Equipment focus: dump trailers
What is a dump trailer?
A dump trailer is just a trailer that has the ability to dump out its payload. It has a hydraulic pump and cylinder system that is powered by a battery. Much more productive than shoveling out the back of your pickup truck bed, it will also help you develop the very useful skill of backing up with something attached to the back of your truck. That’ll come in handy for rented chippers, logsplitters, etc.
What can you use a dump trailer for?
You can use a dump trailer to deliver finished bulk compost, mulch, and topsoil to customers. You can also use it to bring material to your facility and to move material around at your composting facility.
For years, I’ve used my dump trailer for deliveries and to move feedstocks and material-in-process around at my facility. It has been indispensable.
Why not just buy a small dump truck?
Cost. A dump trailer will be much cheaper to purchase and maintain than a dump truck; so it’s a good option for bootstrapping a small composting business.
A dump trailer is just a trailer that has the ability to dump out its payload. It has a hydraulic pump and cylinder system that is powered by a battery. Much more productive than shoveling out the back of your pickup truck bed, it will also help you develop the very useful skill of backing up with something attached to the back of your truck. That’ll come in handy for rented chippers, logsplitters, etc.
What can you use a dump trailer for?
You can use a dump trailer to deliver finished bulk compost, mulch, and topsoil to customers. You can also use it to bring material to your facility and to move material around at your composting facility.
For years, I’ve used my dump trailer for deliveries and to move feedstocks and material-in-process around at my facility. It has been indispensable.
Why not just buy a small dump truck?
Cost. A dump trailer will be much cheaper to purchase and maintain than a dump truck; so it’s a good option for bootstrapping a small composting business.
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Size and Tailgate Type
You have a few sizes to choose from. Mine is relatively small (6ft wide by 10ft long by 2ft deep). Depending on the weight of the material, it can handle 4, 5 or even 6 cubic yards. Small ones like mine are cheaper and more maneuverable than the bigger ones, but the bigger ones can handle much more capacity. The other major decision is what kind of tailgate (door) you want on the back. Mine has a spreader gate, which means that it swings open at the bottom to let the material out. It’s cheap and generally works fine for finished compost, topsoil, and mulch. The drawback is that when I’m dumping leaves, the load will bunch up and not pass through. So I have to spend some time and energy unclogging it. When I need to move leaves around, I take the door off and stretch a cargo net across the back. That way, when I’m ready to dump the load, I can just remove the net and it all comes out. |
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Charging the Battery
Buy a charger from a big box store for $50 or so. It’ll be handy for when the battery on your skid steer starts to weaken. |
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