Dump trailer build, maybe?

[Ralphxj]

I have been looking for a tandem axle trailer and finally found one! Mainly needed something for firewood (logs), and hauling scrap. I got what I think is an awesome deal on this funky, custom setup equipment trailer. It was designed to haul a curb machine (large front box), sand (middle box) and a cement mixer type thing in the rear over hang. I planned on cutting it all off and making it a flat bed, although now I'm thinking dump style bed?

It's got 5200lb axles with brakes on both axles, almost new tires, an adjustable cast iron coupler and a drop leg jack. The frame is 2x4 square tubing and the fenders are heavy duty! Once I pull off the 700lbs of steel boxes, it should be a very nice platform for a custom trailer. So now I'm thinking about making it into a low profile dump trailer with low sides (12-15in tall) that will work like a normal utility trailer, but let me dump scrap and logs much easier then hand unloading. Oh ya, I got the trailer for $750!

 

[TommyK]

Nice score!

 

[Bretny]

2x4 box isnt going to carry what the axles can. Look up what that weight of trailer uses for a frame. Most are 2x6 or 8.

My 7klb car trailer uses a frame of 2x6 C channel.

 

[Ralphxj]

2x4 box isnt going to carry what the axles can. Look up what that weight of trailer uses for a frame. Most are 2x6 or 8.

My 7klb car trailer uses a frame of 2x6 C channel.

Would you recommend reinforcing the 2x4 frame, or building a new one and using the 2x4 frame for the dump part?

 

[steel 35]

Would you recommend reinforcing the 2x4 frame, or building a new one and using the 2x4 frame for the dump part?

2x4x? You might want lighter axles instead

 

[Ralphxj]

2x4x? You might want lighter axles instead

I believe its 3/16 thick but I need to double check once I start tearing into everything.

 

[steel 35]

stripper down Looks perfect to me! I made mine from 2x4x1/4" and My wife loves it.

 

[Ralphxj]

I should also add that my tow rig tow rating is 7200lbs and I only plan on hauling and dumping logs, scrap, etc. I don't plan on putting more then say 4000lbs on it. It will NOT be used to haul dirt or stone or anything like that., I have access to a dump truck for that. So the axles will handle 10k but I really dont need anything that big. If I upgrade tow rigs down the road, I could upgrade the trailer to haul more, but for now if it will handle say 6k and never see much over 4k I will be happy.

 

[matt_i]

It does look like most of the cargo space is front of the axles, which is going to put more tongue load on your tow vehicle.

In any case I would take a look at the geometry under other existing dump trailers. From what I've seen there are two possibilities, using a telescoping cylinder like the big boys or using a scissor -type mechanism to get the height you want (think of a scissor-lift - manlift). The telescoper is highly unlikely....so....that makes the choice a little easier. Eventually you'll need some heavy duty hinge/pivot points for the dump bed.

Once you get sorted out down to a cylinder, you need a pump, reservoir and a control valve, hoses. It could likely be a single-acting cylinder using gravity down but there's a lot bigger of a change in the reservoir volume as compared to using a double acting cylinder. Guessing you will use a 12v battery to power the pump...have to either charge that battery separately at home or integrate the 12v from the vehicle to charge the same battery as you travel.

 

[Hilltopmasonry]

It does look like most of the cargo space is front of the axles, which is going to put more tongue load on your tow vehicle.

In any case I would take a look at the geometry under other existing dump trailers.

I agree it looks like that trailer is very axle rear causing a lot of tongue weight

I have a small 5x10 dump trailer and if you need some measurements let me know it’s also empty now so I could lift it up if need be

Fyi..... My trailer has a 10,000 pound capacity and I believe it has 2 x 4 framing


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[Ralphxj]

The trailer frame is actually 13ft. I'm thinking if I just do a flatbed, I will add 12in and go with a 14ft deck. If I do a dump, I'll shorten it and go with a 12ft dump.

I've been go back and forth on using a single long ramp or going with a scissors lift. Haven't been able to find a good diagram breaking down the scissors measurements. If I can find one and get good measurements I might go that route.

I've been using these photos for comparison on frame sizes:
https://x-assets.autorevo-powersite...-bfb8-310f8979761f/uploads/6GT-DIMENSIONS.PNG

https://x-assets.autorevo-powersite...fb8-310f8979761f/uploads/24LPD-DIMENSIONS.PNG

 

[Bretny]

For the tow rating of the vehicle and frame size i might remove one axle.

It dosnt matter if its 1/4in 2x4 box its still not strong enough to use both axles weight rating.

 

[Ralphxj]

For the tow rating of the vehicle and frame size i might remove one axle.

It dosnt matter if its 1/4in 2x4 box its still not strong enough to use both axles weight rating.

I dont plan on using both axles weight rating. It will see 4000-4500 max on the trailer, keeping me under 7000 total.

 

[Ralphxj]

Got the front box cut off and removed the back side of the middle box, so now it's a usable flatbed. Need to get the large box moved onto my other trailer for a trip to the scrap yard. Also need to cut the sides off flush with the fenders. It might stay a flat bed for awhile until I get a solid dump bed plan and cash for the project.

 

[Farmall450]

Looks decent for the money.

Good luck on the build. Try to scrounge a complete unit from a wrecked trailer or something.

 

[RWorth]

Make your 14' flatbed, then build a removable dump body the size you need and center it over the axles. Not hard to make it removable with pins and if you're dumping firewood, you can make it higher and shorter if you don't want to extend it forward from the axles.

 

[Ralphxj]

Took all the stuff I cut off to the scrap yard and brought my total investment down to $700 still need to remove the sides around the fenders and it should be approximately 600lbs lighter then when I started. Looking at tie-down options. Should I add D-rings around the frame, or add stake pockets and use those for d-ring mounts? Does either have any advantages over the other? My current single axle utility trailer doesn't have either (need to add something to it as well) and I'm always looking for somewhere to hook my straps.

Going to leave it as a flat bed as I collect parts and material for the dump box and formulate my game plan for the build.

 

[Ralphxj]

No more goofy sides. Now to get some d-rings and stake pockets welded on and paint it. Then I can get it weighed and get plates on it. Then I can start planning and building the dump bed.

 

[Ralphxj]

Rustolum professional vs farm implement paint??? Anyone have any suggestions?

I also have a 4 year old diy Raptor bedliner kit I might use, but it says online it has a 2 year shelf life, so I'm not sure how well it will still work?

 

[Pitalplace]

I did this trailer about 10 yrs ago with Rustolum professional and it looks just about as good. It does set under a lean to most of the time which probably helps with the fading.

 

[Ralphxj]

I did this trailer about 10 yrs ago with Rustolum professional and it looks just about as good. It does set under a lean to most of the time which probably helps with the fading.

That's nice!! I figured as long as I got 3-4 years out of it, I can repaint.

I was starting to think no one was even reading this thread. Guess I'll keep posting.

 

[Tbender78]

I’m curious to see what you come up with for a dump mechanism. I built a 4x6 and could not get the scissor lift dimensions to work right.

 

[Ralphxj]

I’m curious to see what you come up with for a dump mechanism. I built a 4x6 and could not get the scissor lift dimensions to work right.

Right now I'm leaning toward just a single long cylinder rather then the hoist linkage setup. Although I wouldn't have any issues cutting out the plates on the cnc plasma table once I had good measurements, I just think for ease of build and weight, a single cylinder will be eaiser. Have a friend who works at a large local scrap yard who is watching for a dump truck to come in so he can grab the hoist and bed for me.

 

[Ralphxj]

What are the risks of using a 4 year old diy Raptor bedliner kit that the upol list as having a 2 year shelf life? Will it still work like it should? It's been sealed in the orginal bottles.

 

[Hilltopmasonry]

What are the risks of using a 4 year old diy Raptor bedliner kit that the upol list as having a 2 year shelf life? Will it still work like it should? It's been sealed in the orginal bottles.

What are you raptorlining?

The product should be fine if its properly sealed up depending on how much moisture it was exposed to


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[Ralphxj]

What are you raptorlining?

The product should be fine if its properly sealed up depending on how much moisture it was exposed to


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Thinking about doing the whole trailer, or at least the bottom.

 

[steel 35]

Thinking about doing the whole trailer, or at least the bottom.

I would do everything but the bottom; still planing / thinking of cutting it up? and if you abuse a trailer like its meant to be used it won't hold up.

 

[Hilltopmasonry]

Thinking about doing the whole trailer, or at least the bottom.

The bottom of the dump bed or the bottom meaning underside?

If you plan on using it as a dump bed I wouldn’t recommend putting anything abrasive where stuff needs to slide out

My dump trailer has a hard enough time getting stuff to slide out of the bed on a nice smooth metal surface let alone putting anything that would grab it


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[Ralphxj]

The bottom as it sits now (flat bed), meaning the frame and cross rails. Maybe the underside of the steel deck too, but that would depend in how much is left in the bottle after I start spraying. Really just looking to rust proof and protect it for now. Then the top of the frame and fenders.

 

[Ralphxj]

Figured I should update this since I'm starting to research a dump trailer again! I got the trailer painted back in 2019, and the paint (Majic from Tractor Supply) has already started to flake off! It looked good for awhile. I also added D-rings all the way around and added some LED running lights.





So now I'm in the planning stages to see if I can build a dump trailer to haul firewood, or if selling this (and my 14' single axle) and buying a cheap dump trailer is a better route. With steel prices at crazy high levels, trailer prices are now at crazy levels compared to when I started thinking about this project back in 2019, so I'm leaning more toward building this trailer into a dump rather then buying something new. Figuring I can build something off this platform for around $3000-4000. The trailer currently sits at 13ft long, if I shorten the rear down slightly and then build a 12ft dump bed on top, it will match the measurements of the Diamond C dump linked above almost exactly. For the lift setup, I'm not sure if I should go with a standard single cylinder lift, a scissor lift, or a Telescopic setup. Thinking a telescopic setup although more expensive, would be the easiest to engineer the mounts for the strength needed.

 

[NimbleMotors]

I recently built my second dump trailer. The first one was my rampless car trailer that has a hinged back half that drops down instead of a ramp (have video on it) I just changed the back to fold back onto the front so it then became a dump trailer. I used a levered lift (call it a single leg scissor lift, no scissor, just pull the leg and it levers up the bed). I only used it maybe 5 times for dump runs, and then put it back as a car trailer. I had to move out of my shop which involved moving both cars and junk to the landfill, so I built another dump trailer.

In this one I did it completely different, and it was a lot easier to do from scratch. I built a truss base from rollbar tubing (which I had plenty of it and it had to move to the new shop..) and then the lifting floor was made from junk, the key though is it has two round tubing pivots in the back, one smaller tube inside a larger one. A big tip here is to create some overhang from the pivot point, so weight at the end of trailer helps lift it. If the pivot is at the very end, you are lifting 100% of the contents.
The real key is how to raise the bed, and for this I used another 1-1/2 .120 wall rollbar tubing tube and another bigger tube that runs on the tube. The outside tube is attached to the lift bed, and the winch pulls it up the tube, lifting the bed. This works great, however I found that is the cable needs to be almost straight up/down to the tube, or it tries to bend the tube. I initially tried to use one winch to pull engines (or big trash bags (material handling bags full of trash) up into the bed, and then used it to lift the bed also. It was maybe 12 inches of angle, and that would bend the 1.5 tube. Now if you used a bigger tube it might be ok, but I have about 4 winches doing nothing, so I just adding another one just to lift and put it right at the base of the lift tube. I am working on a video showing this build, so if all the above makes no sense I will post to the forum when its published/finished (I seem to have lost some key footage, so have to redo it..)

 

[mike93lx]

Figured I should update this since I'm starting to research a dump trailer again! I got the trailer painted back in 2019, and the paint (Majic from Tractor Supply) has already started to flake off! It looked good for awhile. I also added D-rings all the way around and added some LED running lights.





So now I'm in the planning stages to see if I can build a dump trailer to haul firewood, or if selling this (and my 14' single axle) and buying a cheap dump trailer is a better route. With steel prices at crazy high levels, trailer prices are now at crazy levels compared to when I started thinking about this project back in 2019, so I'm leaning more toward building this trailer into a dump rather then buying something new. Figuring I can build something off this platform for around $3000-4000. The trailer currently sits at 13ft long, if I shorten the rear down slightly and then build a 12ft dump bed on top, it will match the measurements of the Diamond C dump linked above almost exactly. For the lift setup, I'm not sure if I should go with a standard single cylinder lift, a scissor lift, or a Telescopic setup. Thinking a telescopic setup although more expensive, would be the easiest to engineer the mounts for the strength needed.

I'd love to see a build, but that will be a big project. @f150skidoo has shared a couple builds, including at least one dump trailer, so maybe look through his threads for inspiration?

I've thought about a dump trailer many times, especially every time I am emptying my utility trailer of brush/logs/trash/dirt/stone by hand, I just don't have enough tow vehicle for it.

 

[Ralphxj]

I'd love to see a build, but that will be a big project. @f150skidoo has shared a couple builds, including at least one dump trailer, so maybe look through his threads for inspiration?

I've thought about a dump trailer many times, especially every time I am emptying my utility trailer of brush/logs/trash/dirt/stone by hand, I just don't have enough tow vehicle for it.

I've looked through his threads a few times and think I can replicate most everything. I'm shooting for a very simple setup and think I can achieve that without much trouble. Right not the biggest issue is just planning on what material I need and start getting some pricing figured out.

 

[Ralphxj]

Couple design questions: tube or channel for the frame of the dump box? I've seen both used by various manufacturers. Leaning toward 4" channel since it's half the cost of tube and won't have to worry about rust inside like tubing.

Scissor lift or telescopic hydraulics? I'm going back and forth. Telescopic seems to be the easiest to setup, but if the bed isn't over built it could flex in the middle? The scissor seems like it would give the best support being in the middle of the bed and would help support the load and not left the bed flex as much?

Although I will never plan to load more then say 4-5000lbs in the trailer, should I add some support to the 2x4 frame to help avoid flex? Something like 2x2 angle or 2x2 tubing (or even 2x3) ontop? Although I don't plan to use the trailer for anything that heavy, should I brace the frame now just incase?

 

[kerrynzl]

Couple design questions: tube or channel for the frame of the dump box?

Neither!

Use 1/8" sheet steel and get it guillotined and folded in a press brake

This is a whole trailer here [except the 3/4" ply floor]


weld some tube stiffenig ribs to it. [also a rope tie down rail]


Make front and rear Tailgates that interchange and removable [to load vehicles]
In this example it was a small digger/excavator being hauled


I built this from 2mm to keep the weight down [because it was hot dip galvanized and they charge by the weight]

 

[Ralphxj]

Neither!

Use 1/8" sheet steel and get it guillotined and folded in a press brake

This is a whole trailer here [except the 3/4" ply floor]


weld some tube stiffenig ribs to it. [also a rope tie down rail]


Make front and rear Tailgates that interchange and removable [to load vehicles]
In this example it was a small digger/excavator being hauled


I built this from 2mm to keep the weight down [because it was hot dip galvanized and they charge by the weight]

Where do the hydraulics mount? How is the force from the lift mechanism spread out so nothing bends?

 

[kerrynzl]

Where do the hydraulics mount? How is the force from the lift mechanism spread out so nothing bends?

If you use a hydraulic ram underneath , it will need a strengthening ribs across the floor. [it doesn't affect the sides at all]


There are some very successfully made tipper trailers that don't use any ram at all [they work on weight "over-centering" principles ]
This works best on short single axle trailers.

The axle is placed in the centerline of the deck and uses deep arch springs or spring hangers mounted on blocks.
The tongue pivots near the front spring hangers [but as high as possible]

You can manually lift the front [because the central placement of the axle] and the axle arcs forward the higher you lift it. [over-centering]

Here is an example of what we have for sale in NZ



On my friends 8 x 4 trailer I converted the trailer to a tipper by mounting the suspension onto 2" x 3" blocks so it would tip steeper
And on these blocks I drilled and welded pivot tubes above the front hanger for an A frame pivot to mount [the tongue had "off the shelf" boat roller brackets for hinges]
The front had modified spring-bolts that automatically latched on a striker

Sometimes the simple approach is better, I simply free-load my friends trailer for carting dirt and dumping rubbish and it works great [He doesn't min because I modified his trailer for free in exchange] and I don't have a trailer laying around my property all the time.

 

[mike93lx]

Although I will never plan to load more then say 4-5000lbs in the trailer, should I add some support to the 2x4 frame to help avoid flex? Something like 2x2 angle or 2x2 tubing (or even 2x3) ontop? Although I don't plan to use the trailer for anything that heavy, should I brace the frame now just incase?

IMO, decide on your use and design it around that. Having a trailer designed to haul yards of stone once every few years when it will almost always just be full of leaves makes it wastefully heavy and it won't ride well.

On the outlier loads, hire it out, rent a heavier trailer or make a second trip.

 

[Ralphxj]

IMO, decide on your use and design it around that. Having a trailer designed to haul yards of stone once every few years when it will almost always just be full of leaves makes it wastefully heavy and it won't ride well.

On the outlier loads, hire it out, rent a heavier trailer or make a second trip.

Firewood and random trips across the street with brush and leaves would be it. I can't see ever using it for stone or dirt as I have access to that with free delivery (it's across the street at my neighbors when ever I need anything).

 

[Ralphxj]

I knew if I didn't keep moving with this project I wouldn't ever get to it, so I ordered the hydraulics and some electric stuff. Decided to go with a telescopic setup, this 108" long, 7k cylinder should be more then enough for what this trailer will be build for. Now I need to get my steel ordered and picked up. Need to remove the current steel deck before I finalize my mounting setup for the hydraulics.