It's very difficult and inefficient to move dirt any significant distance with a dozer, especially a small dozer like I have. Front-end loaders work well but are limited by the size of the bucket. The answer for most construction projects is the dump truck.

On a ranch, with needs for multipurpose equipment, a dump truck has limited utility. Also, since they are usually purchased after their "golden" years, they are often a mechanical nightmare. The answer...I give to you is the dump trailor.

This marvelous tool can carry dirt, spread mulch, deliver fencing materials, haul off manure, carry lime, etc., etc. Mine, which was recently purchased, is relatively small but will carry about 6 yards of clay anywhere I want to put it. The dumping operation is handled from the tractor seat. Never have to move. Just let it go and get the next load. It is rated at 3 tons for hauling, but can lift/dump up to 10 tons

For a small time pond builder like me, it is just a perfect tool...and my wife has already figured out that it can carry and spread mulch. My cost was $3K. Larger ones cost more, of course. If you want a general purpose mover of materials, this is it guys.

ML:

I have a dump trailer that used to be my Father-In-Laws. Someone welded up the frame and the box on it to make it. The box is about 5"x5"x2.3ft (as I recall, it hauls about 2 tons of gravel). It uses a steel cable and a single hydraulic cylinder (hooked to the tractor's hydraulics) to raise the box to dump. As you described, it is just the berries for moving dirt, gravel, or whatever in larger amounts or for longer distances than a front end loader is efficient for.

And for those of us with small tractors I found a neat dump trailer available from Northern Tool or the manufacturer (cheaper from Northern, $1000. This trailer is 4x8 with about 18 inch sides. It can haul 2 tons or about 2 yards heaping full. It is heavy duty but only has 4 ATV wheels so you can't drive it over the road at high speeds but it will go anywhere with those big tires. It is designed as a dump trailer but you need to add the hydraulic cylinder and lines yourself. I bought those also from northern for about another $150. I have a small John Deere tractor with a bucket control lever that I use to power the lift up and down. I use the heck out of this thing just like Meadowlark does his. Would never be without one any more. Wish I could use a bigger one when I really need to move dirt but I don't have the pulling power. By the way Meadowlark, what kind of small dozer do you have? I have a small JD350 dozer and a Mustang skid loader that I used to move stuff around. Combine that with my JD4100 tractor and this trailer and I can move small mountains. I used this equipment to move about 250 trailer loads of dirt for fill on time. Dozer to dig the dirt out, skid loader to load it into trailer, tractor to haul it and dump. Wife says I'm Tonka deprived. I gotta suggest the mulch thing.

bz,

My toys include a Case 450C dozer, along with tractors and backhoe/front-end loader.

Given enough time and diesel fuel, those tools can be used to build most any size pond and do whatever changes need to be made to existing ponds. As they say, all it takes is time and money.

ML, I'm planning to expand my pond this year and build a second one. I'm going to rent a larger dozer to build the new pond and since I don't have a backhoe or trackhoe of any kind I'll rent that too. Wish I could afford and justify a trackhoe. I expanded my pond one year with my little 350. Took me 2 solid days to dig an area about 75 feet in diameter and 4 feet deep. I'm going to use a trackhoe this year to just expand existing pond around the edges. Anyone know if the stirred up silt from digging will hurt my BG and LMB?

The reason my pond is going so slowly is that we are using small dump trailers to remove the spoils. (no heavy trucks allowed on my road)

A friend just got a 1 year old Lone Star 25000 gross gooseneck dumper. He got the trailer *and an old F250 Ford truck to pull it both for 14K. Tandem dualies. What a monster dirt mover. I can't wait.

Another friend and me are in the "cocktail napkin drawing" stage of creating a "pond digging machine". It starts life as a dumper like yours, a modified tiller, and a conveyor loading mechanism. It digs the pond, loads the trailer, and dumps (or spreads) the dirt in a continuous operation. It should work fine with with any 20 HP or better tractor. Only down side we can think of is the soil must be slightly damp to dry.

Meadowlark,

Got a picture of your toy you can post? I'm looking for something along this line to rehab a 1/2 acre pond. I have a tractor but need a way to move more dirt than the front end loader can handle.

Dirtguy,

I'll try to post a picture tomorrow...I think it is just what you need. You do have to be patient, I mean it won't carry what a dual axle big dump truck will carry, but it is a very maneuverable, very usable, very land friendly(won't tear up everything) and multipurpose tool to have around the farm/ranch. I wish I had purchased mine a long time ago.

When daylight comes, I'll get you a picture.

Dirtguy,

I tried and tried but could not post a picture. Technical difficulties. So, instead I sent you an e-mail with the picture attached.

Moved 20 loads of clay from one pond, where I'm expanding, to another pond, where I need the clay on the dam. If it hadn't started raining today, I figure I could have moved probably about 30 loads or close to 100 yards of clay. Its a great trailor for the small operator.

In case anyone wanted to see ML's dump trailer and didn't have him Email you the file, here it is:


Pretty nice tractor, too (Who'da figured Meadowlark for an MF?).

And here is the "deluxe" model dump trailer, owned by yours truly. ML says it has "character" - apparently this is East Texan for "multiple colors of paint and rust."

I was faced with this situation just in the past few weeks. i needed to move a significant amount of dirt. Started looking at dump trailers - Big Tex trailers makes a 12,000 pound dump trailer but I found that they wanted some 7K for it - so I ended up hiring a dump truck by the hour- $50.00 and was able to move 35 12yd trucks in eight hours - for me it was a great solution. By the way, my first pond project ( no thanks to meadowlark, by the way) is almost complete - in all I have moved 6 thousand cu yds of dirt. all with a John Deere 260 loader with steel tracks and a 84" grosser blade.Pond project broke ground July 4th and so far I have put in 170 machine hours on the project- it has been a blast!!!!!!!

Yea, dump trailers are great. Wish I had a way to use one by myself, but I only have 1 tractor and no truck.

Just a warning about dump trailers and small dump trucks: Don't get over optimistic about load size! Dirt is heavy. Most dump trailers are maxxed out at about 1/2 full. My pond has already killed 2 because of overload. I warned the owner of the 2nd one not to over fill. Next thing I know, he was filling it all the way to the top. Then, he actually heaped it up. I was not at all surprised when he failed to return for the next load. Turns out the dump cylinder bracket snapped the weld, and of course bent the cylinder rod like a pretzel. Make a mark on the trailer and do not try to cheat! Dirt kills!

My friend is coming tomorrow with a 25000# Big Tex dual dualie gooseneck. I'm going to tell him about the other 2 victims. I hope he listens!