New dump trailer build

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Great looking trailer. Looks to have lots of thought put into into it. Plenty of reinforcements incorporated - stuff I like to see.
However, it looks to me like you might be using factory spring hangers. If they are made of the typical thin gauge material we see around here, they might be a weak point in your fine build. Below is a picture from last Saturday of one of our dump trailers that ripped off the hanger and tore out the sidewall of the tire. They call me into offload the trailer on to another. I was surprised to see such thin stock used on a heavy trailer. When I asked what brand of trailer it is (we have several), our mechanic, a retired engineer, said all of our trailers are pretty much like that and have caused him a lot of work keeping ours on the road - the twisting load when making sharp turns is greater than the design he says. My personal factory built flat bed trailer is a good ton and a half under the rating of the trailer in the picture, its hangers are 1 1/2 times thicker. Mine appear to be simply flat stock welded to the frame. Someone with your skills could remedy this weak spot easily - if in fact it is a weak spot.
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Looking forward to following the completion of the build - well at least phase one - if you are like me there are more modifications to come. Unfortunately I can't fabricate , much less weld.

Ron

PS Looking back at your pictures and it looks that you may have heavier hangers than the ones on our dump trailers. Can't really say.

Thanks for the kind words and tip.
I'm not sure they are any heavier than normal or not to be honest. Keep in mind my trailer is not used in a commercial setting, in other words it's just for my personal use, some job site debris and hauling firewood or whatever else I need to haul.


I have a bad feeling about your bed holding up. I am thinking with a heavy load the bed will fold up in the middle where the cyl is connected.
What makes you say that? My last trailer I built only had 3" channel for the bed albeit only a 10 footer and I never had any issue. I've looked at every factory made dump trailer I came across and this is by far much better built. Just for the record I'm not finished installing bracing on the bed. The sides and floor will add support also. I'm having the pieces bent so they take in half the floor and the sides and the lip at the top of the sides, should act like a truss, 11 ga material.

I was telling my wife yesterday it's like having a child come to life, she didn't get it....lol Now I know how Dr Frankenstein felt after his creation came to life!
 
What makes you say that? My last trailer I built only had 3" channel for the bed albeit only a 10 footer and I never had any issue. I've looked at every factory made dump trailer I came across and this is by far much better built. Just for the record I'm not finished installing bracing on the bed. The sides and floor will add support also. I'm having the pieces bent so they take in half the floor and the sides and the lip at the top of the sides, should act like a truss, 11 ga material.

I was telling my wife yesterday it's like having a child come to life, she didn't get it....lol Now I know how Dr Frankenstein felt after his creation came to life!
With metal formed sides, you will probably be ok. I was thinking you said something about stake pockets and 5/4 flooring. I built my 6x10 dump using 2x4x1/4 tube. I didn't want welded on sides so my frame, trailer and dump, has two extra rails inside the frame. I did use a metal floor, but I used stake pockets and 2x6 side boards. Even with the box tubeing and double rails, I can see the bed flex with a heavy load. I used a 4in bore cyl for the lift. I copied the design from my brothers factory built dump. Your use of formed fitted metal sides and floor will add a ton of extra support to the dump rails, and most likely be much stronger than my double frame trailer, but using stake pockets and removable sides, I believe you dump frame would fold like a peanut butter sandwich.
 
With metal formed sides, you will probably be ok. I was thinking you said something about stake pockets and 5/4 flooring. I built my 6x10 dump using 2x4x1/4 tube. I didn't want welded on sides so my frame, trailer and dump, has two extra rails inside the frame. I did use a metal floor, but I used stake pockets and 2x6 side boards. Even with the box tubeing and double rails, I can see the bed flex with a heavy load. I used a 4in bore cyl for the lift. I copied the design from my brothers factory built dump. Your use of formed fitted metal sides and floor will add a ton of extra support to the dump rails, and most likely be much stronger than my double frame trailer, but using stake pockets and removable sides, I believe you dump frame would fold like a peanut butter sandwich.
Ah, I did mention doing 5/4 floor and stake pockets but that was mostly said in jest out impatience. This beer virus has everything stalled so I haven't been able to get the sides made yet.
 
Ah, I did mention doing 5/4 floor and stake pockets but that was mostly said in jest out impatience. This beer virus has everything stalled so I haven't been able to get the sides made yet.
I hope you can resist the urge to install the stake pockets until you do get the sides made. Your trailer looks to good to warp it up from being in a hurry. I made my trailer with the stake pockets because I used the trailer to haul pallets of materials to the job site. Having fixed sides makes loading with pallet forks pretty tuff. I no longer haul pallets of materials and mostly use my trailer to haul logs and firewood, with the occasional load of gravel or dirt.
 
Ah, I did mention doing 5/4 floor and stake pockets but that was mostly said in jest out impatience. This beer virus has everything stalled so I haven't been able to get the sides made yet.

Most of the dump beds I've owned where wood floor. They get hammered from wood banging in constantly, but last a good while. My oldest truck is an 83 and I just put 1/2" plywood over the rotten out factory floor. The plywood lasts a year or so before it's really hammered.
Now that's loading and hauling wood almost everyday, so lots of use.
Bought that truck in 2013 and I've put in the area of 60,000 miles on it delivering wood. Almost all of my deliveries are under 100 miles round trip.

The dump angle is ok and the speed isn't bad at all, at least compared to my trucks.
Mine dump in the 45-50* area. At times I would like it to be a bit steeper. Have dumped in driveways that were steep enough that the bed was easily half way up before it was even level.
Also have had driveways where the wood was almost coming out before I even started to raise the hoist too though.

Are those bolts a temporary hinge? I'd do a proper pin and tube setup with grease fitting. The bolt setup will get wallowed out pretty quickly I'd think?
 
Most of the dump beds I've owned where wood floor. They get hammered from wood banging in constantly, but last a good while. My oldest truck is an 83 and I just put 1/2" plywood over the rotten out factory floor. The plywood lasts a year or so before it's really hammered.
Thak
Bought that truck in 2013 and I've put in the area of 60,000 miles on it delivering wood. Almost all of my deliveries are under 100 miles round trip.

The dump angle is ok and the speed isn't bad at all, at least compared to my trucks.
Mine dump in the 45-50* area. At times I would like it to be a bit steeper. Have dumped in driveways that were steep enough that the bed was easily half way up before it was even level.
Also have had driveways where the wood was almost coming out before I even started to raise the hoist too though.

Are those bolts a temporary hinge? I'd do a proper pin and tube setup with grease fitting. The bolt setup will get wallowed out pretty quickly I'd think?
Thanks for the feedback.
Yes the 1" grade 8 bolts will be permanent, I think for the usage they will get they should last a good long while. My last trailer I only used 3/4 bolts and I just sprayed them with lube every once in a while. 9 years they seemed fine. As i mentioned before I don't use it commercially.
I could do pins but would still have to spray them with lube.
 
Thanks for the feedback.
Yes the 1" grade 8 bolts will be permanent, I think for the usage they will get they should last a good long while. My last trailer I only used 3/4 bolts and I just sprayed them with lube every once in a while. 9 years they seemed fine. As i mentioned before I don't use it commercially.
I could do pins but would still have to spray them with lube.
They would be greased actually, just like most any dump truck uses.
Like this:

https://www.thebluebook.com/inc/img/qp/2169392/dump-truck-hinge-replacement2.jpg
 
Small update and no pics until tomorrow. I got the tongue jack installed a some diagonal bracing near the cylinder on the dump bed, I also welded on some c-channel to mount the pump to under the bed, next I am going to build a battery box under there too.
 
I have made some progress,
tongue jack, new E rated bias ply tires and new white wagon wheel rims (I wanted black but they were out of them), picked up the "Jeep" style fenders, hoping to get them installed today!
bracing
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I also decided to lower the trailer some by moving the axles above the springs (I should have known to order them this way)
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Starting to look like a trailer now. Why didn't you want to keep the aluminum wheels instead of the white spoke?
It's not that I didn't want to keep them but they are a stock Toyota wheels and Toyota uses a lugnut that goes inside the wheel, I couldn't find any readily available with the proper measurements for my 1/2" studs. The stock acorn nuts that came with my axles didn't really fit them properly and I caught a lot of grief for thinking they would be alright to run.
 
In the at my new house, I found a full set of 14in tires/rims, 5lug. They where a type of rally wheel and complete with beauty bands and all. I didn't know what they fit and had planed on giving them to my son for his utility trailer. Well after a little research I discovered that they came off a 1984 s10 truck. Had a odd ball 4 3/4 bolt pattern and wouldnt fit anything but a s10. They are still in the shed, I just haven't gotten around to hauling them for scrap.
 
Well then we are going to need pics of that, just so we can have some closure... ;) .
I am hoping to start a similar project this winter as well.
Not a problem...LOL
Bought this 05 F350 single wheel pickup July 4th weekend, it had a crappy wooden bed and side tool boxes on it, leaky exhaust manifolds, missing on cat out of the passenger side Y-pipe, 5.4 with auto trans, 214K on the clock, it has power windows, cruise control, AC and it all works! LOL I sold the tool boxes and wood from the bed. It has great 285-70-18's on it with an aggressive tread design, and an 8 Fisher plow that needs a new reservoir tank for it. I put new manifolds, Y-pipe with two cats and a new muffler, gas tank straps and rear calipers and pads.
Anyway, on with the pics:
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I bought this 02 E250 pickup last year and put a dump bed on it, it was a 5.4 with a 6 spd, I have bad knees and had trouble shifting it so I sold it in search of an automatic
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Edit to add: I put new rockers and cab corners on both of these trucks, the 02 got sold to a neighbor about a mile away.
 
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