Homemade Dump Trailer

[DrabHorse 1]

I've been thinking about how I would like to make a dump trailer. Just gathering ideas here and seeing what some of you may have done.

I was thinking of making it about as wide as the tractor so it can fit through narrow places, but make it a bit longer than store bought trailers. I would like to set the wheels back a bit also so that it would have a little tongue weight for some added traction on the tractor for uneven and slippery ground. I would like to make a hyd or air lift to dump the trailer. Hyd would be great and air would work too, I was already planning to make an air compressor from a york ac compressor to go on the front tach a matic. Which ever mode of lifting force it may be, I've yet to figure how would be the best way to set it up. I've seen scissor types on large trailers and equipment, and I'm sure there are other lever type arrangements. I am lost on how to know how much lifting force would be required for a given weight especially with the lever or scissor setups.

[shorts 182]

I would think that a power steering pump could be used to make an economical belt drive hydraulic system. the options for a dump bed are endless, but for a narrow setup look at the articulated offroad dumps with the long skinny cylinders on both sides of the body, the down side of that design is that they are high and that makes them top heavy,tippy and harder to load by hand. I'm personally kind of partial to a low trailer where the bed sits on the axle down between the wheels because it is easier to mget heavy stuff in and out, when it's time to dump you have to manual tip it but once it starts to dump you can back up and completely dump it.