Gravel Trailer Resources
A gravel trailer is a universal piece of equipment.
The gravel trailer has been the backbone of the construction industry since its conception. Used for road building, aggregate moving and many other applications. It can be utilized to haul many types of material. Modern models are now equipped with an automatic air tarp to keep fine materials such as sand or sawdust from blowing off at highway speed.
Generally a gravel trailer is built with steel for durability
They also are built from aluminum to increase the payload. A lighter trailer increases how much material can be legally hauled over areas which have D.O.T [ department of transport ] weigh scales. The model type depends on the job they are needed for. Moving heavy material such as rock would see a steel construction trailer normally. Box liners are also common to protect the interior from damage and to assist in the removal of the load.
Teflon helps material slide out in areas where freezing occurs. Gravel can contain moisture and below freezing temperatures will make the material freeze to the gravel trailer. Vibrators are also attached to some units which shake the trailer and the effect helps the load to be removed. A gravel trailer is pulled by a transport unit with a 5th wheel or pintle hook attachment. This allows the pull truck to easily unhook and pull other types of trailers where as a truck built with a dump box can not easily be adapted to another job. Quick change engineering has been developed to allow the removal of a dump box but still requires time and tools to enable the change.
There are many types of gravel trailers.
Specialized equipment work better for some projects. The most common type of gravel trailer would be a pony pup pulled by a box truck. Each model is suited for a particular application but not limited to just one job type. A box type gravel trailer is more adaptable to different materials. They can spread gravel with the use of spreader chains or dump their load in a pile. New models have a high lift tail gate which allows big objects to pass out of the gravel box.
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End dump gravel trailers are long and can haul a good payload. More care is needed to raise the box for removal of the load because the unit has a higher center of gravity. Good level ground and a hard surface is recommended for dumping these types of trailers. Many operators have found out the hard way that they are quite unstable when the huge box is high in the air. An end dump can be used for hauling long objects such as lumber although they are not specifically built for it. Side dump gravel trailers are becoming more popular. They remove their load by tilting to one side and do not raise their compartments.Hydraulic or air rams are used by gravel trailers in almost every application. Some light weight units may use a winch or jacking system to remove the load.
Belly dumps [also know as Omaha ] have gates in the bottom of the unit to release their load. Most commonly used for road surface graveling. They are much safer as the gravel or sand can be spread while the transport unit is still moving. Although quite limited in their use they are a popular choice for road construction. They do have problems when the weather gets cold so they are used mostly in the summer months or in warmer climates. The mechanism can be various chutes or a clam design where the sides move out from the center to deposit the material out of the bottom of the trailer. A clam type belly dump will work better for moving earth as a chute model has limited amount of space for the passing of material. Light weight gravel trailers are used for smaller jobs and are useful in many instances. From home construction or where the restriction of space hampers access for larger gravel trailers. Or a big payload is not needed. All terrain vehicles also have gravel trailers available to purchase. They can be used for multiple purposes.
