Lately, the upper Midwest appears to be ground zero for dump trailer goings-on. From the tar sands of Canada and the booming oil rush area of North Dakota, brought on by recent developments in lateral drilling and sand fracturing technology, to floods happening throughout the region’s river basins, dump trailers are in demand and are getting the work done.
Dump Trailer for Dealing With the Wet Cycle
Devils Lake runs into the Red River and then up into Canada. The area has been in a wet cycle, and it keeps flooding more and more all the time. Western Construction, of Devils Lake, ND, has several Circle R Side Dump trailers running in the area. The side-dump has proved invaluable to those operations, especially handy on the lake bank reinforcement the company has been working on and will probably be working on for at least several more years. (Roads raised two years ago need to be raised up once again now.) The company runs about 50 loads per day as it deals with the flooding in the area.
“We haul just about every type of material there is with these side-dumps,” says David Walford, Western Construction’s superintendent. “They are so much more versatile than a belly dump. Circle R is my favorite; we’ve had several of them. The Circle R is more durable, stands up a lot better as far as cracks, the resell is real good, and they are the Cadillac of the side-dumps, as far as I’m concerned.”
According to Scott Lynch, who works as territory sales manager, North America, for the Circle R Side Dump division of Thurston Manufacturing Co., the company’s three basic Circle R side-dump styles are the standard tandem axle, the tri-axle, and multi-axle configurations. The standard tandem can be sold in any state, while the tri-axle is a three-axle side-dump that can be used in states where tri-axles and other multi-axle configurations are recognized.
In Utah, users can operate with 10 or 11 axles, and South Dakota runs some 13-axle trucks, while a lot of the other side-dump configurations are going to the multi-axle train, according to Lynch. “In application, the side dumps will do almost anything an end-dump will do, and in some cases even more,” he says. “Because they dump to the side, they’re great for shoulder work. When crews come in and roto-mill a road and then dump that material back in on the shoulder, the side-dump is perfect for that, in addition to being great for ditch fill or dumping material over barriers, and is effective for flood control at lakes, streams, and rivers.”
When the sides of riverbanks are being reinforced, big rocks are poured on the side, using the side-dumps after a temporary road has been built. “An end-dump couldn’t do that, and a belly-dump is out of the question because it runs over itself and the rock would be too big,” says Lynch.
He gives the example of work being done in Provo, UT, where a lane is being added on each side northbound and southbound on I-15. Instead of closing down the interstate, two lanes are left open on each side. Then, as the side-dumps come in to dump the fill for the new lanes, they just go down the traffic lane, slowing traffic down, and dump it on the fly. The fact that side-dumps can dump to either side is very advantageous because they can dump to the inner or outer lanes without changing directions.
“Then they’re not dumping over the top of themselves,” says Lynch. “They are building on the outside lane and on the inside lane. It allows them to dump from an operating lane instead of taking the truck into the lane they’re building, as with a belly-dump or an end-dump.”
“Side-dumps are catching on,” says Lynch. Ten years ago there wasn’t a side-dump running in Las Vegas. Now, that is the primary source of construction-type equipment for trailers.
“From an economic standpoint, right now the construction end of side-dump-or bottom-dump work, for that matter-is still in the recovery stages; but there are certain areas where things are moving, such as in flood zones and in oil fields,” he says. “Construction went way down some three years ago, and it just has not grown since then, following the line of housing and the economy. There is some flood work out there, but a lot of that is federal funds that were thrown at the states.”
Lynch views the fact that the product is not widespread-especially in the east-as an advantage, as there is a lot of growth potential for side dumps. “It takes time to convince people that this is the way to go. Once they try it, then it is a matter of economics; you’re not going to change your whole fleet overnight.”
Side-dumps are great for farm applications, hauling manure, or semi-liquids, which is something difficult to do with an end-dumper and impossible with a bottom-dump, Lynch explains. Circle R has sold side-dumps to a plant up in Idaho that processes material from potato waste, 60% of which must be hauled as a liquid from one site to the other.
A lot of competitors are jumping into the game, according to Lynch. Almost everybody who makes a belly- or bottom-dump is now building a side-dump. “These include at least 10 different manufacturers. All of them see the growth potential and the varied applications available for this equipment for contractors.”
Oilfield Pads and the Roads That Reach Them
Lakeland, MN-based Barnes Excavating Inc. owns three T-800 Kenworth five-axle dump trucks, a Kenworth W-9 tractor, and also uses a few belly-dumps. “Contractors using belly-dumps can only haul what they can drive over. They’re especially popular when used for asphalt, sand, or gravel.”
He is now trying out four side-dump trailers made by the Jet Co. The trailers each hold 23 cubic yards, each with a 34-foot tub. With an average tractor they will haul about 23 to 25 tons. Side dumps have been around some 10 to 12 years, according to Tom Barnes, owner, and they are becoming especially popular in the Midwest.
“They’ve almost replaced the belly-dump or center-dump trailers,” says Barnes. “The nice thing with these is, obviously, you can tip either to the left or the right and you are not driving over what you dump. You are able to continue to move and dump.”
A lot of the users in the Lakeland area will dump right over the Boston barriers used as road partitions when shoulder work is being done. Barnes Excavating is using the side-dumps up in the North Dakota oilfields in the Minot area, where the company is building pads for the oil wells. Barnes Excavating is also building the roads going off the main roads, back in anywhere from 100 yards to 2 or 3 miles. Once the roads are built, crews establish a flat pad upon which the oil wells are drilled.
“It’s like an old-fashioned gold rush out there right now,” Barnes says. “You’ve never seen so many trucks and trailers running. Side-dump operators will literally go in and dump to build a road that they can drive on. The scrapers and dozers will take off the topsoil before we dump scoria, a lava rock aggregate. We build the roadbed, and then eventually they will come in and build a couple-hundred-square-foot pad on which they’ll come in and drill the oil wells. We’re hauling rock from a gravel pit into these areas. The side-dump can also haul tree stumps, boulders, sand, gravel, or nearly everything because they’re dumping it to the side and not having to drive over it.”
Operators do not even feel the side-dump trailers dumping, according to Barnes. “I think it’s a great idea. They’ve done a nice job engineering it. We love them. To be honest, we will probably buy more of the side-dump trailers,” he says.
“The thing with Jet is, they’ve inverted the cylinder and it’s a lot smoother-acting. They’ve basically turned the cylinder upside down. Instead of pushing up, it pushes down, keeping constant pressure on. It also keeps the radius of the cylinder; it tips more in a triangle than going to a closed position. It also leads to a smoother tipping operation.
“With some of the side-dump manufacturers, they push upward with it, and when it gets to the end the load has a tendency to flip in the last couple of feet. Depending on what you’re hauling, they can actually turn the tractor-trailer over on its side. With the technology that Jet has made, it keeps a nice steady push and you don’t get that kind of a flip at the end. It doesn’t lift the back wheels off the trailer, and it’s a nice smooth operation. The guys really like them.”
As a contractor, Barnes appreciates the versatility of the side-dump. He chose not to buy belly-dumps because a side-dump can do everything a belly-dump can do. But the biggest feature he appreciates is that of not having to drive through the product being dumped. It’s easier on the axles of the truck, and operators don’t get stuck.
Central Torque Tube Prevents Trailer From Twisting
Arne’s Welding Ltd., of Winnipeg, MB, builds a full line of dump products that make up approximately 60% of the company’s business for the construction industry. The other 40% includes a full line of low beds. They build a huge variety of trailers, all of which are aimed at the construction or oil production industry, according to Gerald “Butch” Bouchard, president of Arne’s Welding.
“The same oil deposit in the southwestern corner of North Dakota runs all the way up into western Manitoba and Saskatchewan,” explains Bouchard. “But our bigger activity on oil is at the tar sands project in Alberta. This is driving a huge amount of business.”
Side-dumps, end-dumps, and all kinds of trailers are being used there. This includes low beds for moving equipment. “For companies like us, the spinoff of work related to the oil production is probably greater than the oil projects themselves,” he says, “because areas that are oil-rich are building highways and transport routes, so it’s all connected.
“Transport of our trailers includes the typical truck suppliers, whether that is International, Kenworth, or any of those companies; there is a mixture of everything out there. As with other trailer manufacturers, nothing is designed for a particular truck unless you get into extremely specialized heavy-haul equipment.”
For the last two or three years, all of their activity has been aimed at western Canada because the US dollar has dropped in value, causing US sales to drop dramatically. “We still sell the off-beats into the US. But those are just loyal customers who have their product and want to continue buying it even though it is now more expensive to purchase because of the US dollar’s situation compared to the Canadian dollar.”
The models that Arne’s builds and sells have some distinct differences between the Canadian and US models. What the company calls its US Side Dump has something relatively unique: a “central torque tube,” which prevents the trailer from twisting too much in addition to offering a very high degree of stability. This consists of a tube that runs through the center of the frame, spreading the twist evenly so that there’s no one point on the trailer that is twisting badly and causing damage-or causing it to fall over on its side during the dump cycle. “This is 10-year-old technology, and I know that at this point it is being copied by other manufacturers.
“We do engineering to order. Somebody walks in from a large company, such as a bridge building company, with large beams to transport and very unique logistical problems. We not only will engineer a solution for them but will engineer the product and build it for them in order for them to get that job done. One such project involved a steering dolly with a huge concrete beam on it. This was engineered in-house. This is one of our strengths: We’ll do things that have never been done before, very unique projects.”
Cold Weather Not a Dumping Problem
Trailer Sales LLC is a new company. Its owner, Jeff Zimmerman, is a dealer for both Clement Industries and Trail King Industries. Even though Trailer Sales is headquartered in Kelso, WA, quite a few Washington state contractors are working in North Dakota. Trailer Sales has some rental permit side-dumps running in North Dakota on some various oil field road-building projects as well as some civil projects and flood control projects in North Dakota.
“Besides the rental trailers, I’ve sold some trailers to customers there,” says Zimmerman. “There is quite a lot of construction activity going on in North Dakota. They are building a lot of roads in the oilfields of western North Dakota and there are flood control projects in eastern North Dakota and in the Minot area that are federally funded.”
The Clement SideStar2 (out since 2009) and the Clement Monstar are the two most used of the Clement Industries line that Zimmerman deals with. “Clement built a pretty durable side-dump trailer from premium steel,” says Zimmerman. “It also has low maintenance. Side-dumps have really been taking hold; in the last five years, there has been quite an increase in the sales and use of side dump trailers.
“Bottom-dumps work well hauling aggregate, sand and gravel,” says Zimmerman. “But a side-dump is more versatile, handling all those products plus rocks, boulders, demolition debris, compost, and soil products.
“Side-dumps also tend to handle colder temperatures and all weather conditions better. Belly- or bottom-dumps use air coming from off of the truck, which can sometimes get contaminated with moisture and cause problems. They just tend to have more issues operating in cold weather. Side-dumps, running off hydraulics, don’t have problems with the condensation or the cylinders freezing up in the cold conditions; it’s more reliable in severe winter conditions.”
Zimmerman is also dealer for the Trail King Industries agricultural belt trailers, which are built to haul feed, seed, and fertilizer. These are rear-discharge trailers containing a conveyor belt in the bottom. Most of the Trail King trailers the company handles are for hauling fertilizer products, waste products from feed, and potato waste from potato processing facilities, to be used for dairy feed. These trailers have a tarp on top and an unloading conveyor on the bottom.
“Both of these companies have a reputation for quality products. I am an end user as well because I have a rental fleet. I want to select something durable with good resale value,” says Zimmerman.
Levee Dumping When Time Is of the Essence
Side Dump Industries, of South Sioux City, NE, recently found itself in the unique position of depending upon its own products to save its community and its own plant from the floodwaters of the Missouri River. “We actually emptied our building out. Fortunately, the levees did get built on time to avoid the flooding,” says Kelly Rogers, financial officer with Side Dump Industries. Trucks were running nonstop working on huge levees at Dakota Dunes all around the city.
“The side-dumps can dump while they are moving,” says Rogers. “If we had depended on end-dumps alone, we wouldn’t have made it, or had time to do it.”
Rogers points out that nine out of 10 dump trailers on construction jobs in the area are side-dumps. The side-dump trailers helped cities battle flooding throughout the area. For example, Omaha, just downstream, was building levees to keep the nearby nuclear plant on the river from flooding. Side Dump Industries gets a lot of calls for its product from North Dakota, many of them being used for flood control.
“For building levees, you don’t even have to stop the truck. You can just windrow the dumped products right out. This is how most people run them, unless they want to place something in an exact spot,” says Rogers.
Dump Trailers for Many Needs
Big Tex Trailers manufactures anything from a little five foot by ten foot single axle end dump trailer, to a 25,900 pound GVWR tandem dual end dump trailer with four-foot high sides and a high gooseneck, according to Terry Mars, director of sales for Big Tex Trailers. Their standard models include 5,000-, 7,000-, 10,000-, 12,000-, 14,000-, 21,000-, and 25,000-pound dumps. But they also do quite a few specialty models. All of their dumps are basically electric/hydraulic.
“Our dump trailers are hooked into a marine battery and are self-contained,” explains Mars. “Users grab the remote to power it up and then let it back down. We build most of our trailers low profile, so the fenders and tires stick out 102 inches wide. The beds are 83 inches wide, so when it’s raised up it’s not rocking back and forth on you.
On the company’s most popular models, Big Tex Trailers primarily use a scissor lift to raise the trailer up. The trailers feature a sealed modular wire harness and a 10-gauge floor, so material dumped into the trailer won’t ruin it. The gates on the back can be swung open barn-door style. But they will also open up like a spreader gate on a dump truck; material can be dumped out all at one time, or it can be metered for distribution at a steady rate.
“You can meter out your grain or aggregate or whatever you’ve got coming out of that thing,” says Mars. “It is chained up to the place where it will exit at a certain rate as the door leans out.
“The dump trailer business has been huge for us this year. We have manufacturing facilities that build these dump trailers in Caldwell, ID, and Madill, OK, as well as in our Mount Pleasant, TX, facility.”
The dump trailers have worked well for flood cleanup all around the country, according to Mars. Debris can be thrown in them and hauled off to the trash pit. For hurricane damage, a dump trailer can be backed up next to the house and the shingles can be taken off the house and dumped right in. They did quite a few smaller trailers for the oil spill in 2010.
“We make more dump trailers than anyone else in the US,” says Mars. “And they are well-built trailers. Five years ago we built thousands upon thousands of trailers for the victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. For two years we stayed busy building the big, big dump trailers for that. You hate to hear about something like that happening. But we were able to help people get things cleaned up, which was good for everybody.”
