Load Handler and soil strainer (lots of pics)

[deere_x475guy]

Hi gang, wasn't sure which forum to post this in because I built the soil strainer a few months ago and just got an early Fathers day present (the load handler). I build the strainer to filter topsoil and decided to try it out with gravel getting out the 2" + rocks. I wanted to lay down a couple more inches of finish gravel on my two driveways and this seemed like a great time to try out the load handler. I have plenty of gravel on my property but it's a long haul moving one bucket at time to the drive. I put the drive in originally this way and I sure wish I had the load handler last year when I did it. Anyway here are some pics:

Here is one bank I am digging the gravel out of:

Here I am getting out the larger rocks:

Here I am loading the filtered gravel into the truck onto the load handler mat:

Another view from the top of the hill where the cabin is:

Here I am stating to unload (love this load handler):

The load is almost finished:

Ready for the next load:

My inspector is giving her approval:

There are more pics at my link below

 

[ktm250rider]

Nice screener. I built a wooden quick and dirty one. Have you tried dumping from the tall end? The rocks dont bounce off your tractor and you can then scoop a clean bucket.

 

[deere_x475guy]

Hey thanks and yes I use it both ways. It's set up with 45 degrees so I can just tip it to the other side if I want to. To carry it I tip it over on its face and carry it face down from the tie bar. Here is am dumping very slowly so that most of the fine stuff goes through the chain link fence. Your right if you do it fast the rocks will build up. Plus if I start to get a bunch of rocks in front of it I just push them to the side.

 

[Boondox]

So tell us about that load handler. How much weight can it handle? Can you remove it when not in use (like in winter when you don't want it to be frozen to the bed)? How much space do you lose? How much do they cost?

Pete

 

[texasjohn]

Love your post and photos. Wish I had gravel that available!

I been thinking of getting a Load Handler, attaching it to the back end of a flatbed trailer, stretching the material as far to the front of the 18 foot bed as possible, putting plywood sides on the bed rails( about 18 inches high), loading it with my FEL and seeing how it works.

I know there is a 2000 lb and a 3000 lb load handler... wonder what the difference is... is the material longer,or tougher, or is the gear ratio different, the metal parts stouter... what makes it better able to handle 3000 lbs?

Obviously, I'd like to haul as much as possible at one time... what seems to be the limiting factor? Is it the total weight you must move forward, or the friction between the material and the pickup/trailer bed, or does the material tear? Can one successfully extend the length of the material by affixing,some way, additional material to the original material?

I'm just full of questions... but the real question is ... would a 3000 lb load handler work in an 18 foot flatbed (I know it's low to the ground thus would have to drive forward a couple of times to complete the unloading)? What modifications would be necessary for success?

 

[LBrown59]

So tell us about that load handler. How much weight can it handle?
1*Can you remove it when not in use (like in winter when you don't want it to be frozen to the bed)?
2*How much space do you lose?
3* How much do they cost?

Pete

1*Yes you can install / remove it in about 5 minutes or less.
2*None
3*I paid 89 dollars for mine for my little Dodge D-50 last summer.
Best 89 bucks I ever spent.
Last winter I was in wall mart where I purchased it and they had one like mine left and had marked it down to $40.00.
I should hqave grabbed it up at that give away price.
Any one who owns a pickup ought to have one.

 

[LBrown59]

just got an early Fathers day present (the load handler).

Last summer I had and 18 ton pile of dirt up on the hill at the back of my property.
I was filling in the road ditch in front of the property and needed that dirt to cover over the culvert.
I bought a load handler for 89 dollars for my little import Dodge D-50 pick up.
I loaded the truck with 3 buckets of the BX23 fel per trip.
Took 36 trips to haul that pile of dirt off the hill.
I drove 5 miles hauling the 18 ton of dirt.
Hauling the whole pile with the BX23 fel would have taken 108 trips with the tractor
It would have been a 15 mile drive with the tractor.
Driving a truck 5 miles sure is a lot quicker than driving a tractor 15 miles.
I got my 89 bucks and then some back out of the load handler just from moving that pile of dirt.

 

[deere_x475guy]

Love your post and photos. Wish I had gravel that available!

I been thinking of getting a Load Handler, attaching it to the back end of a flatbed trailer, stretching the material as far to the front of the 18 foot bed as possible, putting plywood sides on the bed rails( about 18 inches high), loading it with my FEL and seeing how it works.

I know there is a 2000 lb and a 3000 lb load handler... wonder what the difference is... is the material longer,or tougher, or is the gear ratio different, the metal parts stouter... what makes it better able to handle 3000 lbs?

Obviously, I'd like to haul as much as possible at one time... what seems to be the limiting factor? Is it the total weight you must move forward, or the friction between the material and the pickup/trailer bed, or does the material tear? Can one successfully extend the length of the material by affixing,some way, additional material to the original material?

I'm just full of questions... but the real question is ... would a 3000 lb load handler work in an 18 foot flatbed (I know it's low to the ground thus would have to drive forward a couple of times to complete the unloading)? What modifications would be necessary for success?

texasjohn thanks my wife is responsible for the action shots. She is just getting interested in taking pictures and her inspiration comes from this site: Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. I have to admit I enjoy reading her blog from time to time also.

I had been looking at the Load Handler for a year or so now but wasn’t quit sold on it until I borrowed a neighbors earlier this spring. Wife and I hauled 5 loads from the local municipality where we can get free wood chips and mulch with it and we were both sold on it after that. I think they actually recommend the 3000lb one for moving a load off a flat bed. Take a look at their site:
Welcome to Loadhandler.com.

Give them a call with your questions, I am sure they will be happy to answer them.

 

[deere_x475guy]

Last summer I had and 18 ton pile of dirt up on the hill at the back of my property.
I was filling in the road ditch in front of the property and needed that dirt to cover over the culvert.
I bought a load handler for 89 dollars for my little import Dodge D-50 pick up.
I loaded the truck with 3 buckets of the BX23 fel per trip.
Took 36 trips to haul that pile of dirt off the hill.
I drove 5 miles hauling the 18 ton of dirt.
Hauling the whole pile with the BX23 fel would have taken 108 trips with the tractor
It would have been a 15 mile drive with the tractor.
Driving a truck 5 miles sure is a lot quicker than driving a tractor 15 miles.
I got my 89 bucks and then some back out of the load handler just from moving that pile of dirt.

LBrown I have read some of your posts and others about this Load Handler. Everyone seems to feel they work well and I agree. I think they got mine on sale at Harbor Freight for $69.99.

 

[npaden]

Not trying to hijack the thread but I have tried the loadhandler with a utility trailer with mixed success.

I tried one of the 2,000 lb rated ones on a flatbed trailer and it wasn't very sturdy. The metal pipe that the fabric is wrapped around would bend in the middle. It worked but it was really pushing the limits. I put down a sheet of plastic under the fabric to make it slide better. I would hope the 3,000 lb rated one had a thicker walled metal pipe. The 2,000 lb version was pretty thin. (I probably had about 4,000 lbs of gravel on the trailer)

The other problem I had was that the handle is designed for pickup bed height and width and not flatbed trailer height and width. My trailer was about 12" off the ground and I centered the load handler in the middle of the trailer so the handle wasn't able to spin. I had to use a pipe wrench to hold it while I flipped the handle back and forth.

Lastly I left the load handler on the trailer for a few months outside and the plastic parts got brittle in the sun and snapped the next time I tried to use it. It is a good idea, but I think it will take some modifications to work well with a large load on a utility trailer.

Here are some pictures:

Here it is unloaded, You can see the pipe wrench I was using in this picture:

I was actually pretty happy with it at the time but was pretty disappointed when the plastic straps broke from exposure to the sun. It was quite a bit more work to unload having to use the pipe wrench but was easier than a shovel. I may use the fabric and a longer pipe and some sturdier brackets and make an improved version next time I need to move some material.

FWIW, Nathan