Does owning a dump trailer make financial sense

[ChoppyChoppy]

This is a very nice dump. For my situation a dual wheel dump just wouldn't work very well, I deliver in the city and around lake communities. Tight driveways, across lawns, a SRW 4x4 1 ton seems to be great for getting into tight places, I can unhook the trailer at the road if I have to as well. I can drive a 1 ton truck around as a pickup as well. I'll probably end up getting a dump truck eventually when the need is more urgent.

That's the oldest one I have. Have a 91 and 97 F450 as well. The 97 is getting a bed built.

I have yet to get into a spot that I couldn't fit that something else that could hold 2 cords could fit. I've fit my 10 wheeler in Prius sized driveways before. Real fun.

I mean sure there's always the odd customer that expects me to be able to get down a goat trail, but nothing would fit aside from a wheelbarrow or 4 wheeler.

Before I bought the dump trucks I used a 2500 truck and an 18ft trailer (non dump). I got darn good at backing. Just the truck is WAY easier to get into tight spots than using a trailer.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

If You have a new truck say from the mid 2000's up get the dump trailer- the boxes and supports underneath ain't what they used to be. Every thing is so thin now to save weight(thanks EPA) they literally have no structural integrity to speak of. 2nd Goose neck much better than bumper . I have a 16ft 5ton flatbed, dual wheels and brakes. Haul it with a f350 or f250 srw., bumper pull, both trucks are a bit over 9k by themselves . When that trailer is fully loaded it gets a bit interesting at times.

F250 is 9000lbs? Holy! My 2500 Dodge was just under 7000lbs with 85 gals of fuel, 35" tires, a toolbox, and me. Quad cab, short bed though.

 

[Weesa20]

Anybody using a dump insert in a 3/4 or1 ton pickup?

 

[blades]

F250 is 9000lbs? Holy! My 2500 Dodge was just under 7000lbs with 85 gals of fuel, 35" tires, a toolbox, and me. Quad cab, short bed though.

both are 4wd the 99 f150 i no longer have was 7200 also was 4wd, the oil burners pack a bit more yet. 250 is a 5.4 350 6.8 v10

 

[captjack]

Find a used one - I picked up a 14x7 for 3k its not pretty but it dumps anything i put in it. One of the best purchases i have made - I dont think i would drop 7-9 k on a new one but for 3k its a no brainer

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

both are 4wd the 99 f150 i no longer have was 7200 also was 4wd, the oil burners pack a bit more yet. 250 is a 5.4 350 6.8 v10

My 2500 was 4x4, Cummins diesel. 99 F150 was 4600lbs. Not sure how yours was 2600lbs heavier, lead filled frame?!

 

[SWI Don]

My 2500 was 4x4, Cummins diesel. 99 F150 was 4600lbs. Not sure how yours was 2600lbs heavier, lead filled frame?!

I wonder if he is talking max GVW instead of actual scale weight. Unless he had a utility box and a bunch of tools in it.

 

[RyeThomas]

I went through this is 2010. I purchased a new 7X12, 12k, three way spreader gate, ramps, equipment hauling package, power up and down. Ran me $5400 and while it's a lot of coin when I need a dump trailer it's worth every penny. Now it's water under the bridge and I have a solid trailer for years to come. Wish I would have gotten a 14' but she hardly fits in the driveway as it is.
I picked up a used equipment trailer last year on CL and made out really well. Used is a valid option as long as you are diligent, lots of non titled trailers out there and depending where you live they can be a pain.
Good luck, Rye.

 

[lknchoppers]

My 2003 F250 5.4 4x4 weighs under 7k unloaded. We have a salvage yard here near where I work and they let me drive on a weigh when ever I like. it's a long bed with the extended cab but not a club cab.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I went through this is 2010. I purchased a new 7X12, 12k, three way spreader gate, ramps, equipment hauling package, power up and down. Ran me $5400 and while it's a lot of coin when I need a dump trailer it's worth every penny. Now it's water under the bridge and I have a solid trailer for years to come. Wish I would have gotten a 14' but she hardly fits in the driveway as it is.
I picked up a used equipment trailer last year on CL and made out really well. Used is a valid option as long as you are diligent, lots of non titled trailers out there and depending where you live they can be a pain.
Good luck, Rye.

That's dirt cheap!
Around here 5k will barely buy a plain jane 10k car trailer.
I priced a 14k rated dump trailer a while back and they were in the $10,000-$12,000 area.
I even considered buy from the L48 and hauling up, would have been cheaper.

I paid WAY less for the brown dump truck.

 

[2012outdoorsman]

OP here.

You guys have some good points, I've never considered that it would always be worth something if I needed to sell it so my total investment isn't lost. I usually don't like investing in things that don't have a 5 year year or less payback. At the end of the day i think it purely comes down to convince and does not actually pay for itself for my uses anyway. Right now I'm young and I'very said my time is free but I'm betting that will change soon as now I got young ones within the last 18 months so time is becoming very valuable.

One thing I can say I didn't read is a single person that was upset that they bought one even if they felt they weren't using it to its potential.

I'm worried that people would want to borrow it too. My truck has the fifth wheel prep so doing a goose neck is as easy as buying the ball, holes are already drilled in the bed. I hate to be that guy that says no but no one treats things properly these days. I've got a buddy that would lend his and has lent his to me a couple times. Everyone he gets it back I have either taken him and his wife to dinner or there was a $100 in his pocket. He put his money into buying it and why should I get it for free. He never and would never ask for a dime but that's the way I work.

For me having a dump truck is pointless and a waste of money. Way to many thing that could go wrong that cost a lot more money. Dump trailer are much simpler and easier to fix. I can also hold a lot more in them.

I feel bad for you Alaskan's...look at this.

http://www.bestchoicetrailers.com/all-inventory/dump-trailers

I've been loowing at them recently due to their volume. It's about a 4hr drive. They have some decent videos on YouTube which go over the trailer features.

To the guy with the ridiculous heavy trucks, I don't know what the hell you have in them but I can't imagine what a 99 f150 looks like that weighs 7200lbs. The new ones weigh just less than 5000. My 2016 RAM 3500 CCLB SRW 6.7 Cummins weighs 8300lbs per door sticker and my last Ram 1500 QC weighed 7040lbs with me the wife, 225 lbs of dog and a 740lb tongue weight Travel Trailer.

Thanks for all the replies, I got quite the response.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Nice choice.. Heres what a 14' looks like behind similar rig...

 

[2012outdoorsman]

Nice choice.. Heres what a 14' looks like behind similar rig...

Alright let's see how good I am am at guessing what you got there...

2016 Ram 2500 with the 6.4 hemi and a Griffin dump?

Sits to high to be a 3500, mine sits like that without weight on it. I can tell the badge is a gas motor and the rims are the same as mine I think which means it's a 2016 as they were new then. Nice color, mines the same, ordered it that way. White doesn't show scraches!

How'd I do?

 

[CaseyForrest]

Right on the money. We've had it just over a year and I just rolled over 20,000 miles.


Sent from a field

 

[2012outdoorsman]

Right on the money. We've had it just over a year and I just rolled over 20,000 miles.


Sent from a field

Forgot to add bighorn edition...same as mine

 

[2012outdoorsman]

Right on the money. We've had it just over a year and I just rolled over 20,000 miles.


Sent from a field

Bfg all terrain tires? How do you like them towing? Side wall strength decent.

Checking out fifth-wheels Saturday. Will probably wait and buy one next year however these firestone at tires are wearing pretty quick and I've only got 7700 miles in 11 months.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Bfg all terrain tires? How do you like them towing? Side wall strength decent.

Wearing a little faster than Id like, but I have put 20,000 miles on them. The Firestones came off right around 153 miles. First drive in snow and they had to go. Discount tire gave me $600 for them. Other than that, no issues. I haven't put any noticeable weight in the truck. I have a cap on the back and a cargoglide bolted to the bed. Thats why I have trailers, to carry loads. Ive hauled everything from my tractor, to crushed asphalt, stone, logs, rounds, topsoil, the kids..... I grossed out of the asphalt place just over 26,000 once and other than knowing the trailer was back there, no issues.

I wont replace them with an equally aggressive AT tire when the time comes, and that's probably in about 10000 miles. Itll be something like a Michelin ATII.

 

[muddstopper]

I built my dump trailer. I needed a flatbed trailer without the sides you get with a factory dump. I just welded on stake pockets and built 2 ft sides out of lumber. I probably spent around $3000 in the build, but I bought everything new. My trailer is 6x10 and will hold a full cord of wood easy. I have had as much as 5 tons of rock on it, but usually wont put anywhere near that load on it. I figure my dump has saved me at least its cost in saved damage to my pickup I pull it with. I never have, or at least cant remember every hauling a single stick of wood in the bed of the truck. I solved the problem of people wanting to borrow it by having a quickconnect power coupling on the truck. If your truck dont have that quick connect, you cant make the dump work. Nobody yet has had a quickconnect power coupling on the back of their trucks so nobody borrows the trailer. I have two other trailers for hauling tractors or a car or whatever, but I would sell them first before I got rid of the dump.

 

[CaseyForrest]

The last pic is my improved drive. A total of 200 tons of crushed asphalt. I hauled the first 100 in and then paid to have the last hauled in but only because I got it delivered for only $1 more per yard than it was costing me to haul it.


Sent from a field

 

[SWI Don]

This is mine. Being pulled by a Cummins infused Chevy. Had to go with an over deck because the tracks are too wide.

Don