Power Tilt or gravity tilt trailer

[ids]

Hello,
I was wondering if anyone had any opinions of these different kinds of trailers? I was looking at two, they are 22' long, 10K GVWR, they both come in diamond plate or wood, and from what I heard I should go with the wood. I have a 7K Kubota, and pulling it with a Z71 off road package, I believe I can pull 10,300, although the hitch says 12K with a weight distributing hitch.

The issue is the tilt, one is a power up/down tilt, and the other is a gravity fed system, basically I unlock a pin, walk to the back and the tilt drops, as I drive my tractor up, once it passes the pivot point, it is supposed to go back into position. the main difference I see is price, the gravity is about 3K, where as the power up/down is about 5K - I would spend the 5K but only if it really helps..I just started a small business, just basic gravel, backhoe, etc..


thanks for any help
Steve

 

[wkpoor]

I debated for a year on getting a tilt trailer. Didn't end up with one but if I had of I was going to get power tilt. Reason is if you are only planning on ever hauling one item the gravity my be alright but multiple items you could need power to enable you to tilt to unload.

 

[wingbone]

I don't tow mine a lot, but I have a 22' split tilt 14k Liberty and it's very easy to load. When it tilts, you are driving up a very slight incline and it goes back down very easy.

 

[Sawdust Farmer]

One problem with the gravity tilt is that if you load the front too heavy with something difficult to move (gravel, dirt, sand, etc.) you're going to have a tough time tilting it back to unload.

 

[ids]

I guess that does make sense - I was hoping that sometimes I might be able to haul dirt/gravel and if needed to use the tilt to help unload it, I know its not a dump trailer, but it might help..If I do load the trailer with anything other than a vehicle, I might be able to tilt it down then..especially if the weight in the front of the trailer is more than anything I could put in the back.

thanks

 

[George2615]

I have a tilt bed trailer. It has a 20' deck and 82" between the fenders. It was a manual tilt using a manually operated hydraulic jack. My trailer had a price difference of $1600 more for the power tilt vs. manual. I bought the manual tilt trailer and changed out the manual cylinder for an electric / hydraulic pump and cylinder. I didn't need both power up / down so got the power up / gravity down unit. Note: a power up and down unit would have added about $110 more to my cost. I bought the 12V electric / hydraulic unit, cylinder, and hose and fluid for under $600. It does full tilt up in about 5 seconds and holds in place. Once loaded the release lever on the unit is pushed releasing the pressure and the load weight lowers it back down. Mine has a wood deck which I feel is much safer. A metal deck can be very slippery in winter. No ramps to worry about.

 

[ids]

George - thanks...but I dont' think this trailer is even a manual tilt (manually operated hydraulic jack) - I was just told it was gravity tilt, you unhook a latch, stand on the back and it goes down, when you drive the car or tractor on, it will tilt back up, then you lock it down. The difference between this and a power/up tilt is about 2K, which is a lot....

 

[aczlan]

If it is manual tilt you should be able to convert it to hyd tilt for under $2000, you would just need to do some welding.

Aaron Z

 

[ids]

Thank you Aaron, but its a gravity system, you walk to the back and the tilt goes down, you drive the tractor up and the tilt come back to level...the difference in price between this and the complete power up/down is about 2K, 3K vs. 5K, so if the conversion was 5K, maybe I should just go with the full power.

 

[aczlan]

Thank you Aaron, but its a gravity system, you walk to the back and the tilt goes down, you drive the tractor up and the tilt come back to level...the difference in price between this and the complete power up/down is about 2K, 3K vs. 5K, so if the conversion was 5K, maybe I should just go with the full power.

The difference should not be much more than adding the mounts for the ends of the cylinder and mounting the pump/control unit.
Prices/parts:
Power Pack (Pump/Reservoir and Controls) - $360
Cylinder ((rough guess on size) 2X25.625X1.375 DA) - $110
Hyd hose (60" x 3/8" NPT) x 2 - $22
Adapters (NPT- 8 ORFS, just a guess) - $20
Welding for brackets (just a guess, should be less) - $300
Battery, Box, Cables and misc stuff - $100

Estimated Total - $912

That would give you a dump with power up/down and a remote for under $1000.

There are several who have made trailers that you could get ideas on mounting stuff from, one is this thread, see post 59 for pump/batt mounting ideas.

If you look at the dumping and non-dumping trailers side by side, it should be pretty obvious how they have the ram mounted and you should be able to add a ram/pump for less than $2000.

Is is worth your time to get it added after the fact? That is up to you and how adventurous you feel.

Aaron Z

 

[ids]

Aaron

Thanks -- this is really helpful, welding is not a problem, and for the pieces this seems like a good bet

thankd
steve

 

[AKfish]

I had a 20' 14K (16' tilt and 4' stationary) gravity tilt-bed for the past 2 years.

The concern for loading non-mobile stuff on the trailer and then tilting to unload is a very valid problem. This means that everything (brush, dirt, etc.) must be loaded towards the rear of the trailer in order for the bed to tilt and help with unloading. Forget the stationary deck!

It's a PITA...

I never really had an issue with loading multiple attachments or additional implements (besides my tractor), however. It was simply a matter of unloading the tractor first and then using the FEL to pick the other implement off the trailer.

The hyd cylinder on the deck (double-acting) was already plumbed for power up/power down - it was just plugged at the top and bottom of the cylinder. All I needed was the fitting's and hoses and the 12v electric pump.

That said -- there is/was one thing that I appreciated more than anything else in the gravity tilt over the power up/down option: when the deck was slippery (especially in fall-early winter) and it's dangerous getting the machine up the tilted deck; I never had to have a 2nd person on the spot to begin dropping the deck IMMEDIATELY, before the tractor began to slide backwards off the trailer!

As soon as the pivot point on the tilt was achieved - the bed would begin to drop. I couldn't imagine trying to hold the tractor on the slippery deck and then trying to get off and power the deck down...

One caveat on using a gravity tilt-bed trailer - IMO - put your truck in neutral and use wheel chocks when loading and unloading. Especially with heavy loads. I loaded a JD 50D excavator on my trailer this past Nov. and the "push" against the truck when the bed dropped was SCARY!!

AKfish

 

[ids]

Thanks for the tip, and appreciate the info on the hyd damper cyl setup..I was thinking the cyl is there anyway, couldn't I just simply swap out that hyd damper cyl for a pump and a 12v one, and then have the power up/down option?

I was also thinking instead of metal to really stick with wood

thanks

 

[burnetma]

I have a manual tilt deck over and love it. At first I thought I wanted a hydraulic tilt, but now that I have the manual tilt I have learned to appreciate the fact that the unit automatically tilts when the center of gravity of the tractor goes past the pivot. First of all it makes it a one man job and you can focus on the position of the tractor versus trying to work the remote control while driving. Second, I now know where the center of gravity is on my unit and I can better estimate my tongue weight.

I purchased a set of Hensley Ultimate Tire Chocks to assure myself that the trailer will never push my truck.
Ultimate Tire Chocks

They work really well, however, be sure to remove them before towing. Don't ask me how I know....

 

[just_Dave]

Hello,
just started a small business, just basic gravel, backhoe, etc..


thanks for any help
Steve

Not to rain on you buisness or ideas, but seriously starting a new from scratch buisness in this economy is going to be a up hill battle.. Especially in the backhoe, gravel area.... There are a ton of guys that allready working looking for work. I know lots of companies have closed due to lack of work. I would think more in line with.. rototilling, mowing, FEL work ETC for small farms and undercutting what someone could rent a TLB for that woudl be a decent market to corner, and or a backhoe work for small plumbing contractors that don't own equipment.

Looking from a serious point of view your not going to haul much past a few buckets worth of material on this kind of trailer.. falling off, getting it off resonably ETC are all reasons why your wouldn't more then once, been there hated it... If you really want to haul material, get a small dump trailer and ramps ... a lot more usefull in my book and ive seen it done lots of times

Also you could just do ramps to save $$$

IF built decent enough a powered tilt should allow you to park the equipment just at the tail of the trailer and power it up, hop back on and drive the euipment to the desired location. no need to park it 6 feet up and then hop off to lower it down.
Or you could get a cord, and or cordless controll to level you back out when your driving back on the trailer all easy options

 

[radman1]

I have power up/down electric tilt. My trailer is 24' and 14K rating. I almost got a manual tilt but instead went electric. For me, the electric was by far the best. I can load 1-2 attachments on the front or hual material in the front and still tip trailer when I want it to. I have hauled dirt and mulch on it, tip it up, drive on and use FEL to remove. With a 2x8 removeable sides, I can quickly unload 4-5 yards of dirt in minutes with FEL. A dump trailer works better, but and electric tilt trailer and FEL is in next best option.

 

[pintail]

I HAVE A MANUAL TILT TRAILER HYDS UP AND DOWN.AM THINKING ABOUT CONVERTING TO ELECTRIC OVER HYDRAULICS AND WONDERED WHERE YOU BOUGHT THE ITEMS TO CONVERT.

THANKS, KEN

 

[George2615]

Ken,
I bought my power unit from Graingers and the cylinder and hyd. hose from Northern tool to convert my manual tilt to electric / hyd. tilt. If I remember it cost me under $700. for all parts.

 

[gtrippleb]

I HAVE A MANUAL TILT TRAILER HYDS UP AND DOWN.AM THINKING ABOUT CONVERTING TO ELECTRIC OVER HYDRAULICS AND WONDERED WHERE YOU BOUGHT THE ITEMS TO CONVERT.

THANKS, KEN

Ken,

This might work for what you want to do.

Dump Trailer Kit - Single Cylinder by International Hydraulics

Thank,
Greg

 

[pintail]

thanks for the information, George. will go from there.

KEN