Hey everyone! Starting up a side firewood business, so I'm shopping for my first dump trailer. Aiming to sell 50 cords this year, then grow from there. Checked the local trailer dealerships, and am looking at three options. Big Tex 6'x12' 90SR 10,000lb GVWR for $9,000. Snake River Trailers 6'x10' Dutility 7,000lb GVWR for $8,000 Iron Bull 5'x10' DTB10 10,000lb GVWR for $7400 I'm leaning toward the Iron Bull, since it seemed to be the heaviest duty while also being the cheapest. 7ga steel floor, vs 12ga steel floor on the other two, built in tarp, and just all around seemed like beefier construction. I'm worried it'll be a little too small, but figure with any of them I'll need to extend the walls to carry a full cord. Do any of you have an opinion on these trailers, or think there's another option for less than $10,000 that I should consider?
Where are you finding an iron bull for that price? The locals want more than that for the 7k version. That model of big Tex is a single straight ram. The iron bull model listed is too. If I recall the iron bull comes with location for leg or jack at the rear to help keep trailer level when loading/unloading. That model of big Tex is more of a homeowner build than commercial If you load any dirt/rock/ construction debris the 5x10 will be fine. You can't fill that bed completely full and stay under weight. An extra 10-30cubic feet can easily get you over weight. For a cord of stacked firewood you need sides 2.5' tall on iron bull, 2.2' for snake river and 1.8' for big Tex.
I've got an older 6X12' Bri Mar that I put 1 foot wood sides on to make it 3' tall. 10K trailer that hauls well. I can loosely toss/load a full cord without stacking and it's very maneuverable. Next trailer is a 2019 Load trail 8' X 16' that has fold down sides, excellent trailer for hauling & loading logs 14K on that one. Last is a 6 X 10 Quality built 7K aluminum trailer with short sides, 12". Very handy for camp firewood deliveries. For firewood, volume is superior to load capacity imo, wood isn't that heavy in comparison to the same volume of dirt etc. I have not been able to load any of them heavy enough to push the power units or strain my trucks pulling them. My thoughts are go as big as you can for volume & maneuverability for your are.
I figure I'd add an extra 2 feet to the sides, bringing it up to 3 1/2 feet total. Then I'd be able to carry a cord loosely piled instead of neatly stacked, and save some time. I'm in Southwest Idaho. Not sure what price the Iron Bull dealer wanted here for the 7k, the dealer didn't even mention that one to me - just said this is the one I'd want for my price range, where he said a 6x12 would cost me closer to 12k. I'll be reinvesting everything I make off the firewood business back into equipment for the first couple years, so hopefully I'll be able to upgrade before too long.
Yeah, size is what has me on the fence for sure. Feels like a decision between larger trailer, or better built smaller trailer. I figure the better built, smaller trailer will hold its value well, then in a couple years I can sell it and upgrade to a bigger well-built trailer. And even with the largest dump trailer I can afford, I still couldn't fit two cords. Unfortunately I'm already stretching my budget, because I'd love to be able to haul two cords at once. Just not going to happen until I make some money off this business!
Since it’s going to be for business, not personal use, go bigger. I think you would quickly find with the smaller one that you wished you had gone bigger. I have the 5x10 Iron Bull and it is a great trailer and perfect for my needs, but I’m not commercial. Another thing to consider is if it will haul equipment in addition to wood. 5x10 is too small for a lot of machines. That’s a 450 which is about as small as a Bobcat gets, and it fills it. I know the initial hit is higher with a bigger trailer, but probably worth it in the long run. Plus, if you’re financing it over a few years and paying for it out of earnings, the monthly payment difference wouldn’t be as hard to deal with.
Only commenting on the iron bull brand here.. I had a 24' equipment trailer awhile back. Should be some pictures of it somewhere on here.. Anywho.. That sucker was built like a tank!
How long are you willing to "suffer" with the smaller trailer? What would the smaller trailer be worth at upgrade time? How long until you could save the difference between the 5x10 and 6x12? If you were to finance (I know, dirty word) that difference for the same period of time you estimate it would take you to save the money for a bigger trailer, you'd be in business (at higher capacity) today, and it may actually cost you less assuming the cost of financing (interest on the loan) is less than the depreciation hit of buying/selling a smaller trailer to start. A 24mo/$4,500 loan @ 4%APR will cost you $189.89. Would you be able to sell that 5x10" for $7,300 2 years from now? How about $7,000? Even if you financed every penny of a $12k trailer (24mo at 4%), it would still only cost you $507 vs whatever the depreciation on the small trailer would be.
You raise a good point. I have a pretty hard limit of $10k for a trailer starting out though, because that's what my wife told me! Even getting that budget has taken some lengthy negotiations. Once I've shown I can make the business work, then I'll be reinvesting everything from the business back into equipment.
I have a 6x12 10k trailer from N&N. Fully galvanized and 3 stage front-mounted telescopic cylinder. With 12" sideboards on it will haul a cord loosely thrown I wouldn't go less than 6×12. I also wouldn't go dual cylinders mounted underneath. Scissor lift or front telescopic. Dual cylinders will probably be OK for wood but will struggle with any type of stone or dirt if you load to capacity.
What are you pulling the trailer with? As the saying goes, "Buy once, cry once"... Are you planning on hauling equipment on it? We looked at PJ and Big Tex. Wound up with Big Tex as they were in stock. We got the 7x12 with 2' sides. Big enough to haul our tractor on. Will hold 1 cord thrown on. It's rated 10K. I have hauled 4 tons (net) of sand on it, 7000 net # of hickory. These loads were weighed. This is the only load it has struggled to dump, but it did. Hickory and oak This is 1 cord thrown on Loaded with L3130 tractor Whichever one you get, will be a game changer.
If you are selling wood by the cord the 5x10 will need 4' sides to hold a full cord if it is tossed in lose
FWIW, T.Jeff Veal 's trailer is probably the best all around option I've seen for general firewood duty.
