Unloading pickup with help from my tractor

[prosperity]

i like the conveyor belt idea, but , not sure about rolling the material over itself.
a clean sheet of plywood over your bedliner, then just pull out the belting and load
similar to the crank style, except use your tractor to pull it out!

not sure about a dump box insert, what truck do you have with only 5.5' bed? what do
you usually carry weightwise for a load?

i was thinking of picking up a small dump trailer myself. even a 4x8 would be better capacity than you
have in your box, and easy to dump, or just unhook for later use.

I'm thinking the conveyor belt on top of a sheet of plywood is about the best idea so far as far as pulling something off with my tractor.

HAve you considered a dump trailer? They're great, but a bit expensive. Personally, I think they're worth every penny! NAd you can use it with your tractor too!

I've been thinking more and more about the dump trailer. I wouldn't use one enough to justify buying one, but as I said above there is a rental unit near where I get my stuff. I am guessing that if the fee is ~$50 a day it would be worth it to me. Next time I get over there I will check on the rental fee.

I would second the idea of a dump trailer. I have a single axle trailer rated at 5000lb gross. It is easy to load with a FEL and the sides are not to high. Can carry 2 cubic yards of anything and you can (I have) put side on it to carry more light stuff. It is far easier than using the truck and having the problem of cleaning it all the time. You dump stuff in and it dumps stuff out. I used it for years as a grain wagon as well. I almost never use the truck bed for dirty jobs, just use the dump trailer. Mine it a BriMar and I love it. Don't know how I lived without it for so long.

DT508LP-5 - Bri-Mar

Yep - I think a dump trailer is more of what I need.

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I really appreciate all the great responses. After getting RA it has turned my whole life upside down. You never realize how far reaching the complications are. I never would have though I would have to be here at a place like this asking for help in how to do a simple task like unloading my pick-up. Thank you all for your help!

 

[s219]

I'd love a dump trailer myself -- I use the heck out of my 7x16 landscape trailer for bulk materials, but my wrists can't take a lot of shovel work anymore (carpal tunnel). It's convenient to go buy a ton of gravel or mulch when I need small amounts, but not so fun getting it off the trailer.

 

[beeforty]

I bought a "Load Handler" and it works pretty good for me for moving wood chips. It slides good on a poly bed liner but if you have the rhino liner type that is sprayed in I doubt it will work, too much grip. They do sell a poly type sheet for use in that situation. It doesn't seem to put too much stress on my tailgate as there is 2 straps that attach to your bumper to prevent it from curling up when unloading. I'm tempted to build some plywood sides that will prevent material from falling out around the wheel wells (wide bed) when you have a bed full of material, not just the light little loads they show in their ads where the material is neatly pile in the center of the bed.

 

[flyerdan]

If you have enough lift capacity you can get by with a cheap pickup bed trailer. I built this one out of spare parts a few years ago, this is when I dumped a load of topsoil someone was giving away. Too lazy to shovel it all out.

 

[k0ua]

I would second the idea of a dump trailer. I have a single axle trailer rated at 5000lb gross. It is easy to load with a FEL and the sides are not to high. Can carry 2 cubic yards of anything and you can (I have) put side on it to carry more light stuff. It is far easier than using the truck and having the problem of cleaning it all the time. You dump stuff in and it dumps stuff out. I used it for years as a grain wagon as well. I almost never use the truck bed for dirty jobs, just use the dump trailer. Mine it a BriMar and I love it. Don't know how I lived without it for so long.

DT508LP-5 - Bri-Mar

That is the cats meow!:thumbsup:

 

[Industrial Toys]

I personally don't like a loader anywhere near my pickup. I've done it lots of times, but I try and avoid it. Or I raise the load, and then slowly drive the pickup away. My favorite is to use an electric chain hoist I have mounted in the barn. Nice and slow, and then again I drive the truck away.

Those chinsy tuna-fish-can pickups they call "HD", will dent, if you just look at them wrong!

 

[ferrari99]

Just saw this and thought I would share.
Easy to build firewood unloader / load handler - A step by step guide - YouTube

 

[ferrari99]

Another thought you could build a dumping insert like this.
DumperDogg Pickup Dump Insert — Steel, Fits 6ft. Bed, 6000-Lb./1.5 Cu. Yd. Capacity | Lift Gates Dump Kits| Northern Tool + Equipment

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I use the FIBC bags all the time. They're very handy, load once move many times. I get them used on Ebay for about $15 each. They're on craigslist from time to time too.

 

[bcp]

Box on rollers:

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/13766/a-sliding-dump-bed-makes-unloading-gravel-fast-and-easy

Bruce

 

[Dutch445]

similar to a suggestion above with the pipes... very simple and effective!

Box on rollers:

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/13766/a-sliding-dump-bed-makes-unloading-gravel-fast-and-easy

Bruce

 

[woodlandfarms]

I think in the end your only solution given your RA is the dump trailer.

These other methods involve you and your hands to a great extent. Maybe I mis read your condition, but it sounded like you need to dump and go with minimal impact to the body. Bags would require some way of holding them as they are filled. The sliding box, seems pretty hillbilly but works IMO, but you need to be able to get in the bed and place the pipes..

Even the idea of a pickup trailer you can lift with your bucket seems like a great idea.

I have the Loadhandler. It works. Lots of cons (you have to crank it, it messes up the paint on your truck, you still have to shovel and if you over fill it you are no better off than if you didn't have it). But once you get the hang of it $150 is not a bad deal compared to a dump trailer.

 

[RAYJAY]

use the bulk bags for coal here i buy them form this place , or look on craigslist for them

34.5" x 33" x 38.5" Bulk Bag (FIBC) - Open Top - $14.4 | onlinefabricstore.net

 

[Chopperhed]

When I was a kid I learned a neat trick. Works if you have the space. Load up the truck with the load parallel to the box.

When you get to location, pick your spot, line up on it, floor it in reverse. Hammer the brakes when you get to the spot. The load will come off.

Truth is, truckers here do it all the time to shift skids to the back of the deck so they can slide them to a trailer..

I'm talking 8 x 20 gen set skid, drilling manifolds etc.

My step dad used to use the method to unload bundles of fence posts.

With cut wood, I'd want some 2 x 8 liners in the box.

 

[k0ua]

When I was a kid I learned a neat trick. Works if you have the space. Load up the truck with the load parallel to the box.

When you get to location, pick your spot, line up on it, floor it in reverse. Hammer the brakes when you get to the spot. The load will come off.

Truth is, truckers here do it all the time to shift skids to the back of the deck so they can slide them to a trailer..

I'm talking 8 x 20 gen set skid, drilling manifolds etc.

My step dad used to use the method to unload bundles of fence posts.

With cut wood, I'd want some 2 x 8 liners in the box.

I wondered when someone was going to mention this method.

 

[prosperity]

I think in the end your only solution given your RA is the dump trailer.

These other methods involve you and your hands to a great extent. Maybe I mis read your condition, but it sounded like you need to dump and go with minimal impact to the body. Bags would require some way of holding them as they are filled. The sliding box, seems pretty hillbilly but works IMO, but you need to be able to get in the bed and place the pipes..

Even the idea of a pickup trailer you can lift with your bucket seems like a great idea.

I have the Loadhandler. It works. Lots of cons (you have to crank it, it messes up the paint on your truck, you still have to shovel and if you over fill it you are no better off than if you didn't have it). But once you get the hang of it $150 is not a bad deal compared to a dump trailer.

You are correct about my condition. While doing this research I saw a couple videos with people using the loadhandler. I wouldn't be able to turn that crank handle - or if I did I would be down and out for the next 3-4 days.

And getting an idea of the rental cost of a dump trailer - it looks more like $100+ a day looking at some on-line sites. When I take that $100 plus the fuel for 2 round trips (the load and then the return) of ~$25, I am at at least $125. The vendors fee of $2.50 per mile round trip comes out to $150. I guess I am better off just paying the delivery fee for this stuff.

At least I can be happy that I have a tractor with a loader and box blade so I can move and distribute the material myself!

 

[bamboozled]

Paying for delivery does suck, but keep in mind you are also paying for the lack of hassle on your part. You call them, they show up, and then you already have the equipment to move things around once it gets there. Also keep in mind, a full-size dump truck brings a lot more material than what you can haul in a light duty dump trailer, so even if you did buy your own trailer, you'll have more time and cost in additional trips if you did do the hauling yourself.

Case in point, I needed fill to fill in a pool hole in my backyard. There is a new house about 5 miles down the road that didn't need the fill from the basement excavation, and would have been enough to fill my hole in. After doing the math and figuring out rental costs and TIME to move the material twice, I just paid to have 48 yards of dirt (4 loads) trucked in instead so I only had to move it once. I probably could have charged the guy enough to cover my equipment rental costs and got the dirt for free, but it came down to a time issue in that I didn't have enough before another project the following week.

I would love to have a dump trailer myself, but just can't justify the expense for the amount of time it would be used....at least for now...

 

[Taylortractornut]

Last year I converted a single axle boat trailer to a dump for a friend. It was a big trailer and pulled good. Made a low sided box and put it on the frame. Used a snow plow pump that migrated down here to work it. I bet a small welding shop could knock out a small dump trailer cheap and you'd find 100 uses for it.

 

[prosperity]

Paying for delivery does suck, but keep in mind you are also paying for the lack of hassle on your part. You call them, they show up, and then you already have the equipment to move things around once it gets there. Also keep in mind, a full-size dump truck brings a lot more material than what you can haul in a light duty dump trailer, so even if you did buy your own trailer, you'll have more time and cost in additional trips if you did do the hauling yourself.

Case in point, I needed fill to fill in a pool hole in my backyard. There is a new house about 5 miles down the road that didn't need the fill from the basement excavation, and would have been enough to fill my hole in. After doing the math and figuring out rental costs and TIME to move the material twice, I just paid to have 48 yards of dirt (4 loads) trucked in instead so I only had to move it once. I probably could have charged the guy enough to cover my equipment rental costs and got the dirt for free, but it came down to a time issue in that I didn't have enough before another project the following week.

I would love to have a dump trailer myself, but just can't justify the expense for the amount of time it would be used....at least for now...

I have to agree with all you said. When I look at the delivery cost if I buy full truck loads - tri-axle load of stone is 25 ton - the cost of delivery per ton goes way down. Like you say, with a dump trailer it would take so many trips to get that 25 ton plus the cost of the trailer and fuel.

The same goes for firewood. A couple years ago I started buying it cut/split and delivered since I was then working 70+ hours a week. I've was buying from a couple different locals but they all seem to only do it for a year or two then quit. I have now found a place that sells firewood commercially. Wood is kept under cover - they use a firewood processor. The one advantage to them is when I buy a cord, I am getting a true cord. The locals seem to think that an 8' bed on a pickup is a full cord which it is not. Again if I buy my firewood in the summer like I usually do in one shot (4-5 cord) the cost of delivery doesn't look so bad.

I am just so used to doing everything myself - guess I have to kind of swallow my pride a bit now.......

 

[Industrial Toys]

I built one **** of a dump trailer. There is a gravel pit around five miles away and I was contemplating getting gravel myself, using the trailer and the JD 6200, thus saving money. If I consider the fuel, tractor hours and my time, it's still cheaper to get the gravel delivered! FRUSTRATING!