Dump trailer, what do you have?

[TheJenners]

I think the best solution to my self-care situation for the time being is to invest in a dump trailer for the storage and disposal of manure.

Anyone have one? Things to look for when purchasing? From my afternoon of poking around on the Interwebz, it looks like used trailers are just NOT available. So what options on new? I’ve seen power up/power down and power up/gravity down. Single- and double-axle. None of them have had ramps, so I’d have to build one (no big deal). Anything else? I’m thinking a 5x10 or 6x10.

[Bluey]

What will you do, take it when full to the county dump, with a horse and mini donk maybe every two or three weeks?

Or, could you rent one of the containers they come haul off once a week like trash?

We have a dump trailer for other we do, like haul dirt and gravel here and there, that has a solar panel that keeps the battery for the lift charged at all times, similar to this one, that our 150F 4x4 can pull easily:

http://bigtextrailers.com/14lx-tandem-axle-low-profile-extra-wide-dump/

Ours is 14’ long and 8’ wide, the sides 2’ tall, but they come in all sizes.
It has ramps to haul a tractor or skid-loader in it.

You could also designate a spot by the barn as a manure pile and have someone come once a month or three to load and haul it away for you.
Ask any builder who they use to clean around their building sites for names, if your local trash haulers don’t do that.

[TheJenners]

Looked at that brand

[bathsheba8542]

I have one; I take at least a ton of manure from my farm to the dump each week where I am lucky enough to be able to dispose of it for free. It’s great - keeps my farm much cleaner, reduces flies, etc. Mine is hydraulically powered for both up and down. Might not be an issue for you but in very cold weather the hydraulic can freeze, and/or the manure can freeze in the dump trailer. I’m not surprised you can’t find a used one … people ask me all the time if I’d sell this one to them - they seem to last forever. In fairness, my husband did replace some of the steel last year and have it repainted, but it’s been many years since anything had been done so it is pretty unremarkable in maintenance cost.

[shakeytails]

I used to have access to a dump trailer to borrow. I never used it for manure, just green sawdust. I think it was 6x12. I loved how easy it was to get and unload bedding in that thing! Anyway, l never hauled it with less than a 3/4 ton diesel truck and it didn’t pull easy, probably because it has a rather high center of gravity. Green sawdust is heavy, but manure is even heavier. Just something to think about if you don’t already have a decent tow vehicle.

[TheJenners]

[QUOTE=bathsheba8542;8497912]
I have one; I take at least a ton of manure from my farm to the dump each week where I am lucky enough to be able to dispose of it for free. It’s great - keeps my farm much cleaner, reduces flies, etc. Mine is hydraulically powered for both up and down. Might not be an issue for you but in very cold weather the hydraulic can freeze, and/or the manure can freeze in the dump trailer. I’m not surprised you can’t find a used one … people ask me all the time if I’d sell this one to them - they seem to last forever. In fairness, my husband did replace some of the steel last year and have it repainted, but it’s been many years since anything had been done so it is pretty unremarkable in maintenance cost.[/QUOTE]

I worry about rust because I’ll be storing it outside, with horse crap in it! Nothing eats metal faster :no:. I was thinking I could keep the bed tilted up a little, but might also invest in one of those tarp carports. Except with wind and rain up here, maybe less of a good idea. Maybe a tarp!

And I have a 3/4 beast of a truck, so I’m good.

[DHCarrotfeeder]

I think storing manure in it will quickly kill it.

I know this sounds crazy to spend even more, but I wonder if the resale of an aluminum trailer will make that a wise option.

I’ve been enjoying a deal where a local farmer brings his dump truck and I load him up with my tractor. He uses it to add organics to his field since the soil is sandy. He’s happy to get the “good stuff” with minimal effort. I’m happy to see it gone without any trouble. Perhaps you can find a farmer in a similar situation (?)

[Loves_to_ride]

I’ve got a 5x7 dump trailer that is going on 10 years now being used as a portable manure pile. I have 2 horses and dump 1x a week.

I’m in New England and admittedly, winter dumping is a PITA. But, it’s cheaper than a container since it’s paid for.

I have had some bed work since I store manure in it, it does rust.

It’s worked for me so far.

Oh, do get a trickle charger and keep it plugged in all winter. I do go through a battery about every 4 years and I had to replace a leaf spring last summer.

[Bluey]

Any more, they come with a tarp that is rolled up in the front, with a crank that will roll it back all the way.
You can easily just put a tarp over it, attached with bungees.

You could run a long log front to back to get that tarp a slope to drain water off it to the sides, take the tarp off to dump manure in there, log won’t bother that, then re-cover to keep somewhat dry.

We had a smaller dump trailer for our race training barn, that just dumped with the flip of a lever, that lasted a good 30 years before the metal rusted.

[TheJenners]

Bluey, of the ones I’ve seen online, none come standard with the tarp, it’s an additional purchase. Which I’ll be making…

Loves to ride, do you store yours outside? I don’t think I can leave a trickle charger plugged in outside…???

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=TheJenners;8498990]
Bluey, of the ones I’ve seen online, none come standard with the tarp, it’s an additional purchase. Which I’ll be making…

Loves to ride, do you store yours outside? I don’t think I can leave a trickle charger plugged in outside…??? [/QUOTE]

Ours came with that tarp, they told us is standard today, may be required by the DOT for all going down the highways to have some cover any more.

Ours has a little solar panel that keeps the battery charged at all times, also came already with that installed, but it is an easy aftermarket add on if not.

[DiamondJubilee]

We have a dump trailer that’s 6’ x 14’, 7 ton trailer with lift and high sides. Its a great trailer and my husband uses it for work (he’s a carpenter so when he does demos in houses, he uses it to remove walls etc). We also use it for loose shaving and it works great! I know he wants a wider trailer so he can fit the tractor on it, maybe one day.

He also keeps a trickle charger hooked up to the battery as its not used that often. He has a cover for it as well and uses it when he moves anything around that goes out on the road. Works great!

He was lucky and found it used (only a year old at the time) from a roofing company.

The hydraulic lift will not freeze in the winter, and we get -40C and no issues with the lift (have owned another slightly smaller dump trailer before this one for many years as also no issues with it). My husband has put some sheets of thick plastic down on the bottom of the trailer so the shavings will slide out when the lift is up, and this has helped a lot.

I would assume manure/urine would eat away evenually if its a steel body. You could get it in galvanized, but it would cost $$$ and would have to be custom built I’m sure.

Dump trailers are so handy on the farm and I’m sure you will find lots of uses for it! We do use ours to move our manure pile to the back of our property. We have also used it to move boulders, get dirt for gardens, gravel for driveways, sod for the lawn etc, etc. Very handy piece of equipment!
Here is the company that we purchased ours from:
https://jensentrailers.com/shop/trailers/dump-trailers/premium-series-canada-trailers-manufacturing/7-ton-premium-series#tab-specs

I know its in Ontario, but your $ goes much further up here

[IPEsq]

I can tell you what you don’t want. You don’t want a metal Deere one that has a tailgate you have to take on and off to dump. We had one at the barn that BO had laying around or got used or something. It didn’t take much use with manure to have the thing rust and warp enough that the tailgate will no longer re-attach. Now it gets used more like a flatbed to haul hay out to the paddocks.

I’ve seen plastic bucket types work well (similar material to the Rubbermaid wheelbarrows), though I don’t know the brands. Also helps if you need to dump buckets at the same time, which will not work with any other material trailer that has any kind of not 100% watertight seams.

[Huntin_Pony]

I wonder if you could have a spray-on rubber or plastic coating applied or whether this would make the surface too “sticky” to dump efficiently. (I am thinking of the after-market pickup-bed liners that are available these days.)

[bathsheba8542]

Honestly I’ve had very little problem with the metal in my dump trailer, and I have manure in it 24/7. We replaced some of the metal, but it was already 15 years old or so, and wasn’t used for most of those years for manure. I’ve used it without a break for the past 4 years and see zero affect on the metal so far. I do not keep it covered.

[Pocket_Pony]

We have one that I got Mr. PoPo years ago for Xmas. It is . . . 5x7 maybe? It is a Logan. Hydraulic up and down. It does have the tailgate that we take off to dump . . . which is kind of a PITA, because in my opinion, Mr. PoPo always does it wrong when he does it because he only opens one end and has bent pins so many times. But that’s easy to avoid if you do it yourself every time.

We used it a lot for manure so it did get rusted some. It lives outside in the elements. We’ve used it to get loads of various things . . . sand/gravel, hay, wood; we’ve used it to move things around the farm; we use it for dump runs; we hook it up to the tractor or the truck and it is very handy!

[Loves_to_ride]

TheJenners,

Yes, I store it and trickle charge it outside. I do use a special electrical cord, but it was easy to find.

[DHCarrotfeeder]

[QUOTE=Huntin’ Pony;8503750]
I wonder if you could have a spray-on rubber or plastic coating applied or whether this would make the surface too “sticky” to dump efficiently. (I am thinking of the after-market pickup-bed liners that are available these days.)[/QUOTE]

It better be smooth and slick. I learned the hard way that a bumpy layer of ice on the bottom is plenty of friction to prevent the manure from dumping.

[TheJenners]

Hahahah dang, was just thinking that rhino-lining it would be da bombshizzle…apparently no :lol:

And thanks for the tip on outside trickle charge, would definitely need that because I probably will only need to run a load down once every couple months. Two horses and a burrito? Not a lot of shit. May add to the burrito herd though now that it’s just me :winkgrin:

[Loves_to_ride]

Oh, my little dump trailer is rhino lined. Anything metal freezes and is slippery and I’m sure my neighbors have had quite a few laughs over the years watching my near misses. And yes, the poop freezes. I’ve spent a lot of effort chipping on more than a few occasions. One of the few situations that makes me utter some words my parents would not be proud of!

But, other than paying for a disposal service, I have no other options.