# Dump trailers



## stonecutter

Morning Wood said:


> Isn't it just two pistons with a tee and one pump as opposed to a single piston in the middle?


That's how mine is set up. Never saw a double pump set-up before.


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## Gary H

On CL today there is for sale'
one Brimar
one Tex
one PJ
one forest
all are used and priced around 3 to 4 grand. All close to the same size. Which one? Or should I go for the dump that I get the lowest after haggle them down?


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## Morning Wood

Gary H said:


> On CL today there is for sale'
> one Brimar
> one Tex
> one PJ
> one forest
> all are used and priced around 3 to 4 grand. All close to the same size. Which one? Or should I go for the dump that I get the lowest after haggle them down?


We can't really recommend one or the other without seeing the trailers. You just have to make your own choice.


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## Gary H

Good point. They have all posted pics and they are used but not wrecked. 3 of the owners have said that they need the cash and are out of business. I think I will start by calling them offering a low price and if they accept the offer those will be the ones I check out first. 
Since I don't need one right now, I can wait for the best deal. And go from there.


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## dougger222

As far the the pump styles what I've seen is two types.
1. Single centered piston with scissors bracket.
2. Dual piston on each side with no scissors bracket.

A good friend of mine a self proclaimed storm chaser bought a 14ft dump trailer used last year for $2,000 in very good shape. 

A few years ago saw a 14ft fairly new dump trailer on CL for $3,000. Called a few hours after the listing and it sold already.

I've hauled dirt and you have to load it right or it will not dump. Dirt is a lot heavier than shingles or most contruction debris. My trailers have the three way rear door. For gravel it works very well to spread a nice thin layer.


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## Morning Wood

*pulled the trigger*

well, i ordered a dump today. have a question on one option though. It is a deckover with drop down sides. I can either get a combo spread gate (hinge at the top as well as the bottom) or I can get a barn door gate. I was hoping for a barn door and a spread gate, but it isn't possible with the drop down sides. What do you guys think would be better overall? Will the chains on the combo gate get in the way of dumping construction debris and brush? I like the idea of dumping gravel out slowly with the spreader option. Barn doors are another $140, and at the moment I just went with the combo gate. for those of you that have dumps, what are your thoughts? Thanks, Nick.


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## dkillianjr

I have the combo gate on my deckover. I have the removable sides on mine, so I wasn't able to get the barn doors either. 

When I dump I just chain the tailgate and have never had a problem. I like the tailgate, it gives me a place to stand if I am loading stuff in or shoveling gravel or dirt out. Every once in a while I wish I had the barn doors, but I like the removable sides to much for hauling lumber loads and pallets of stuff. 


Dave


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## Diamond D.

I think you made the right decision.
If you feel the gate gets in the way at times, simply take it off completely, set it off to the side and dump.

IMHO the drop down sides option outweighs swing doors, but that's me.

Congratulations and good luck,
D.


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## dougger222

Seen pictures of the drop down sides but never seen one in action. Seems all the guys at the dump are running the rear barn doors or single rear door. IMO barn doors are better than single door because you would have half the weight on the hinges.

On my older dump trailer after many hundreds of loads a 55sq roof finaly did it in. There was a lip on the bottom of the trailer on the back which caught debris on dumping. My mechanic decided to get rid of the lip and modify the rear barn door system. It works great never get anything caught in the trailer unless it's icy anymore. The only downside is it won't spread gravel anymore. Before they did the modification however they informed me of this. It was only a few hundred bucks and worth every penny! The newer trailer of course can spread gravel.

At some point in production PJ realized the design flaw with the lip so they got rid of it.

Congrats on your purchase wood, now you just gotta go buy a $1,000 WDH!!!


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## Morning Wood

U don't like WD hitches right. I already have a 14k wd setup. But it won't work with cam's tongue. They use a very wide plate on the front of the trailer. Trailer is for local use only. I may have to upgrade to a 2 1/2" trailer hitch on the truck though. 18k trailer 2k tongue weight rated. Can't wait for this trailer. Going to put a rack on it in the stake pockets. I'm thinking of doing it out of aluminum. Have to check prices first though.


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## Morning Wood

Does anyone know what the interior dimensions are on the stake pockets? I'm going to have to wait for the trailer to figure out specifics, but I'll need to build up the sides and it will be slightly tricky with the drop down sides. Now stake pockets along the sides. Only at the corners.


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## Grandpa John

Having had a dump trailer for over 12 years now I can say it's one of the best investments I've made. I would highly recommend a pintle (ring style) hitch for a bumper pull . The pintle style is much more forgiving when attempting to hook up the trailer solo. Another observation. Mine came with a single barn door on the rear. PITA when backing into the landfill during busy times because you can't back in next to another trailer and open the door. 
Had excellent luck with the Rugby lift mechanism. Single cylinder, lever action will dump an 8yd load of broken concrete in about 1 min.

One other point learned the hard way, Michigan and many of the municipalities are targeting small contractors with dump trailers. Word to the wise, keep everything up to snuff. If subject to annual inspection, make a big note on your calender when the next inspection is due and if your combined truck and trailer scale over 10K you will need a Chauffeurs license (or ma by a CDL) and a medical card. The medical card is good for 2 years. Almost forgot, you might also have to go to an elected weight range for the towing vehicle.
Bottom line: Just more bureaucratic crap to deal with.........


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## Greg Di

I have combo gates on all my dump trailers and I've NEVER used the spreader feature once. Hell, I don't even know what pins to pull to make it work. Where we work, there is no freaking way a truck AND trailer will get remotely near the work area anyway for spreading.


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## BamBamm5144

I have a combo as well. For my needs, I really don't need a spreader gate. I'll tell you this though, the thing has already saved me loads of money!


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## StreamlineGT

I picked up my 7x12 last week. I'm already in love with it.


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## Gary H

I rented one from the last family owned lumber yard around in my area and he has a gas engine that runs the pump. The driver said that in the 34 years they owned it, it never had a load that it could not lift. I really like the idea of a gas engine. No charging.


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## Gary H

StreamlineGT said:


> I picked up my 7x12 last week. I'm already in love with it.


You got to paint that dumper to match that sweet truck:thumbup:


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## dougger222

Perhaps I've never seen WDH on the dump trailer is because they won't fit?

As far as stake pockets I want to say most are made to fit a standard 2x4? I know my 20ft flat bed has stake pockets which I've used several times to double as a make shift debris trailer. I run a couple log chains around the load and for $5 the load is pulled out.

If your trailer has stake pockets only in the corners not sure if you can add to it. With the drop down sides the extra weight may also make it tough?

Most guys run 2x4's in the stake pockets and 2x6's for the walls. Most are an additional 1-2ft. I just ordered mine with factory made and installed removable steel side walls to add 2ft.


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## dougger222

Yesterday I used my wifes Excursion to haul some black dirt. In the past I've used the dually and have gotten about 8-9 yards for around $100. It's a heavy load but not nearly as heavy as a trailer full of roofing debris. We went to a new place today with slightly higher prices per yard. My wife asked for $100 worth. After the first big bucket figured he was done then he added a second half bucket! Never had the trailer squat that much. Luckily it was only a 15 mile drive home, never made it over 50mph. I kept telling my wife why didn't we take the dually and why didn't you just ask for 8-9 yards!!!

Based on the weight of the trailer, suv, and what an average yard of fine black dirt weights guessing 27-29K lbs total. 

Of course it's way to heavy to dump so gotta scoop a bunch of it out!!!


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## dougger222

Grandpa John said:


> Having had a dump trailer for over 12 years now I can say it's one of the best investments I've made. I would highly recommend a pintle (ring style) hitch for a bumper pull . The pintle style is much more forgiving when attempting to hook up the trailer solo. Another observation. Mine came with a single barn door on the rear. PITA when backing into the landfill during busy times because you can't back in next to another trailer and open the door.
> Had excellent luck with the Rugby lift mechanism. Single cylinder, lever action will dump an 8yd load of broken concrete in about 1 min.
> 
> One other point learned the hard way, Michigan and many of the municipalities are targeting small contractors with dump trailers. Word to the wise, keep everything up to snuff. If subject to annual inspection, make a big note on your calender when the next inspection is due and if your combined truck and trailer scale over 10K you will need a Chauffeurs license (or ma by a CDL) and a medical card. The medical card is good for 2 years. Almost forgot, you might also have to go to an elected weight range for the towing vehicle.
> Bottom line: Just more bureaucratic crap to deal with.........


The US DOT laws for commercial use trucks/trucks&trailers are,
Any truck and or truck/trailer combination with a GVWR over 10K needs to be complaint. You need a health card, fire ext. warning triangles, name of the business and DOT numbers on the tow vehicle. The DOT numbers is strange though as any truck over 10K lbs needs one but you don't need one on a truck under 10K lbs.
Any truck and or truck/trailer combination with a GVWR over 26K lbs needs a CDL and yearly inspections.

As far as my rig with trailers it's rated as 25,200 lbs. I don't need a CDL and I don't need annual DOT inspections. 

How do I know? Been pulled over 3 times!!!

Now, the DOT can and will come on your place of business and inspect trucks/trailers. I had a friend who had a worker pulled over by the DOT and after getting some tickets they came to his business and wrote more tickets. He was under the 26K lb rule. My other friend runs a lot of trucks/trailers over 26K lbs in a local area and he's friends with the local DOT's so he's never been pulled over.

As far as state by state to my knowleadge they all have to follow national DOT laws. Of course some side streets are rated at 6K lbs which most trucks can't go down. In MN there's a section of I35 which is for vehicles under 10K lbs. I can take the X and F250 through but not the dually or the other two with trailers. My buddy got nailed with his trailer in that zone and got a ticket. From time to time you'll see 18 wheelers pulled over too.


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