Wood hauling trailer

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boisblancboy

Member
Apr 26, 2009
149
Northern Michigan
Hey guys, do any of you use a dumping trailer to haul or move your wood around? I am looking at getting myself one but not exactly sure which one to get. Basically I am looking for one that would hold at least one full cord. I have heard some stories of those dumping trailers not having enough power to dump when loading up, but hopefully you guys have some recommendations.
 
If you want to do that, make sure find a trailer that will stow at least 130 cu ft (ideally significantly more than that so you don't have to worry too much about stacking your load) and is rated to lift the dump bed with a 6000lb load in it. Don't have any recommendations for specifc products, but be ready with your checkbook as even used a dump trailer is a fairly expensive tool. I think most, if not all, have an onboard battery that runs the hydraulic pump

I'm all for the idea...like to do it myself. I can't justify the high cost of entry though.
 
Yeah from what I have seen myself as well they are pricey. I wouldnt be thinking of getting one if the wood I cut was just for myself, but I cut, split and sell alot of firewood through the year. It would just be a huge time saver to not throw the wood back out of the truck. I am also thinking if I get one of these trailers that I would make up some channels welded into the sides and bottom of the trailer to slide a divider of some sort to section off a face cord or two. That way if I have to deliever only a part of the load one place and part another, i could still use the dump option, the pull the divider and dump the other part of the load later.

Just thinking off the top of my head now, it probably wont happen but it sure would be nice.
 
Friend of mine has one he delivers firewood with. He likes it, but says you can't dump much of a pile. You have to pull ahead as it comes out, so the pile gets strung out for about the length of the trailer.
I borrowed it to get some landscape stone. It's rated for 8000 lbs. I had 4-4.5 tons in it and it worked great. The only thing I didn't get was that he has to charge the battery with a charger. No 12v power in the wiring harness. WTF?
 
I have a 5x8 single axle and 6x12 tandem axle dumpers. I have sides on the 5x8 and use it for wood, mulch, construction/roofing debris, etc. The tandem weighs 2000 lbs more and is a lot less convenient in tight spaces. It only gets used when I need to move the tractor, stone, soil or longer building materials.

The only time I've had a problem with the small dump raising is when it was overloaded with highly organic material from my buddies former dairy farm.
 
I use dump trailers for split wood all the time .
10' trailers are handy and are much easier to handle wile backing , but the 12' 12000 lb trailer hauls a lot of wood .
i have 3 trailers 2 12' and 1 10'.
The 10 is easy to pull and holds 240 cb feet of wood stacked you can get 2 cord in the box if you hump it up .
My 10 dumps slow but it dumps .
The 12' holds 350 cb feet of wood and will dump 17000 lbs easy .
I have been buying my trailers used for around 2300 dollars .
Next month there should be some deals .
John
 
jeff_t said:
Friend of mine has one he delivers firewood with. He likes it, but says you can't dump much of a pile. You have to pull ahead as it comes out, so the pile gets strung out for about the length of the trailer.
I borrowed it to get some landscape stone. It's rated for 8000 lbs. I had 4-4.5 tons in it and it worked great. The only thing I didn't get was that he has to charge the battery with a charger. No 12v power in the wiring harness. WTF?

A dump trailer will run through a deep cycle battery real quick. You cannot charge it with a simple 12v coming from the wiring harness. We can kill a Optima yellow top with about 5 dumps. We have 2 batteries in out trailer box hooked up on a swtich so we can switch to the second one if we need to. You would have to drive around forever with the battery hooked up and charging through the trailer wiring. That is why they need to be charged with a separate battery charger.
 
I've got a 2004 Bri-Mar...... 7000lb 6 X 10. I love it, though i wish i had a heavier one. It has served me well, and paid for itself long ago with the time and fuel it has saved shagging firewood. It has no problem dumping a full load of green oak.


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I would love a dump trailer but they are not really affordable for the guy that only uses them for personal use. I would say to get a tandem trailer what ever you get they handle the weight much better and are better maneuvering than the single axle trailers.
 
Tony H said:
I would love a dump trailer but they are not really affordable for the guy that only uses them for personal use. I would say to get a tandem trailer what ever you get they handle the weight much better and are better maneuvering than the single axle trailers.

While I agree with this in general, the single axle dump has worked out for me for a number of reasons. I picked it up for a grand in decent shape. It weighs a ton less than the tandem which makes a difference when towing with a light duty truck. Registration and tolls are half. I rarely scrounge a lot more than a cord at a time. Loading 4 or 5 yards at a time at the city mulch pile is all I care to do. Loading an 8 ft deep trailer by hand is much easier than a 12 footer. While it takes a lot more care in backing it maneuvers much better in tighter spaces. It is small enough that I can hook it up to my tractor and use it off road while the big trailer is a liability every time it leaves the asphalt/gravel. Our local transfer stations have a flat fee of $20 for single axle and you don't have to wait in line for the scale. This alone has saved me a lot of money disposing of construction debris. Different trailers for different needs. I bought the 6x12 thinking I would get rid of the small dump and the equipment trailer. So far, it hasn't worked out that way.
 
Ductape said:

Is that a stock tailgate? That is mint. Any twisting issues with it hanging and swinging that far?

Also love that ADK chair pattern. I built a couple a 10 years ago and they are always the first occupied.
 
Well........... its the stock tailgate, but i added the angle and mesh to make it taller. It was originally a two way gate, spreader and pickup style. I brought a cardboard cutout to a local fab shop and had them cut out the hinge plates with their plasma..... the rest i made. Its been a swing away for a few years now, no problems twisting or bending. If i'm backing in somewhere tight, i open the gate before i back in as it does swing wide.
 
Those Bri-MAr dumpers are sweet. I have the 5x8 fixed trailer with the landscape gate. I have added some wood sides so I can carry more wood. I can load a cord in there if I want but it is really only safe to carrry 1/2 to 2/3 of a cord at a time. Logs roll in and out of that thing really well and unloading a full trailer is easy when the sides are removed.

A dumper is a luxury to me as it was $3500 as compared to the $1100 that I paid for the non-dumper. It is not like it helps you load the wood and I don't jut dump it when I unload - I always stack it up. I would like the feature more for load sof sand/stone/mulch.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys! For me I am probably not going to buy one brand new, a good used one is all I need as I can weld or fix whatever I need to. Great info guys!
 
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