Dump trailer, would a jump box help?

[LD1]

I have had two Pequea dumps, one 5000 pound single axle, and one 10,000 pound duel axle. Since they both have brakes they have 7 pin connectors. They both charged the battery from the truck. Turned out a friend in PA had the same C1500 10,000 pound trailer and his was 15 years old with the original battery, still dumping. I guess in theory, his battery could be just about shot, but just driving from one location to the next, could build enough juice to dump it.

Charging from the truck is SLOWWWW.

Its like a 12 gauge wire running from the front to back, through the 7-way.....and a few more feet to the battery. Try to pull any amperage at all and the voltage drop quickly gets you so it wont charge.

Think of voltage in terms of pressure and amps in terms of flow (comparing to something like a garden hose).

If you dont EXCEED the voltage of the trailer battery....it aint gonna charge. Getting 12v at a 7-way with voltage drop and puling very little current.....aint charging.

And it also depends on how the TRAILER is wired. Most trucks protect the 12v AUX wire with a 30A fuse. And most dump trailers have a fuse as well....or sometimes a breaker. But on the low end dump trailers....you can easily blow the truck charge fuse by simply trying to dump and leaving the 7-way hooked to the truck. You can blow that fuse...and never know it til trailer wont dump and you scratch your head wondering why it didnt charge on your last trip.

There is a way to wire it with a little relay that will isolate the truck when dumping so that never happens. But most manufactures dont do that.

But if you are dumping heavy.....full cycle loads.....a 15 min trip is NOT enough to replenish what was used. And if you work it all day.....you may end the day with a trailer that wont dump

 

[LD1]

This thread reminds me of going to the landfill. A lot of guys have "power up, power down" systems, so if their battery goes dead, the dump stays halfway up in the air.

We have a power up, gravity down system for that very reason.

All depends on the design of the trailer I guess. They both have merits....

Gravity down holds the trailer down when loading equipment if you dont block up the rear of the trailer. Sometimes they are also faster going down. Just depends on the geometry.

But one of the biggest reasons is not needing a reservoir holding very much oil. With DA cylinders (power down) you only need a reservoir to hold as much oil as the cylinder rods displace. NOT the TOTAL volume of the cylinder barrel.

But even the power down trailers usually have a manual valve to release uncase its stuck up with a dead battery. So it really isnt that big of a deal

 

[Lastkidpicked]

But even the power down trailers usually have a manual valve to release uncase its stuck up with a dead battery. So it really isnt that big of a deal

One of the guys came up with the idea of "Let's remove the hydraulic hose and then it will come down."

Can you imagine the chaos of that bed dropping and also the fluid shooting everywhere?

Luckily, I speak Spanish so I overheard their plan. I just nosed my pickup over to their trailer and hooked it to my pickup battery.

Problem solved.

I wished I knew @LD1 back then. I'd have known to look for a manual valve.

 

[Billy Bee]

Changed my mind and bought an 800 cca deep cell battery. I have a 4 amp charger/maintainer that should keep them hot. Also bought a battery tester to check for load. Trailer is power up power down. After checking out various jump boxes, I don't think they are meant to take that long of a constant load, I am sure a good jump box could bail you out in a pinch, but a deep cell battery is designed for this type of use. Many ways to skin a cat. This will work for me. Thanks guys, Bill
Almost forgot, Have 2 batteries now

 

[nisaacs]

But even the power down trailers usually have a manual valve to release uncase its stuck up with a dead battery. So it really isnt that big of a deal

I have/had 5 different dump trailers, no manual valves.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Changed my mind and bought an 800 cca deep cell battery.
Almost forgot, Have 2 batteries now

To live long and happy lives, those two batteries should be the same make, model, and specs, and ideally have come off the assembly line one after the other.

That doesn't really matter while they're being charged, but when not, the weaker battery will take the better one down to its level.

 

[Billy Bee]

To live long and happy lives, those two batteries should be the same make, model, and specs, and ideally have come off the assembly line one after the other.

That doesn't really matter while they're being charged, but when not, the weaker battery will take the better one down to its level.

They wont be hooked up together, I'm going to alternate them as necessary so I'll always have a hot one. I could also carry the spare in the truck with jumper cables.