Dump Trailers

[Sandhill Crane]

I've been reading this comment about poor paint for years. Is there a company that does a good job with prep and paint on their trailers?

 

[Del_]

Just food for thought but a 8x14 and a 6x14 are actually roughly the same overall width. I much prefer a deck over trailer. Can hold more and I like the fold down sides.

I've had both and I much prefer the lower between the wheels 6x12. It is much easier hand loading and for loading equipment using ramps.

I've seen some nice 6 x 12 's with ramps that slide up underneath the dump bed. A great option and better than a tall tailgate ramp set up.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Hmmm. You can buy a brand new 8x16 deck over gooseneck here for around $8900 with a tarp. I ageee a dump truck can be had cheaper but dump trucks for that price would also be considerably older. You also have an engine and other vehicle related items to maintain and you have to insure another vehicle.

Have to insure a truck either way. I don't own any pickups, just the dump trucks.

How about register, insure, etc a trailer? 4 more tires too.

I did the trailer thing for a while, won't do it again. It's a pain trying to get into yards. Some it's a pain just with the truck, would be impossible with a trailer.

And dealing with a heavy trailer in the winter? At least with the dump truck the ~ 10k lbs of wood is helping with traction.

Have no use for a tin can bed truck.

My trucks are anywhere from 81 to 97.
Right now using an 83 C30 with 12ft bed. Small block, 4 speed. Bought it 5 years ago, have put about 30k miles on it delivering wood.
Also have an 82 that's the same, just an auto trans.
Cheap to keep fixed and parts are easy to get.
The 2 F450s are not ready yet, "on the to-do list" haha.

 

[sawjunky23]

I've had both and I much prefer the lower between the wheels 6x12. It is much easier hand loading and for loading equipment using ramps.

I've seen some nice 6 x 12 's with ramps that slide up underneath the dump bed. A great option and better than a tall tailgate ramp set up.

Agreed. If you are planning on hauling a skid loader or similar in it a lower bed is better.

 

[sawjunky23]

I've been reading this comment about poor paint for years. Is there a company that does a good job with prep and paint on their trailers?

Not that I’ve seen

 

[T. Mainus]

I've been reading this comment about poor paint for years. Is there a company that does a good job with prep and paint on their trailers?

I bought a Midsota tilt deck for moving the forklift between the 2 shops about a year ago. They promoted there paint pretty good when I was looking at them. I think everyone has the same opinion that trailer paint is not going to last but Midsota seems to be making it a positive for them that there paint will last. Its a year old and still looks like new. Sits outside all the time.

 

[sawjunky23]

Have to insure a truck either way. I don't own any pickups, just the dump trucks.

How about register, insure, etc a trailer? 4 more tires too.

I did the trailer thing for a while, won't do it again. It's a pain trying to get into yards. Some it's a pain just with the truck, would be impossible with a trailer.

And dealing with a heavy trailer in the winter? At least with the dump truck the ~ 10k lbs of wood is helping with traction.

Have no use for a tin can bed truck.

My trucks are anywhere from 81 to 97.
Right now using an 83 C30 with 12ft bed. Small block, 4 speed. Bought it 5 years ago, have put about 30k miles on it delivering wood.
Also have an 82 that's the same, just an auto trans.
Cheap to keep fixed and parts are easy to get.
The 2 F450s are not ready yet, "on the to-do list" haha.

I get what you are saying. You only use your trucks for business then yes it makes more sense.
I assume the op like most people already has a pickup that he doesn’t plan to sell so purchasing a dump truck would require all the things I stated during my previous post.

I use my truck for other stuff besides hauling firewood, like pulling my fifth wheel camper and gooseneck flatbed so I have to keep the “tin can bed truck” around.

 

[sb47]

The inside dimensions on my utility trailer are 16'x82'' . It's 103'' wide total witch I think is the max width and is hard to get into narrow driveways.
I loaded it this afternoon for a delivery in the morning.
I mesured my 6x12 cargo trailer as a comparison and it's 92'' wide, 13'' narrower then the utility trailer.

 

[T. Mainus]

Here are some pics of the Midsota.

 

[Del_]

Agreed. If you are planning on hauling a skid loader or similar in it a lower bed is better.

I also use aluminum ramps to roll some pretty good sized rounds into the bed by had. Also use a DR Powerwagon with an aluminum ramp and can move good sized rounds a long distance in the Powerwagon and the wagon is at the exact height as the dump trailer bed so it's an easy roll. This is another reason I wouldn't want a ramp for a tailgate as it would be in the way. My tailgate swings to one side.

 

[homemade]

Not to hijack, but I too am looking at dump trailers. This weekend, the guys in our crew hauling wood. We had three truck/dump trailer combos hauling logs and brush. Two trailers were 7x14 and one was a 6x12. Now I know the 6x12 doesn’t seem that much smaller, but it felt like loading a wheelbarrow compared to the other two.

Now I’m starting to look at 96” x 14” in deck over configuration. I know it’s much bigger then what the op is looking for, but the flip down sides of a deck over means I won’t need a separate flat deck trailer if I want to haul palletized material. I also do some landscaping so, the larger captivity to haul mulch would be nice.

 

[Jhenderson]

Actually it does in Michigan. The tow vehicle needs to be plated to cover the total combined gross vehicle weight of truck and trailer, regardless of the trailer having it's own plate.
Edit: example: 10,000 gvw truck + 14,000 gvw trailer means truck needs to be plated for 24,000 cgvw.
Edit: re-read your post and your speaking of operators license. If sell or delivering a commodity (firewood) you need a chauffeurs license below 26,001. Which I believe means you need a physical and drug test.

Those are State by State regulations and each State is a little different. The post I took exception quoted Fed CDL regs. I’m pretty familiar with them, having been towing dump trailers with pickups since 1992. My current setup uses a srw 3500 and a PJ gn dump rated at 18,500 for a gross of 28,500lbs which puts me in class A CDL regs. Contrary to what some believe, although I previously held a class B it wasn’t required with my 3/4 ton towing a 14,300lb dump because the gross was under CDL even though the trailer was over 10K. I was required to have a heath cert because the gross combined wt was over 10K. That’s a R.I. State reg. Throw in DOT number requirements ( if your operation requires them) and things can change again.
As for paint? None of my PJs had any. They were all powder coat over bare steel. They all started peeling within 3-4 years. It seems as though the major manufacturers have gone to a primer/ paint system recently. It’s more expensive because of EPA regs but it’s far superior.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Not to hijack, but I too am looking at dump trailers. This weekend, the guys in our crew hauling wood. We had three truck/dump trailer combos hauling logs and brush. Two trailers were 7x14 and one was a 6x12. Now I know the 6x12 doesn’t seem that much smaller, but it felt like loading a wheelbarrow compared to the other two.

Now I’m starting to look at 96” x 14” in deck over configuration. I know it’s much bigger then what the op is looking for, but the flip down sides of a deck over means I won’t need a separate flat deck trailer if I want to haul palletized material. I also do some landscaping so, the larger captivity to haul mulch would be nice.

I'd love to know what you decide on. I'm considering selling my big deckover equipment trailer in favor of a gooseneck dump. If you find a dealer in Wisconsin with a good price and product, be sure to post about it!

 

[homemade]

I'd love to know what you decide on. I'm considering selling my big deckover equipment trailer in favor of a gooseneck dump. If you find a dealer in Wisconsin with a good price and product, be sure to post about it!

I think I’ll be looking in the slightly used market. A new one is up in the $8500-9000 range. Seams like pj trailers are better quality over Bri-Mar. Those are two brands I have been up close and personal with. I would like to look at big Tex brand or some others brands. The closer pj dealer is 45 min away but I’m willing to drive several hours if it means I’m saving $1000.

 

[sawjunky23]

I'd love to know what you decide on. I'm considering selling my big deckover equipment trailer in favor of a gooseneck dump. If you find a dealer in Wisconsin with a good price and product, be sure to post about it!

My FIL looked all around and there is a dealer in West Salem WI who seemed to have the best prices. A Lamar 16ft deckover is 8400 bucks

 

[Jhenderson]

I think I’ll be looking in the slightly used market. A new one is up in the $8500-9000 range. Seams like pj trailers are better quality over Bri-Mar. Those are two brands I have been up close and personal with. I would like to look at big Tex brand or some others brands. The closer pj dealer is 45 min away but I’m willing to drive several hours if it means I’m saving $1000.

I’ve had 2 PJ dump trailers . The quality was good except for the aforementioned paint problems which seem to have gotten better. No real issues other than regular maint. The one bit of advice I’d offer is to check the axle manufacturer. I think they’ve gone to all Dexter now but earlier models can have Rockwell. I special ordered my 2011 model year, GN with 8K oil bath axles. It came with Rockwell’s. There’s nothing wrong with them and they’ve served me well, but everything in the brake and hub is just a little different than standard Dexter parts. That makes seals, brake shoes, bearings, etc a little harder to get and a little more expensive.

 

[outdoorsman0490]

Just my .02 for delivering firewood with dump trailer.
When I was in college I had an 06 Chevy 1500 with the 5.3; reg cab reg bed.

Getting a dump truck for deliveries wasn’t an option.
I bought a new cam 5’ by 8’ single axle dump, 6000lb gross, payload was right at 4500lbs.

This was a perfect setup that I ran for many years, delivering hundreds of cords.
I made wooden sides just over 3’ tall or so and it carried a stacked cord level with the tops of the boards.

Trailer was super light when empty, and truck hauled it fine when loaded, had its own breaks.

Cost about 3500 new or so; used it for like 5 years, then sold it for 2500.

Even hauled a smaller kubota tractor in it for a while.

The short truck and short trailer; I was able to back this thing into some really right places.

Once I got a 6/12, I started doing deliveries in the dump truck because the trailer was too big to fit all the time.

 

[homemade]

Chances are, I won’t be purchasing anything until a year or two. Just doing my research now and waiting on a deal.

 

[sb47]

The way the wood is flying out the door I wont need to do any delivery's after all. I could use a dumper for collecting logs though. Being able to just dump and go I could collect more logs.

 

[unclemoustache]

$5,000 for this piece of junk. Works great!