding the trailer when the cylinders open too fast. And that's even with a little 12v power pack and not the high flow from a tractor. This trailer also reinforced the cylinder attachment points on the frame. They put a strut from the attachment points to the next floor joists.

Anyway, great job on that project.

John

 

[GuglioLS]

Fantastic job. Is there a tailgate in your future? I'd be interested in your design.

Hey Stephen - (my middle name is Stephen)

Thanks for the compliment - yes there is a tailgate in my future. I needed to get the basic trailer working to complete gathering wood in preperation for this winter. The wood gathering is now complete which free's me up to start on the tailgate design & fabrication.

The tailgate will be pin & lever hinged on top & bottom to allow it to work as a dump gate and fold down like a truck tailgate.

 

[Catmando]

A well thought out project with attention to details.

 

[3RRL]

Hi Larry,
That is one nice dump trailer...top notch work. Came out really sweet! You sure did a great job documenting with narration and all those photos. Love that video too.

 

[GuglioLS]

Larry,

That's a very nice looking trailer.

On your leaf springs, it looks like both ends are rigidly connected to the frame. I think one end has to float lengthwise to let the springs flatten when loaded...........

John

John,

Thank you very much,

The leaf springs being rigidly connected - yes that is one of the issues I struggled with in my mind for a long time. As you are so observant to notice, I mounted them rigid. My decision to do it that way reduced the height of the bed by at least 6" and of course allowed me to use the end of the spring for the tilt hinge. But of course the draw back was loosing a lot (most) of the spring action. I have seen quite a few commercial trailers where the springs were rigid mounted, as well as most all Semi Trucks.

Top bracing for the cylinders - good point too. The angle iron that they are attached to at the top is 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" x 3/16" (very stout), plus the floor is bolted to it and the cylinders are close to the edges where the I beams and the diamond plating for the sides are. I figured it would work, and so far so good. As far as bracing for the bottom, the 3" channel does not even budge when the bed is lifted. The bed ID is ~ 50"X100" and the load capacity is around 2500# max. In the video there was about 1500# of wood in it.

 

[GuglioLS]

Steve (HomeBrew2)
Rob (3RRL)
? - (Catmando)

Hey gentlemen - thank you a million.

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks for the great post on how you built your trailer. You did a great job explaining it and why you did what you did. The thought process is what makes this so much fun!!!

From your dimensions, it looks like it will hold a yard of dirt pretty easily. Does that sound about right?

I'm wondering how it will perform with a heavy load of dirt over a period of time. I know you probably have lots going on, but if you find yourself hauling dirt with it sometime in the future, I'd sure love an update on how welll it works, or if you find you needed some modifictions.

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[GuglioLS]

Eddie,

Thank you for the very kind compliments. This was quite a project for me. Took about 2 months of Saturdays working on it. I did some calculations and it will hold ~ 1.8 cubic yards if it were level to the top of the sides. I don't believe I should ever load it to full capacity with dirt. Now wood chips & Firewood no problem. I have already loaded it several times to full capacity with firewood.

Once I get the tailgate worked out, fabricated and installed I'll take a video of it it action dumping a load of dirt so we can all see what happens. It could be or .

Larry G

 

[MrJimi]

Larry, on your tailgate, remember that you will have weight resting on your gate making it hard to unlatch
Jim

 

[GuglioLS]

Jim,

Thank you, yes that's a good point to remember. I am thinking about a latch that has some sort of leverage to hold it / draw it up tight & to be able to open it in a controlled fashon.

Here is the basic Idea:

 

[MrJimi]

Looks like the big dump trucks, they release theirs from the cab by reaching out, If you look at some you will get some ideas
Jim

 

[ovrszd]

Looks like the big dump trucks, they release theirs from the cab by reaching out, If you look at some you will get some ideas
Jim

Yep Jimi is right on. You need to go look at a dump truck latch. Uses an overcenter lever at the front of the bed that operates a latch on both sides. Very easy to build for someone that has the ability to build a trailer. You don't want your latch at the back of the trailer. If you are trying to dump into a ditch or ravine for example, you will be trying to unlatch while trying to keep from falling into the ditch. Put the latch at the front of the bed and it's easy to trip without risking getting behind the bed. You could even fasten a rope onto the latch lever and release it from the tractor if so desired.

Sorry, had to edit here after going back and reading the thread. You will probably survive having your springs rigid at each end simply because you don't plan to load it heavily. If you do start loading it heavily and towing that load some distance you will eventually break the leaf springs. You are making them function stiffly which they are not designed to do You won't find any semi trucks or trailers with their springs fastened that way. What you could have done to prevent height gain would have been to build sliders at the front end of the springs and let them slide to flex. But then you may have found that your springs weren't designed to carry the amount of weight you are trying to haul. Not sure what they are rated to carry.

 

[GuglioLS]

...........What you could have done to prevent height gain would have been to build sliders at the front end of the springs and let them slide to flex.......

That idea seems to be a good one, it's still do-able with minimal effort. I will seriously consider that for a not to distant future modification.

 

[dullpain]

Nice work , nice trailer, I especially like your "bracketry" for the hydraulic lines. Excellent job of documenting progress, and posting descriptions. You may be proud!! Visited Albuquerque , & Santa Fe last year in Oct. nice area and good sites to see.

 

[EddieWalker]

Hey Larry,

I took a few pictures of the tailgate on my dumptruck. It's pretty simple in design.

The first picture shows the top of the door and how the pin works. It's just a simple piece of flat stock welded to the top of the door on the side. It goes between to pieces of metal with a pin through it. Real strong and simple.

The second picture shows the latch. I never use mine. I just let the weight of the door do most of the work. What falls out while I'm driving isn't enough for me to worry about.

The third picture shows the other end of the locking mechanism. There is a rod with threaded ends that can be adjusted to increase the amount of preasure on the mechanism.

Fourth pictures shows the part of the handle that controls the lock. It's attached to a rod that goes across the bed and another set of linkage that controls the lock on the other side. Right now in the picture it's in the open position. Pull it up and the linkage closes the lock on the tailgate.

The fifth picture shows the handle from another angle.

I hope this helps,
Eddie

 

[Joe1]

Larry:

Many commercially made dump trailers use two piece tail gates hinged at each side. They latch in the center and swing completely to the side to dump keeping them out of the way. I'm not sure there is enough room behind the rear wheels for a door 1/2 the width of your dump box to swing flat.

A very interesting and well presented project. I'll be curious about how the springs hold up.

Very nice job.

 

[GuglioLS]

Hey Larry,

I took a few pictures of the tailgate on my dumptruck. It's pretty simple in design.

Eddie - thank you very much for going out of your way and taking the time to shoot & Post those pic's, they are very helpful. The top hinge is very similar to what I was thinking. The latch at the bottom is what I really needed to see and you came through.

What falls out while I'm driving isn't enough for me to worry about.

I hope this helps,
Eddie

Holy Smokes man, what about my windshield and paint job?

I know that statement is only true of you while your on your property - right?