Engine-Powered Dump Trailer

Engine-Powered Dump Trailer ENGINES Engines 20-3-11 "It easily carries 5-ton loads behind my 3/ 4-ton Chevy K2500 at speeds up to 40 to 45 mph. Best of all, it cost only a fraction of what a new dump trailer would," says Dean Stoops about the engine-powered dump trailer he built out of an old fertilizer trailer chassis and truck dump box. "You can pull it behind any truck with no need to hook up hydraulics or 12-volt electric lines, as with many commercial rigs," says Stoops, a fertilizer dealer in Alvordton, Ohio. He fitted the tandem axle trailer frame with an old highway department dump box that's 10 ft. long by 6 ft. wide. The box came complete with the original 5-in. hydraulic lift cylinder with 10-in. stroke and 5-gal. hydraulic fluid reservoir. Stoops mounted a used 11 hp Briggs and Stratton engine, which he starts with a pull rope, on front of the fertilizer trailer frame and mounted the hydraulic reservoir from the dump box behind it. He direct-coupled the engine to a hydraulic pump and two-way control valve, similar to those used on wood splitters, which provide enough power to raise the box quickly for fast dumping. He built a flip-forward steel housing over the engine, pump, and hydraulic control valve that provides protection and easy access for maintenance. Stoops built the dump box last spring. He's since used it to haul countless loads of dirt, gravel, sand, stone, and fertilizer. "It's occasionally a little difficult to back into real tight spots," Stoops says. "Otherwise it works great." Out-of-pocket expenses for the dump trailer were about $2,000. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dean Stoops, 16-278 Rd. R, Alvordton, Ohio 43501 (ph 419 737-2846).

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