Dump trailer's Square VS Half round

I don't think you'll find a "one-size-fits-all" trailer. Each type has it's pros and cons.

I don't haul grain. My work is mostly aggregate (crushed limestone or granite), or dirt. (including lots of Ag lime) So, my opinion just reflects that type of load. Here, in LA, we can gross 88,000 if we are pulling a tri-axle trailer. I have a 26' Clement steel "bathtub" end dump (26 cu. yd). It is "frameless" and has the "center-point" suspension. All 8 tires stay on the ground until the lift cylinder hits the final stage. Very stable when dumping. Full frame or 1/4 frame trailers are also very stable, but much heavier than frameless. The factory weight on my trailer is about 13,500. Mine weighs a little more because of the 1/2" Teflon liner. If you haul Ag lime, road base, or dirt, you NEED the liner. It helps prevent turning over.
Here's a pic of my rig dumping a load of Ag lime:
click on thumbnail for full-size pic.

I looked at half-round trailers and really like them. But most half-rounds are built from much heavier material, so they typically will weigh more. (IIRC, a 26 yd Clement Rock Star weighs about 2000-3000# more than my trailer) For example, my KW T800 and 26' trailer weighs 32,000 empty. A buddy of mine has a 30 yd half-round behind a day-cab Pete that weighs about 35,000. However, half-rounds are almost indestructable, so you can haul rip-rap or oversize rock without damage.

 

I'm going to say the benefits of a liner far outweigh the disadvantages...but I will agree that if you don't keep on top of it, you will get crap stuck under the back foot or two. Ag fertilizer companies were always the pickiest that I've dealt with.

Back in the day when I was driving for someone we had a pretty regular run hauling coal/coke up to a cement mill and rock back to a redi-mix plant. The rock couldn't be contaminated, so I talked the quarry loader into throwing a couple scoops of water into my trailer...one bucket with the gate locked shut, the other with it open...worked pretty slick. Then loaded the rock and hit the road.

 

a half round aluminum trailer definately does not weigh more they are about a ton lighter, a mac 39ft is only 10,000 pounds or just a shade under.

we have several guys that haul to us with sleeper trucks and can still legally haul 25.5 tons with a 80,000 pound gross and weigh under 29,000 empty.

it dosent take long being able to haul an extra ton on each load to pay for a trailer.

my columbia daycab and 39ft dorsey frameless trl weighs 28940 and would weigh right around 27,000 with a round trl.

i can only haul 25.5 tons with the dorsey and would be able to haul
26.5 tons legal with a mac trl.

 

Sorry, I didn't realize we were talking aluminum half-rounds. I've never seen one. The only round bottoms around here are hardened, very heavy steel, used mostly for large stone. (rip-rap, reclaimed concrete, etc)

BTW, here in LA, we can tag a semi and tri-axle trailer for 88,000#. I can legally haul 28 tons with my sleeper truck and steel tub.

 

If you don't mind saying how much $ do you gross on a average day hauling that heavy?

 

Of course, it all depends on how many miles, how long we have to wait to load and unload, if we get stuck (and we do get stuck), how far we have to "crawl" off-road, etc. Average gross is probably about $700-800 per day, when we get to haul. But we don't haul every day. Through the winter, I've only run about 2-3 days per week.

That probably sounds really sporadic, and it is. But, it kinda suits me. I have a small farm. I don't really want to haul every day, and I don't want to be away from home any more than necessary. It works for me.

 

2-3 days a week is all I have been working too. Typical for winter time even though we haven't had much winter weather. We average $800-1000 hauling 80k here, just wondered if there was any extra money for hauling that heavy or if the haul rates were set so that it worked out about the same.

 

Are you guys on the clock or paid by the load/ton...??

 

Mostly by the ton. A small amount by the load. Rarely by the hour. How do your rates in Illinois compare to ours?

 

A friend of mine has a 102" wide Mac sheet and post (square) end dump and he's been known to score a backhaul hauling dry freight because he can squeeze 2 pallets wide in there. He's also hauled steel coils. Has a forklift rated floor with a quicksilver liner, a "barn door" tailgate, and a tarp. Makes for a versitile trailer.