Kelly Knodel loves to talk about the versatility of his side-dump trailers and explain how they have made him money. As the owner of Knodel Contractors, a large heavy-highway contractor based in Freeman, SD, he owns nine side-dump trailers, all from Side Dump Industries. Typically, he uses a four-axle tractor to pull two four-axle side-dump trailers with a three-axle converter dolly between the two trailers.
“You can haul any type of product, no matter how big or small it is, in a side dump versus an end dump,” says Knodel. “There’s no tailgate for the material to clog or stop in. Side-dump trailers don’t tip over when you have them tipped up and you’re driving. They don’t tear down high-line wires.
Kelly Knodel loves to talk about the versatility of his side-dump trailers and explain how they have made him money. As the owner of Knodel Contractors, a large heavy-highway contractor based in Freeman, SD, he owns nine side-dump trailers, all from Side Dump Industries. Typically, he uses a four-axle tractor to pull two four-axle side-dump trailers with a three-axle converter dolly between the two trailers. "You can haul any type of product, no matter how big or small it is, in a side dump versus an end dump," says Knodel. "There's no tailgate for the material to clog or stop in. Side-dump trailers don't tip over when you have them tipped up and you're driving. They don't tear down high-line wires. [text_ad] "You can haul building rubble, you can haul 25-foot pieces of scrap steel, and you can haul scrap high-line poles," says Knodel. "We do emergency services for a couple of power companies, and when we clean up after an ice storm we pick up the poles and haul them to their yards. You can't do that with an end dump. The end-dump trailer has gone the way of the wooden-wheeled wagon. With a side dump you can haul a 6-foot by 6-foot piece of concrete and it won't get stuck in the tailgate." [caption id="attachment_51314" align="alignleft" width="270"]
- Truck-mounted side-dump boxes
- Individual trailers from single axle up to eight-axle units
- Doubles with up to 16 axle combinations
- Mine Series trailers in 50- to 100-metric-ton capacity;
- Mine Series doubles in 100- to 200-metric-ton capacity.
“You can haul building rubble, you can haul 25-foot pieces of scrap steel, and you can haul scrap high-line poles,” says Knodel. “We do emergency services for a couple of power companies, and when we clean up after an ice storm we pick up the poles and haul them to their yards. You can’t do that with an end dump. The end-dump trailer has gone the way of the wooden-wheeled wagon. With a side dump you can haul a 6-foot by 6-foot piece of concrete and it won’t get stuck in the tailgate.”
Speed and the ability to handle a diverse selection of loads have contributed to the growing popularity of side-dump trailers in recent years.
Knodel says he has been running side-dump trailers for 14 years. In past years, side dumps gave him an advantage over the competition and helped his business grow rapidly. “We first bought one side dump, and we quickly deleted one of our tandem-axle end dumps and kept one,” says Knodel. “We ran that way for about six months and realized that the end dump had no place in our fleet if you wanted to get something done. And we bought two more side dumps and have continued to grow from there. And a lot of the reason for our growth is that we ran those trailers and they have worked well for us. We got jobs done better, faster than our competitors, and that allowed our company to grow. We can put two-and-a-half times the product, especially demolition waste, in one side-dump trailer than you can get into a dump truck because of the bulkiness of the product.
“Once we started using side dumps, we were doing jobs with two side dumps that were taking fleets of six or eight dump trucks to do, so we only used two employees instead of eight,” says Knodel. “Now, everybody runs side dumps in this area of the Midwest.”
Highway projects typically require a contractor to haul a variety of products, from scrap steel to rip-rap to road base. “You can come into a project with a load of aggregates, then turn around and take off the same project with a load of scrap steel, drop it at the scrap yard, go back for a load of road base, dump it, and come back and pick up the load of scrap concrete to recycle from the old bridge, take it to the recycle yard and come back with another load of road base,” says Knodel.
Kelly Rogers, the chief executive officer of Side Dump Industries, says the company offers every type of side-dump trailer available, including single axle, tandem axle, tri-axle, and quad axle configurations. “Our side-dump trailers are the only trailers that will dump over a K-rail for highway construction projects,” says Rogers. “These trailers are also well-suited for the oil fields, hauling manure, rocks, dirt, sand, silage, or any other material that needs to be moved.”
Rogers says Side Dump Industries trailers have the one of the lowest centers of gravity available on the market.
Aluminum trailers are light and remarkably versatile.
“This gives our trailers better stability and a greater degree [50 degrees] of dump angle,” he says. “So your loads clean out better and dump further away from the trailer than any other side-dump trailer.” Highway construction and oil field projects have created strong demand for side-dump trailers, Rogers says.
Aluminum Trailers
Trailer styles tend to have regional trends, and side dumps have not caught on everywhere. Travis Body & Trailer Inc. manufactures end-dumps, bottom dumps, and transfer trailers for solid waste, all with aluminum. “We offer frameless, frame-type, and quarter-frame models, in several body styles,” says Charles K. (Bud) Hughes, president of Travis Body & Trailer.
Travis’ newest model is the Alumatech, a half-round trailer that is one of the lightest designs available anywhere, Hughes says. It’s a 39-foot trailer with more than a 41-cubic-yard capacity, and weighs in at 8,992 pounds with standard equipment. Travis’ extruded aluminum, dual-walled models are the Wave and the Vertex. The two designs have become the company’s most popular models, due to their cosmetic appeal, the aerodynamic efficiency, and the fact that interior dents and dings do not show on the outside. The Wave features horizontal panels, and the Vertex has vertical wall panels.
Aluminum trailers can be customized for the demands of almost any application.
“We have an end dump for virtually every application that you can use an end dump for,” says Hughes. “There are obviously several commodities that require the use of a steel trailer, but if it can be hauled in an aluminum trailer, we can customize one to fit anyone’s application.”
Jonathan Kennemer, the chief executive officer of CKJ Trucking LP, is based in suburban Dallas and runs more than 200 trucks, mainly to haul sand and gravel to construction projects and concrete and asphalt plants. Approximately half of CKJ’s fleet consists of aluminum end dumps from Travis Body & Trailer. “They’re probably our best trailer,” says Kennemer. “And I would say they’re one of our longest-lasting trailers.”
CKJ services the region that covers the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, East Texas, southeast Oklahoma and southeast Arkansas. “We are probably involved in 20 or 30 different projects at any one time,” says Kennemer. “We use a multitude of different trailers for different projects.”
Steel Dump Trailers
Construction Trailer Specialists Inc. offers a wide variety of steel dump trailers. The range includes bottom-dump trailers, grain and peanut trailers, and end-dump trailers, including ellipticals, rock-hauling half-rounds, square box tubs, and tippers. Also included are side-dump trailers, open-top van trailers, bottom-dump coal trailers, and a wide variety of trailers specially designed to meet a customer’s unique needs.
“The trend is for lighter-weight, stronger trailers that can handle more payload,” says Kyle Eudy, vice president of sales and marketing for Construction Trailer Specialists. “Versatility is also a factor in purchasing a new trailer. If a trailer can be used in multiple applications, it will have more value for the customer.”
Eudy says the company has experienced significant demand from various industries over the past two years. “This can be attributed to both the economy as well as the company’s ability to provide a customized product within a short lead time,” says Eudy.
More Side-Dumps
SmithCo Manufacturing Inc., based in Le Mars, IA, builds a full series of side-dump trailers, including:
- Truck-mounted side-dump boxes
- Individual trailers from single axle up to eight-axle units
- Doubles with up to 16 axle combinations
- Mine Series trailers in 50- to 100-metric-ton capacity;
- Mine Series doubles in 100- to 200-metric-ton capacity.
“We’ve been on a steady growth pattern for the last five years,” says Rick Lawrence, national sales manager for
Bottom-dump trailers are especially suitable for transporting and unloading a wide range of materials.
SmithCo. “Each year shifts somewhat in terms of trailer styles, applications, and destinations. Export sales have been at an all-time high. The side-dump trailer is the proven new and better mouse trap for different industries.” Lawrence says side-dumps can haul more payload, safer and more economically-and many customers have added side-dumps to their fleets or converted to them entirely.
“The Midwest has been strong through a lot of these economic ups and downs,” says Lawrence. “We’re starting to see some life coming back on the East and West Coasts, and we’re expecting more yet, but it will most likely be a slow-paced improvement. Aggregates and construction should stay steady and improve over the next 12 months. Mining and export sales will lead the way for 2014.”
Manac Inc. offers one of the widest selections of dump trailers available in North America. The company sells steel, aluminum, and hybrid dumps in a variety of styles including a full line of end dumps, bottom dumps, and side-dump trailers. Each of those models is available in a multitude of configurations up to eight axles along with various train configurations as required by customers for specific geographic locations.
A heavy-duty steel dump trailer can take a lot of daily punishment hauling such abusive products as scrap steel.
“Our bottom dump is the workhorse of the construction industry,” says Keith Limback, Manac’s general sales manager for the US. “It can haul a variety of materials including aggregate product and can often be seen in road construction applications. Our heavy-duty steel dumps are designed to take the daily punishment that comes with hauling scrap steel and other abusive products. And lastly, our side-dump trailer is one of the most versatile dump models that allow for a variety of loads including sand, gravel, rock, metals, and much more.”
Limback says the dump market has seen a steady increase in demand since the middle of 2013. Newly approved infrastructure projects along with resurgence in the oil and gas market will provide the dump trailer market with a healthy year-over-year sales increase for 2014.
“Our dump trailers are built with the highest grade of materials, such as Hardox 450 steel for our various steel dumps, and we use specially engineered aluminum extrusions for our aluminum product,” says Limback. “Our trailers are engineered to work in the harshest of environments and include the most corrosion-resistant options available in the industry. Our driving force is to offer the highest strength-to-weight ratio in the industry.”
At Clement Industries/Hilbilt Manufacturing, president Greg Leong says the company offers one of the broadest ranges of dump trailers in the industry. Steel and aluminum end dumps come from Clement, and dump trailers are available with multiple axle and suspension configurations, including springs, air-ride, single-point, fixed, and bridger.
“We’ve been in this business for over 60 years, and we have trailers in use daily that are older than many of our competitors,” says Leong. “From hauling sand, rock, asphalt, sludge, scrap, demolition waste, to even boulders, Clement/Hilbilt produces a trailer engineered for that purpose.”
Leong says sales in the first half of 2013 was below expectations, but the second half saw an appreciable increase in demand. “We are encouraged by the economic data we see and are looking forward to a strong 2014,” says Leong.
Laci Fitch of Thurston Manufacturing Co. says Circle R “is proud to hold the original patents on side-dump trailer technology.” The company offers axle configurations including tandem, tri axle, quad axle, and quint axle options. From those base axle configurations, the company offers varying dump-body sizes and options to enhance trailer performance based on specific requirements.
“Circle R side dump trailers feature a rounded V shape that allows for more capacity and helps contents roll out of the trailer more easily,” says Fitch. “This shape also prevents contents from sticking in corners, helping to ease the wear and tear on the tub.”
The capacity of Circle R trailers ranges from 21.4 cubic yards to 26.8 cubic yards, depending on the trailer ordered. “However, the new 37-foot Circle R SuperCube tub has a capacity of 42.6 cubic yards when a high side kit is installed,” Fitch says.
Trail King manufactures three types of dump trailers: steel side dump; Advantage Bottom Dump; and Ultra Lite Bottom Dump, says Mike Heschke, product sales manager, Trail King Industries. Numerous models are available for each trailer type including multiunit train configurations. Payloads range from 24 tons to 45 tons.
“We take our customers’ hauling parameters and manufacture a trailer that will meet or exceed their expectations,” says Heschke. “We do it by striving to build the lightest weight unit while keeping ease of operation in mind. Trail King uses high-tensile steel to optimize payload and durability.”
“The energy sector seems to be a driving force for Trail King, and we feel progress will continue in the upcoming months,” says Heschke. “However, governmental regulations could impact our business, positively or negatively. The highway and home construction industries are trending upward and this is a great sign for our industry.”
Chap Hayes, a sales associate at Globe Trailers, says his company’s dump trailers are end dumps used primarily for demolition purposes. The company offers a 30-cubic-yard tandem axle, level floor-dump trailer, and tandem-axle drop-deck trailers in sizes ranging from 45 to 100 cubic yards. “All of our dump trailers come standard with a two-axle, heavy-duty walking beam suspension,” says Hayes. “You have the ability to add a third lift axle to the trailer. All trailers have a 60,000-pound capacity.”
Hayes says most of Globe’s dump trailers have a drop frame, which helps lower the center of gravity and makes them less likely to tip over. And the overall height of the trailers is lower than others, which reduces the likelihood of tip-overs. Globe trailers can haul con-struction debris, broken concrete, trees, mulch, sand, manure, and citrus debris in Florida. They also haul scrap steel, and Hayes says the 75-yard dump is popular for that application.
