I am looking to purchase a small dump trailer to use for my own use/homeowner jobs. Mainly gathering firewood and mulch. The tow vehicle is a 2019 Nissan Frontier with the 4.0 V6. Rated to tow 6,500 lbs. Therefore, I am looking at small trailers in the 5x8 with a 5k axle. These trailers typically have about 3500 lbs of capacity, which is plenty for my small pickup. With the 1500 lbs of trailer, I'd be at 5,000 lbs or so. I'd prefer a bigger 6x12 tandem trailer, but with my current truck that I plan to have for many years, I need a smaller size. The brands I intend to look at that have dealers "local" to me are Big Tex, Sure Trac, B Wise, Bri Mar, and Lamar. Just looking online at specs and features, I like the Sure Trac and Lamar the best. Looking for guys with similar sized trucks and trailers to give me their insight. Things like did it tow ok, was it too much for the truck, what type of tailgate did you get, etc. On a side note, I currently have a 5x10 open utility CAM trailer, that I like, but I think a 5x8 dump and a 6.5x12 utility would be better for my situation. I own and occassionly transport some small tractors that are too wide with the decks or implements to fit on the 5x10. Mainly gts, in the 1000-1500 lb range. I don't need to move them often, but when i do I really can't. Thanks
While you may not plan to exceed your truck’s capacity to tow, don’t underestimate the possibility of overloading the trailer. Whether someone is dumping gravel with a loader or you are loading with fresh cut oak, there is the possibility to overload it. Also, if you end up in a rough road, a trailer loaded to it’s limit could take more of a beating than an under loaded trailer. That said, I’d consider a 7k dual axle dump. You can certainly under load it. Having two tires on each side can help in a flat tire situation to drive the good tire up on a ramp to change the other one. I recently bought a 14k SureTrac.. my truck is rated for 12k. Let’s just say I ended up with one load that exceeded the limits of both truck and trailer.. was an easy problem to fix but without rolling on to the scale, I would t have known until I got on the road... Something like the 5x10 here might work. Low Profile Homeowner Dump - Sure-Trac With your truck at 6500#, you’d have a payload of 4640#..
I just looked in my manual, the towing capacity for mine is actually 6700 lbs. I was off in my original post. Thanks for the reply. It always seemed odd to me that manufacturers would make a dump trailer capable of holding 2-2.2 cubic yards, when virtually every type of rock, sand, soil, aggregate, etc would be in the 80-110 lbs/cu ft range, resulting in loads of 5-6k inside the trailer. Most all single axle dumps I've seen have either a 3500 or a 5000 axle. I guess its assumed folks will load the trailer only half way. I wonder what the price difference is between a 5x8 single axle and a 5x10 tandem axle
Yes, it’s easy to overload the trailer, also be prepared for low weight / big volume situations. Make sure you have stake pockets to extend your sides for hauling brush or trash. I’m a fan of trailers that don’t use powder coat. Once the moisture finds a way under the coating it will come off easily. The built in battery charger is a nice feature to have. Just plug in the trailer when you park it and it will be ready for use whenever your ready. It is very cheap to add a trickle charger and plug if you don’t purchase the option with the trailer. The tarp option is wonderful, any loose debris is contained in the trailer and isn’t a road hazard or trash for someone else to deal with. Also, good storage will help, either a tool box in your truck bed or a big enough toolbox on the trailer tongue. You will start carrying ratchet straps, bungee cords for the tarp, wheel chocks and other items for the dump trailer. Congratulations on your future purchase.
I picked up 5 tons of gravel and the weight capacity of the trailer was maxed out but the gravel wasn’t visible over the side rails of the trailer. I’m learning to load by weight, not volume. I always loaded my truck by volume because I couldn’t overload the one ton duality with overload springs with enough wood to overload it. I never hauled gravel because the quarry will not load pickup trucks with gravel plus I didn’t want to unload by hand. Now that I have the dump trailer I am more conscientious of loading by weight.
I see Lamar offers the 5x10 in either a single axle or tandem axle. Both 7k rated. I really like the Lamar the ebst so far, they seem the heaviest duty, can get slide under ramps, heaviest gauge material, and the rigid rails are nice. They are also the furthest away, and likely the most money. The fact they they dont offer a small 5x8 with either 3.5k or 5k tells me they dont want unhappy overloaded customers. Says alot, to me at least, about the company.
Diamond 5x10 7000 gross IIRC tandem axle 4 wheel brakes they were $4995. Built very nice. Have not had any problems with mine. built in trickle charger, ramps and tarp. Hydraulics in a tongue box with enough extra room for a few straps.
another thing to consider is how you will be loading it. one thing I love about my dump trailer is that the bed is over the wheels. that way i can get the skid loader right next to the trailer and gently lower in the log/round with the grapple bucket. if i had to reach over the tire, it would slam down hard on the trailer.
While you’re at it, during the purchase process would be a good time to consider a brake controller. Nothing worse than trying to stop a tow vehicle and fully trailer on a down hill grade on ice while going through a school zone as school is letting out. A bit dramatic, but if you don’t already have an electric brake controller as an option in the Frontier, it would be good to get one. Here’s the Nissan version of the one I bought and currently run..
Typically I'd load it by hand if a far away scrounge. If close by to my house (within a couple miles), Id load it with the Kioti NX.
This is my off road trailer I use in the woods. Its a 4x6 Supertilt that dumps via hydraulics. I love this trailer. I had it stuffed about 3' high with 100% fresh cut Red Oak and it handled like a dream. Just over a full half cord (around 70 cubic feet). Here is my CAM 5x10 with my old truck (Chevy s-10 4 cyl.) As I said its a great trailer, I redid the whole thing, but its a hair too small to haul several of my machines if I need to have repairs done I cant do myself, or need to help out a relative with snow removal, etc. Its hauled alot of stuff though, some from as far as 150 miles each way. I think a 6.5x12 open utility, and a 5x8 or 5x10 dump would be the ideal combo for what I need to do.
Around here Brake controllers are required on any trailer over 5000 lbs. GVW. My current trailer is only about 3k lbs and I wish it had brakes
I wish I wood have gotten that type. I have the low profile and dumping wood is a pain . You can dump some of the load but then have to pull ahead to have the rest come off. You then have a long pile. I push it together with the tractor and rock bucket.
Thats a little iver an hr from me. And thats the size trailer I want. Most 10 ft trailers I've seen are only 5 wide
I have an equipment trailer made by them, it is a solid trailer. Here it is with 6,000 lbs of pellets in tow.
Sure Trac offers 6x10 deckover dumps in both twin 3.5k axles and twin 5k axles. The former actually weighs less than the 5x10 lo profile from earlier. If I'm going to go up in empty weight, I'd rather the extra capacity of the 6x10 vs 5x10 for lighter weight woods, and for mulch type materials. Alot of my loads will likely be loose thrown. I'd stack it if a farther trip, or I want to fit as much as possible. The other cool feature on the 6x10 deckover, is the sides can be removed. So say, you wanted to haul 10' logs, you could roll them out of the trailer, or if you wanted to haul a 8' pickup plow, you could take it out with forks from the side. I do worry though that a 6x10 is too much for my truck though. The good thing is at 6' wide, I could avoid upgrading to a wider utility trailer. I'd just keep the CAM 5x10 I have. Looks like a 300-400 lb difference from a single axle 5x8 to a dual axle 6x10. https://sure-trac.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/sd-deckover-dump-Website-PDF.pdf
The one thing to consider with the deckover is potential higher angle ramps if you’re loading a piece of equipment or the need for longer ramps... I have a low pro. It’s difficult to dump on rough terrain. If the wheels drop into a pot hole, I can be dragging the license plate or back of the trailer through the dirt...
