Recommendations for Pickup Truck Unloader?

[jymbee]

Not owning a dump truck any longer I spend too much time shoveling out a pickup truck load of material such as mulch, topsoil, crusher run, etc.

Been looking at these manual truck bed unloaders where you install this thing, roll out the mat, fill the bed and unload via a cranking mechanism mounted on the tailgate. I intend to buy something buy reviews seem to be all over the place so I'd appreciate some input as to their effectiveness from folks who have actually used one.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Have the Haul Master one from Harbor Freight. Works pretty decent for smaller loads. Definitely not something you would load up the bed to the rails with unless it was just dry mulch or something else light. Also works best with a plastic bed liner. Rubber mats and spray-on liners have way too much friction, and paint just gets messed up.

 

[California]

Another vote for HF's unloader.

I just used it to carry/unload a 4x8 trailer load of fallen Redwood limbs and branches, maybe a 800 lb load. It worked fine, just like the videos on YouTube. I don't know how much more weight it would move with such rough objects, without tearing.

I made an adapter to mount it in place of the trailer's tailgate, which has drop-in pins. And welded a socket into the end opposite the crank, to turn it with my drill and a 3/8 adapter. (This didn't work until it was near empty).

Here's my thread describing this modification, with photos.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/threads/harbor-freight-tools-that-dont-suck.114176/page-324#post-7158215

In summary - recommended.

 

[dfkrug]

I recommend it. I bought mine when it first came out in the mid 90s when it was called the LoadHandler. I used it initially to move dirt that I excavated with my homemade mini excavator and my Toyota 4x4 PU. Definitely need the low-friction bedliner or pad.

I have moved dirt, sand, gravel, mulch, fertilizer, split firewood, lumber and scrap metal. The FW splits are the only material that did not work well, cuz the wheel well humps cause hangups. But that problem could be avoided with neat stacking.

My LH was stored unused for years after I made my redneck Samurai dumptruck, but I am back to using it. It works super-well to pick up 1200# of con-mix at a time at the materials yard. I use my gen 1 4x4 Taco. Unloads in 10 seconds with the crank. I have done about 10-12 loads in the past year, and plan another load soon. The drag sheet has no visible signs of wear.