Wheelbarrow Dump Trailer
“I use it to haul mulched leaves, rocks and dirt, firewood, and other materials. It’s handy to use - I just reach back and pull a trip lever to dump it,” says James Henson, Union Mills, N.C., who converted an old wheelbarrow into a handy 2-wheeled dump trailer. He tows it behind his Simplicity garden tractor.
Henson already had the wheelbarrow, an industrial model with a deep bucket. He built a frame and tongue out of some old steel tubing and tach-welded a ball hitch off an old 4-wheeler to the tongue.
The dump bed rides on 12-in. tires off an old riding mower and has an axle made out of 3/4-in. round stock and square tubing. The bucket is hinged at the bottom.
A 1/4-in. thick, horizontal metal strap that’s free to pivot is welded to the trip lever and is beveled at one end, which rests on a small metal tab welded to the frame. The main part of the strap rides on a 6-in. long compression spring that’s welded to the tongue. Pulling the trip lever forward compresses the spring and causes the strap to pull away from the frame, which causes the bucket to dump. When Henson lets go of the lever, the bucket drops back down, and the strap automatically resets itself.
“It works really good. I use the tractor’s hitch to raise the tongue 8 to 12 in. off the ground, which causes the frame to tilt down toward the back and completely empty the bucket,” says Henson. “Once the load has been dumped, I lower the hitch, which causes the bucket to slam back down.
“I used a 3/8-in. dia. metal rod to make the trip lever and the 6-in. long spring off an old trampoline to form the handle. The spring is shaped like a handle and has a comfortable feel.”
Henson uses an early 1980’s Allis Chalmers Simplicity garden tractor to pull the dump bed. “This tractor is quite rare and has a posi-traction rear end, so both wheels always pull at the same time,” notes Henson.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, James Henson, 2617 Rock Road, Union Mills, N.C. 28167 (ph 828-748-5633; doehenson1@gmail.com).
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Wheelbarrow Dump Trailer FARM HOME Miscellaneous “I use it to haul mulched leaves rocks and dirt firewood and other materials It’s handy to use - I just reach back and pull a trip lever to dump it ” says James Henson Union Mills N C who converted an old wheelbarrow into a handy 2-wheeled dump trailer He tows it behind his Simplicity garden tractor Henson already had the wheelbarrow which is an industrial model with a deep bucket He built a frame and tongue out of some old steel tubing and tach-welded a ball hitch off an old 4-wheeler to the tongue The dump bed rides on 12-in tires off an old riding mower and has an axle made out of 3/4-in round stock and square tubing The bucket is hinged at the bottom A 1/4-in thick horizontal metal strap that’s free to pivot is welded to the trip lever and is beveled at one end which rests on a small metal tab welded to the frame The main part of the strap rides on a 6-in long compression spring that’s welded to the tongue Pulling the trip lever forward compresses the spring and causes the strap to pull away from the frame which causes the bucket to dump When Henson lets go of the lever the bucket drops back down and the strap automatically resets itself “It works really good I use the tractor’s hitch to raise the tongue 8 to 12 in off the ground which causes the frame to tilt down toward the back and completely empty the bucket ” says Henson “Once the load has been dumped I lower the hitch which causes the bucket to slam back down “I used a 3/8-in dia metal rod to make the trip lever and the 6-in long spring off an old trampoline to form the handle The spring is shaped like a handle and has a comfortable feel ” Henson uses an early 1980’s Allis Chalmers Simplicity garden tractor to pull the dump bed “This tractor is quite rare and has a posi-traction rear end so both wheels always pull at the same time ” notes Henson Contact: FARM SHOW Followup James Henson 2617 Rock Road Union Mills N C 28167 ph 828 748-5633; doehenson1@gmail com
