Questions for you end dumpers

I've been dumptrucking for 15 yrs. I have a chance to haul sand and wanted to know which is better trailers. Frameless, or frame? Air ride or not?

Which is more steady up in the air? Do you dump air bags before raising trailer? I've owned several trucks but never air suspension.

How to keep sand from freezing up in winter? Appreciate some input.

 

I hope that helps. Basically we don't haul sand in the winter. One thing that may help is to have a bed liner installed.

 

air ride and frameless is the way to go. I have ran Vantage 39' aluminum end dumps for sand & rock. I'm sure you're getting paid by the ton so you want to go as light as you can. Hence, Aluminum & Frameless. On the older (2000+/-) Vantage air ride trailers you had to get out of the truck and pull a button that would do two things: 1. empty the air bags and 2. open the tail gate. Frameless is less sturdy. No Doubt. Just be cautious and watch how and where you park to unload. Most plants where you'll be dumping have flat, solid "floors" where you can unload. Air ride suspension is the way to go on any thing. Much more comfortable and cheaper to maintain and repair. They are a very simple system and not a whole lot for you to worry about

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Just a thought I know you said your going to be hauling sand but are you going to stay hauling sand? Reason i ask is you can pave with a framed trailer (even tho it's a PITA) deffinately go air ride though

 

If you want to haul sand in freezing temps, a plastic liner will work the best. Also buy some liquid hydrachlorid, and put it in a sprayer and spray the floor and sides in the box. Make sure you get the front part the best. You can run sand doing this in pretty cold weather...0 degrees and colder. Spray it down every load. If you have the plastic liner and hydrachloride, you'll be fine in some of the coldest weather.

 

I'd have to look at what it says on the 50 gallon drum we have. Hydrochloride might not be accurate. It's some type of liquid cloride. Have to doble check to see what chimical it is.

 

Is it liquid calcium?

 

Yes it is. It's calcium chloride.

 

I'm probably going to start a whole other discussion with this but my lightweight is so close to being the same whether I'm pulling my framed or frameless trailer... Now I no something like a tub frameless is going to be a lot lighter than our ravens framed trailers but between our ravens 40' framed and ravens 40' frameless the lightweight is about the same... And it also could be just the way they built the trailers I don't know... Just wondering how much weight people have actually saved going frameless with the same type of trailer