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Dump Box Pickup or Trailer Kit
Dear friends,
In another topic dealing with moving a large pile of dirt from one location to another using the tractor, I brought up the idea of moving dirt with a pickup, instead.
I decided to start a new topic dedicated to pickup and trailer hoists.
Last evening, while searching the internet for a log splitter, I found a U.S. based company that makes the biggest and best log splitters I've ever seen. However, they also make a hoist kit for pickups and trailers.
If anyone is interested in putting a hoist on a pickup, or a flatbed trailer up to 18 feet long, please check with SPLITez, located in California.
I've included a link, below, that will take you straight to the SPLITez dump hoist page.
If anyone is interested in a high quality log splitter, look no further than SPLITez.
Have a great day!
Joel
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Dump Box Pickup or Trailer Kit
A dumping insert is useless on anything but a big truck, heavy 3/4 ton or bigger, the dump insert itself weighs ~750 pounds.
A 'standard' 1/2 ton 2wd p/u with an 8' box weighs has a curb weight of about 4,800 pounds and GVWR of about 6,650 pounds, that leaves a max. payload of 1,850 pounds, if you back out the 750 pounds of dump insert you have a useable load limit of about 1,000 pounds.
When it comes to things you might want a dump box for, firewood, dirt, gravel, etc., 1,000 pounds doesn't go very far quantity-wise.
On the other hand, that same 1/2 ton will easily tow a 7,000 pound trailer, dump or otherwise, with a very inexpensive tow package on it.
Now having said that, there's lots of times that a single truck is a bunch handier than pulling a trailer around, but overall the trailer is more useful IMHO.
Best of luck.
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Dump Box Pickup or Trailer Kit
Murf,
You're right. It would be impossible to haul a pickup load of sand, gravel, or clay.
However, for those who are remodeling the house, like me, it's nice to be able to dump that bulky light stuff --- such as broken sheetrock, lath, plaster, carpet, tile, etc.
And when the little old ladies in town want some manure hauled in for their flowerbeds, or gardens, it's nice to be able to fill the pickup completely full and then make several deliveries on each trip.
In the Fall of the year, I get a lot of calls from people in town who want their trees trimmed, gardens tilled, etc. It's nice to be able to fill the truck with branches, grass clippings and leaves, and then make a quick trip to the burn pile.
It's that big, bulky, light stuff most people haul out on a daily basis that makes the dump box on the pickup so handy.........and for under 1000 dollars, it really is a worthwhile investment.
Joel
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Dump Box Pickup or Trailer Kit
Here's what I intend to do. I'll build a slide-on dump unit that I can install on my flatbed when I need it. If I keep the weight reasonable, I can use my loader to install it. If that doesn't work, an A-frame setup with chain hoist(s) that I can back the trailer under would work. Kind of like the way spreader units go into municipal dump and flat bed trucks in the winter.
By doing this, I can avoid having the expenses of yet another trailer...tires, registration, etc.
Think it's a good idea?
Mark
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Dump Box Pickup or Trailer Kit
Mark,
I haven't yet reached Mick. He's out of town today, but I did leave a message with his wife. He will call as soon as he gets in. Believe it or not, he's never owned a cell phone. Can't say I blame the man for not wanting one.
As for the trailer idea, I'm all ears on this topic. I have a 16ft. flatbed trailer that I would like to use as a dump trailer when I need one.
Any ideas are welcome, and I like your idea a whole lot.
How about a set of "C" channel guides, mounted on the floor of the flatbed trailer, along the sides, that a set of steel rollers will slide into? This would make loading the self-contained dump box fairly easy.
Joel
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Dump Box Pickup or Trailer Kit
Joel, that's a good idea! The channel-iron tracks would not be in the way for normal use of the trailer without the dump box. And they would provide a means to pin the unit to the trailer, which I'd have to do to prevent the base from flipping up once the weight of the load transfers to the back end.
I've got some rollers that came off of the top rail of hangar doors when they repaired them a few years ago. I think they'd fit into a 3 inch channel. I also have a winch in the toolbox on the front of my trailer, so maybe I could devise a self-loading aspect to the unit. Kind of so I'd back the trailer up to the dump unit on the ground, match up the channel iron track and winch it on board. That might be harder to do than I think, but it might be worth a try.
My trailer is a 16 footer too, with no side rails. It had stake pockets, and I built 22 inch high side bodies for it out of 2x12s, forming a 12' long box. For the last trip out to Phoenix, I added another 26 inches to them with angle iron and cattle panel. Worked very well. I use the loader to lift them on and off the trailer now.
This little project could get interesting before it is over!
Thanks for checking with your friend about the John Deere tractor stuff.
Mark
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Dump Box Pickup or Trailer Kit
I would like to make a couple of clarifications here.
First off, I think there needs to be better warnings on sites like the one linked to, I've seen several people with these "make your regular box a dumper" kind of setups, I've never seen one yet where the box didn't end up mangled from it either. A p/u box is light duty sheet metal, it is NOT designed, nor will it, take the kind of torsion forces a dump is subjected to.
I also think the "do not exceed your GVWR" needs to be in letters big enough to fill the whole first page of the website.
Finally, I read with humour the part about "This unit will lift bed to a 45 degree angle..." A dump box should go up to to at LEAST 60°, 75° is best.
I have many dumps, both trailers and trucks, one of the dump trailers (because of a 14' long box) can only go up to 45°. My employees rarely use it, and in fact call it the "armstrong trailer" because if you put almost any bulk material such as sand, mulch, scrap insulation, wet drywall scraps, etc. in it you are almost guaranteed to have to climb up in with a shovel and clean it out because the load stuck to the box. Add to that the fact that a p/u box has wheelwells as obstacles and it's a recipe for a giant PITA.
As for adding a dump mechanism to a box an existing trailer, that would seem problematic to say the least. For a dump to spill it's contents it needs to be at the back, that means either making a dump smaller than the bed in order to achieve adequate dump angles, or making it much shorter than the trailer bed is, that would lead to a VERY unbalanced trailer, it would have very little tongue weight, if not a negative tongue weight!!
As an example, to tip a box as short as 14' long up to just 45° (which is not nearly enough) you would need an 11' tall cylinder in the middle of the headboard, or two really 5'6" ones mounted midway down the sides. In order to use the undermounted cylinders though you would be dramatically raising the load required to be lifted to dump the box too. I think the cylinders alone to accomplish this would be pretty spendy to say the least, never mind the rest of the hydraulics.
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Dump Box Pickup or Trailer Kit
Murf,
We have to keep in mind here that we're talking about a very lightweight dump system, designed to handle bulky, lightweight materials --- such as straw bales, grass clippings, tree branches, and household garbage.
But yes, I have seen many people treat these pickup box hoists like real dump trucks, and I've seen the boxes flared out and the fenders creased, from tying to lift too much weight.
As for the trailer hoist system, I envision using a set of jack stands at the rear, much the same way I do when loading my tractor on the trailer. My ramps have built-in stands that either contact the ground, or come very close to making contact, when the ramps are deployed.
What would be wrong with having a set of stands, or supports, that could be deployed when dumping the trailer? Or, for that matter, why not design them to begin deploying as soon as the box begins moving upward? A simple mechanical linkage and pivot system should work, when attached to the hoisting box and the frame, near the rear of the trailer.
Oh well, the beauty of the internet is that we can spend a year or more batting ideas around, before we ever decide to break out the torch and welder. Nobody is going to hurt or killed by typing letters. hehehe.
Joel
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Dump Box Pickup or Trailer Kit
Joel, the stands would indeed support the tail of the dump, but wouldn't affect the weight & balance issue in the slightest while rolling down the road of course.
However, the jack stands would create a problem for dumping. Rarely is the load in the dump small enough to be able to dump it out without having to pull forward. With a trailer which is 2' or more closer to the ground, the problem is several fold worse. On our "armstrong trailer" (the 14 footer) it is not uncommon to have to pull forward 10' or more to get the load completely out of the box so it can lowered.
With jack stands supporting the weight of the upright box (and now partially shifted) load on them you would be well & truly stuck, unable to either move forward to empty the box, or get them out from under the load to pull ahead and release the rest of the load from the box.
That's where yours would become an "armstrong trailer" too.
Best of luck.
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Dump Box Pickup or Trailer Kit
I dont know if you guys can see the forest for the trees. The real story here is those log splitters- those things look bullet proof!
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