Teach me about dump trailers
- Thread starter 27RMT0N
- Start date
Evo
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- My Island, WA
I got to use an excavator last week, it was a clients and a couple sizes bigger than shown.
It was an alder removal fest and paired with the mini skid it was an epic treat! Now I want to shift business models and get into removals with the two machines. (Kinda but not really)
VenasNursery
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Michigan
Just a big load. We had an employee call some of our loads lol
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Serf Life
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Maine Island
The hitachi looks like 6k lbs and max lift 2.6k lbs, wonder what lift at 5-6 feet for loading. ~$40k @ 84 mo 0% in WA, pretty sweet rig! Would it be better for your situation/terrain vs a tractor with a winch or grapple mini? Have never used an excavator for tree work except for pulling some stumps.
chiselbit
Been here a while
If you put a rotating log grapple on that you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it. Keep a bucket for digging but for tree work the grapple is king. And a ridged is going to be way more versatile than a dangle
Top of sides at back of trailer would spread a bit, (when abused with cartoon loads) which periodically angled the gates off kilter.
Down pressure on gate with miniskid bucket + jumping on gate = fixed.
Ended up welding an "I" beam under back of trailer.
Do you have, or know of any rotating grapples that also have a solid part to reach up and push trees over? Usually if an excavator is being used on jobs I've worked on, we are helping push trees down just with the dig-bucket, then grabbing sections and shuttling to the chipper. Obviously a grapple will be better for grabbing logs and especially getting the angle just right to feed a chipper, but I don't think they are usually designed to put a lot of pushing force on them.
And yah @Serf Life I've worked with them a lot over the years, and for sure it's a better kind of machine than a tractor or mini-skid out here. Each has their best use-case, but for me the mini-ex is the clear winner in terms of being so much more maneuverable than a tractor (very little open ground here) and much more stable than a mini-skid.
Evo
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- My Island, WA
Only thing they don’t do well is forward material quickly.
Paired with the mini and felling, we use the x to pick the tree apart into piles. Never got a chance to machine feed with it but I can 100% see it being the cats ass with a grapple. It’s been about 25 years since I’ve ran one so it took about a day for it to all start coming back. Rotate with a heavier load and locked the function out, but I could probably lift the mini skid with the small x
chiselbit
Been here a while
Serf Life
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Maine Island
Guess I want one, mmm k
A common LEGAL set up around here is a truck at 11,000 or 12,000 and a trailer at 14,000 or so, but less than 26,000 combined. Also common is guys hoping not to get caught being over. I have had a few rigs with a 26,000 truck and a 10,000 trailer. Also did the 12k/14k thing for a good while.
What brings a truck/trailer combo into CDL territory is the combined being over 26,000 (if either truck or trailer is over 10,000). But a 26,000 truck can legally tow a 10,000 trailer under CDL. Crazy that you can be 36,000 combined and under CDL!
That Hitachi ZX26 looks sweet and I think you would be very pleased with it. I ran a Bobcat E26 out of a dump trailer setup for 5 or 6 years and don’t regret one second. I did extend the tines of the hydraulic thumb by about 6” to get a better hold on larger diameter pieces. That mod was a quantum leap in capability for that little machine. An affordable dangle grapple is also a complete game changer for managing brush, logs and feeding a chipper, and I would strongly recommend you ask the dealer if the machine can be ordered with a second aux circuit to serve the rotate function. That also is worth every red cent.
What brings a truck/trailer combo into CDL territory is the combined being over 26,000 (if either truck or trailer is over 10,000). But a 26,000 truck can legally tow a 10,000 trailer under CDL. Crazy that you can be 36,000 combined and under CDL!
That Hitachi ZX26 looks sweet and I think you would be very pleased with it. I ran a Bobcat E26 out of a dump trailer setup for 5 or 6 years and don’t regret one second. I did extend the tines of the hydraulic thumb by about 6” to get a better hold on larger diameter pieces. That mod was a quantum leap in capability for that little machine. An affordable dangle grapple is also a complete game changer for managing brush, logs and feeding a chipper, and I would strongly recommend you ask the dealer if the machine can be ordered with a second aux circuit to serve the rotate function. That also is worth every red cent.
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Reach
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Atglen, PA
The combination rules for CDL amaze me. Pulling 16k behind an F250 is legally under CDL, but downright scary. Pulling 12k behind an F550 is legally a CDL combination, but far safer and easier to drive...
Treezybreez
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Lancaster, SC
In my opinion, the most important thing about a trailer is the axle rating. My 16’ Kaufman has two 8,000 lb axles. It’s been a decent trailer overall. I have had a broken leaf spring once.
ATH
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Findlay, Ohio
Its also nice when they will build it with the axles and tag it for a lower weight (to help with CDL)
Treezybreez
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Lancaster, SC
Goose neck trailers have a lot of extra steel, therefore they weigh more than a bumper pull. Since you technically shouldn’t tow more than the axles are rated for, I went with a bumper pull and couldn’t be happier.
Same here, but…
A gooseneck can be loaded much differently putting more of the payload onto the truck and off the trailer axles. At the end of the day, payload by simple math on paper doesn’t account for lod distribution, and what a scale would see per axle.
That all said, in my area, a gooseneck wouldn’t make me happy with how they off-track, and taking away usable area on the truck. Conventional tow for me here.
Treezybreez
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Lancaster, SC
I agree. Also, a goose neck is better for long distance travel as it produces a smoother ride overall.
My dump trailer will not dump with a heavy load too far forward. I’m sure that there are stronger hydraulic systems than my single cylinder scissor lift, but in my case the load goes over the axles. In some cases my trailer was loaded so heavy up front that the box would only lift a couple of inches. I could get it to dump by sticking a cant hook in between the box and the trailer frame and standing on the handle. Not ideal, but it worked.
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