Dump Trailers

I bought a 7x12 BriMar and not happy at all with it. It has never been used after the 1st snow of the year so it has never been in the salt. The paint is peeling off terribly. I plan on selling it come spring and buying something else. Also my trailer has never been overloaded since I must be weighed at the pit. Most I ever weighed was right around 9700 gross. One day one axle ripped out the axle hangers while trying to back up with a load of mulch. I did notice that the same size PJ trailer is about 350 lbs heavier. Have been told that the scissors lift is the best setup,followed by single cylinder and the worst being a dual cylinder. I am looking possibly for a custom built 6x12 12k capacity just for the heavier axles in case I happen to overload it by accident.

 

One of my first years I delivered in the winter.
No more.
I got stuck in the wood lot three times one day, and more often than not after unloading... way to many times.
Gets dark early, flatbed gets slippery, pallets cake with snow on the bottom, everything is wet and cold, hard on equipment, etc.
And the best, their driveway is plowed wide enough for a Yugo, and they're pointing with their finger, just put it, ah, over there.
Don't know that a dump trailer would help...

 

We have snow on the ground usually from mid-October to early May, so don't have too much choice! Normal winter temps don't bother me too much. I've processed wood at -30*. Just dress up and stick heaters on the equipment to get it to start.

 

I was at my Buddy's house a couple days ago, he does quite a bit of firewood. He has a BriMar a little bigger than mine, I think it is a 6'x14' low profile. When I took a close look at it, the metal just seemed thinner and lighter than I thought it should be. My trailer is no gem but it's pretty beefy and I have beat the heck out of it in some situations. I wouldn't buy a BriMar in the future. I like those PJ trailers but they are very high.

 

That's a load!

 

7.5 face cord or 2.5 cord. I know it's back there.

 

Kinda Brave, trying that with a Chevy aren't you?


Doug

 

I looked at the BriMar and EZDumper, and bought the Pequea. It was built heavier, many more options, for the same price. I'm in MD which is a road salt state. My trailer is 12 years old and has very little rust on it, and where there is rust, it's just surface rust, no rot out. It's stored sitting on the paved court in front of my house. I first saw Pequea trailers on big heavy equipment and thought my little 5000 pound single axle was built like their heavy trailers. One time I got a load of compost and the guy on the loader asked if I wanted it piled up like when I got mulch. I said sure. My Dodge 1500 weighed about 5800 and when I went over the scales I was a tad over 12,000. Didn't realize that the compost was almost as heavy as dirt. Anyway, the trailer took it, didn't squat it enough to rub the tires, glad it had brakes. That load would have crushed my buddy's EZ. I think I paid about $3500 for mine 12 years ago. Earlier in this thread I looked them up, and my model is still only $3900. They should go on the "gotta check it out list".

 

I'll add my 2 cents.

I've got a 2004 Bri-Mar I bought used in 2006. It was very lightly used by a landscaper (seriously). Used a little for mulch and more for leaves (with a tall wooden box added on). Mine is a 6 X 10 low pro with 7000 lb. (2 / 3,500 lb) axles. It is a single cylinder with power up / gravity down and has always worked perfectly. I wanted a 10,000 lb trailer, but I just couldn't pass this one up …… since I paid just $2,200 and it really was 'like new'.

I mostly use it to shag my own firewood wherever I find it. I have hauled a little loam to my house with it. I do occasionally sell a cord of firewood here or there by word of mouth. I moved my Kubota tractor with it now and then, back when I still had the tractor.

I made a few mods to it to make it better for me. I added 18" of height to the tailgate. Added 20" of PT boards to the sides and front, and made hinges to make the gate swing to one side. All in all, this trailer has been the second best investment I have ever made. I've done nothing as far as repairs, and (I probably shouldn't admit) I still have the original Chinese Goodyear Marathons on it from 2004. The trailer is just now getting to where it needs some brakes, spring shackles, etc. The trailer has never failed to dump out whatever I have in it. For sure the paint on it isn't great, but probably average for a 2004 dump trailer. It is getting a few rust holes in the left fender from running it on salty roads, but the frame and tub are solid. Within the next year or two I will probably do some type of back yard paint job.

Every now and then I get the itch to replace it with something bigger / better / newer. I've looked at a bunch of different brands that are sold within an hour from home. For me, if I were buying new , I would absolutely consider an all aluminum dump trailer. I'm never hauling stone or gravel, so it would work for me. Money-wise... I would probably end up buying galvanized. I like the N & Ns. No one has mentioned, but several manufacturers have started offering galvanized trailers as an option. Cam and Bri-Mar are two of them. One thing with galvanized trailers.... order it just the way you want it, because you won't want to be welding to it to add this, or change that. You also won't want to drill any holes through it. Also something that hasn't been mentioned is that every manufacturer that I have asked, will de-rate a 12,000, or even 14,000 lb trailer down to 9990 lbs. if you would like them to. This allows heavier axles and bigger brakes/ tires and keeps the trailer CDL exempt. Granted, it leave less legal payload with a heavier trailer, but some may find this beneficial.

In any event, have fun looking at new trailers. Can't wait to see what you buy.

 

Upfront costs of an old dump truck are almost nothing, operating costs could really get out of hand, especially considering you won't really be adding value.

Purchasing a new , decent size dump can be a pill to swallow, but the worst of it should be over.

Been doing a little brainstorming myself.

 

As I'm doing chores around the property, I'm seeing many uses for it just here on the property.
I have $2500 set aside and when I get enough to pay cash, I'll pick one up.
I'm gonna start stopping at trailer dealers and get a hands on view.

 

Once you get your first dump trailer you will wonder how you lived with out it. The first one I had was a 3/4 ton 8 foot Chevy pickup box trailer I reworked and put a hoist out of a old barge wagon under it. At first only dumped it around the farm so I used the tractor to dump it and later found a 12 volt pump off a rusted out lift gate added that and a long cable and would use the pickup pulling it battery to dump it later added a battery and solar charger. I have several dump trailers today but I still have that one. It has two foot side boards on it today and if you do some stacking you can put a cord of wood on it. I don't use it a lot any more as I have larger trailers now. It doesn't owe me anything and I have shed space so I keep it around to haul what ever the wife needs in the summer hauled and in the fall we fill it with firewood in the shed it goes and that load get burned in the Garn by spring the trailer will be ready for the season.

 

That's probably the smart way. Having a couple other projects going on and wanting decent size rules that out for me right now.

My wife is solidly in the NO, camp. But she's never owned a gooseneck with 9k axles so I'm not sure she can be trusted.

 

Anyone with an update? Did anyone buy something or see something liked or disliked?

I’ve narrowed my search down to big Tex or pj trailers. Only because that’s the dealers I have local. The pj dealer sells used trailers also. I still would like the 8x14 deck over model but a used 7x14 or even 6x12 might be what the budget can support now.

The only real difference I found between the two brands is, big Tex comes with oil bath axels. Pi’s are greasable.

 

I snagged a 14x7 trailer years ago for 2600 bucks. It has the 3 ft sides twin cylinder. At this point its getting beat up but has never let me down. Im going to rebuild the dump box at some point. Im thinking 2 ft sides this time. The taller sides are great for construction debris but for logs they get bent up cause of all the leverage against them up high when stacking.

 

I didn't buy a dump trailer, but I did buy a new-to-me gooseneck equipment trailer. I'll tell you this much, the 1996 gooseneck I bought has WAY less rust than my 2012 PJ deckover. The powder coat on that PJ is coming off in big sheets, the paint on my older gooseneck is in much much better condition. Personally I am not gonna buy any more powder coated trailers.

 

Such is life I guess but I've heard people complain about the complete opposite, chastising companies for getting away from powder coating.