end dump trailer for semi, what do I need?

[terex herder]

I need to haul ag lime, so I need to buy an end dump trailer. Its just finely ground limestone. I have several tractors, just need a trailer. Low mileage, probably less than 150 loads/year. 1/2 of the mileage will be rock/gravel roads, dumping will be in fields. Length isn't important, Kansas suspends bridge law for quarry products.

Suggestions/things to stay away from/things that are important?

 

[cfherrman]

Emissions

 

[Deere500a]

Bottom dump maybe easier no hydraulic plumbing cab needs a power switch vs a 40 ft end dump in a soft field could be fun with the wrong driver

 

[JaredV]

Cross gate belly dump. Do your hauling and spreading at the same time. Ha!

 

[bam1968]

Belly dumps are what they generally use around here. It's nice to have a loader at the dump location to keep it piled up so it's not scattered all over.

 

[crane operator]

Kansas suspends bridge law for quarry products.

That's fascinating. So do they just give you a max per-axle weight?

The ag lime hauler I grew up with in iowa, always used dump trucks with dump pup trailer.

The guys hauling sand and lime out of arkansas here, use short aluminum end dump frameless trailers with a tandem and two cheater steerable axles, look like around 36' trailers.

Liner on the sides and bottom really helps.

If the bridge doesn't matter, I'd buy as short of a trailer as I could. But I'm a bad driver.

 

[cuttin edge]

That's a million dollar question. I know a lot of guys here, just owner operators, with one truck, and more wagons than my wife has shoes. Belly dumps for highway jobs, end dumps for stock piling, belt unloaders for hauling asphalt. 2 or 3 different log trailers with or without a loader, maybe a flatbed for side work, then they say they don't make any money.

 

[skyking1]

I have an old neighbor friend like that. Pete never met a trailer that he didn't like.

 

[colson04]

I need to haul ag lime, so I need to buy an end dump trailer. Its just finely ground limestone. I have several tractors, just need a trailer. Low mileage, probably less than 150 loads/year. 1/2 of the mileage will be rock/gravel roads, dumping will be in fields. Length isn't important, Kansas suspends bridge law for quarry products.

Suggestions/things to stay away from/things that are important?

I see most of our ag lime deliveries come on a 4 axle lead dump. Sometimes they bring a 4 axle pup too, not always. Steel frame with aluminum dump body. The same guys hauling ag lime in the spring are currently hauling corn to the ethanol plant during the summer. Lots of options for future use.

Picture via Google, representative of what I see locally:

 

[DMiller]

Hauled Ultra Fine Lime in a 40' Tub and a 30' Square Side, both did alright as to full roll over tarp for the dust control and weight, Preferred the Square side as less problem with mounding while loading and interfering with tarp bows or tarp. Quarry loaders seem to take great joy in screwing with Truck Drivers, at least around here, shoveling a load away from interference is a Major PITA. Shorter seems a more common choice for Maneuvering and Framed style for less apt to be SLIGHT angle off Flat tipping concerns.

 

[56wrench]

End dumps are ok on hard flat ground- on soft uneven ground not so much

 

[DMiller]

Even dump trucks fall over

 

[Truck Shop]

Even dump trucks fall over

Yes they do..---just had one locally end up on it's side.

 

[Tyler d4c]

 

[cfherrman]

Forgot to drop the air bags?

 

[Tyler d4c]

Dad never did and always claimed he could dump anywhere...... til there

 

[DMiller]

Not dumping bags changes geometry in a hurry. Also appears Raining, Wet is NOT your friend in any Dump Wagon.

 

[cfherrman]

Also appears to be a hole or a slope

 

[DMiller]

Several problems noted, dealt with similar where did NOT raise bed full up too readily. Wet or really damp load, allowed it to peel off as gravity would take it where was bridging in bed nose, Soft area where dumping, worked to keep OFF softer spots, always looking as to lean, truck I was using had Spring Suspension, not wanting load on Downhill side to hang and always worked to dump Downhill. Learned quick Spread loads moving Uphill much as possible. Major concerns, Trees and Low Limbs.

 

[56wrench]

Unloading grain can be tricky too. On slightly sloping ground, unloading into a grain auger causes the grain to come off the higher side first, thereby causing the lower side to lean even more. The problem is that the load has to be hoisted to about 30 degrees and held as the grain slowly feeds into the grain auger. Even with the air bags dumped, the lean can be disconcerting. A lot of old farmyards were on sloping ground