Dump Trailers

[Hay Dude]

If you are concerned about the ROI, I would do the math on how many loads of whatever you need against the cost of hiring someone with a big dump truck to do the work. Around here the trailer cost is way more than having someone else do it, for more gravel than I would ever use.

To me it pencils out only if you need a little bit at a whole series of dumpsites, like being a landscaper, with clients.

I also place a great deal of intrinsic value on “time”. If I have my own dump truck or dump trailer, I can be on the road getting material in 15 minutes v. waiting for delivery. I can also work after hours or weekends when there’s little help available from a vendor.
That is a huge plus to ownership that is frequently overlooked.

But if you do buy a trailer, I'd go with a gooseneck; better load distribution, more capacity, and a better behaving trailer. You can have hitches that are removable, if you really need the bed space for some reason.

All the best,

Peter

Agree

 

[4570Man]

Not to try to talk you out of it, cause I would love to have a 9999# dump trailer.... Do you realize just how small 3.5T or even 5T of gravel really is? Heck, even 18T in a dump truck doesn't go far, and then think about that being 6 trips? Yes, I want a dump trailer, no it doesnt make $$$ sense for me to buy one.

That load of sand was 5.3 tons. I usually only haul gravel, dirt or sand if I can finish the job with 5 tons. Otherwise it’s cheaper and faster to call a dump truck. I use the dump trailers plenty for hauling light material but hauling gravel isn’t a productive use of time.

 

[4570Man]

A BP trailer puts all the weight behind your rear axle and really once you use a GN, you immediately unlock so much more potential from your truck.
You are correct that it takes up space in the bed, but you’ll quickly figure out ways around that.

I hate 14k gooseneck trailers. At 20k they kinda become a necessity but a 14k bumper pull trailer pulls fine. I don’t want to give up my bed capacity plus have to work harder hooking it up just to pull a 14k trailer. I set something on the bed and pull a trailer behind it all the time.