I took the new dumper trailer out for a test run and went to collect firewood. The ground was extremely muddy, as you can see in the photos. I ran into several issues.
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The area where my forest is located is quite tight, so I can’t make a loop to turn around — I have to reverse out. The tractor made deep tracks in the mud, and the trailer kept getting locked into those tracks. I couldn’t steer it sideways the way I needed while reversing; no matter what I did with the tractor, the trailer stayed trapped in the ruts. That’s when I got the idea to use a chain hoist — and it worked perfectly.
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Then came the next problem. Since I had to use the winch, I detached the trailer from the tractor. That turned out to be a mistake. As I started loading the front part of the trailer, the screw that holds the support leg scraped along the leg, and the whole trailer tipped forward, as you can see in the images.
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I had to unload everything, and even then it was too heavy to lift back into place without help — so I used the chain hoist again (very handy tool!) to pull the trailer and tractor together.
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In the end, everything worked out.
It took me two trips to bring the whole tree home. The second trip was early this morning, when the ground was frozen — much smoother and easier compared to the muddy chaos yesterday.
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One of these on the tongue would be your friend.
I took this photo when I was replacing the shackle bolts which were about 50 years old and a little worn.
I added one on both sides on the back end of the trailer so it wouldn't tilt back and lift the back of my truck when I drove the tractor up on the trailer. Despite the axles being so far back, the LX is still heavy enough to lift the rear of the truck. I learned this the hard way, of course. Fortunately, I was in this same spot and the truck only shifted sideways a tiny bit, but enough to teach me a lesson. It's only a 7K trailer, but enough to haul my LX. With these down and the tongue jack down, the trailer is basically sitting on a tri-pod. It ain't fun when you suddenly find yourself chasing your truck and trailer. I can easily remove them with a single pin and store them out of the weather when they're not needed, however, I find them exceptionally useful for raising and leveling the trailer. I don't think I've taken them off since I added them, except when I was at a big box store buying materials. They'd grow legs there quickly. So I just toss 'em in the back of the pickup since I have a contractor cap on it. Outta sight, outta mind.
With them down, I can even drive the LX up on the trailer without it being connected to my truck. Pretty much like just driving up on a platform when the trailer can't roll. The lower part of the leg is also telescopic with a pin (you can see it in the photo) which takes care of some handle winding and extends the range. Just make sure not to set it too low if you jack it up before loading it. The adjustable lengths are VERY handy when on unlevel ground.
When they're not holding the trailer up, I rotate them 90 degrees with the foot pad toward the rear and jack handle near the fenders. It was a game-changer for this trailer. IIRC, I paid about $50 for each of them. What I like most about them is that whether stowed horizontal, or in use vertically, they don't collect water inside with the jack handle on the side like that. If I know I'm not using the trailer for a while, I can raise it enough to take the weight off the tires which prevents them from flat spotting. When I first put them on, I felt a little silly and like I was trying to kill a housefly with a 20 pound sledgehammer. Sledgehammers work, though. Since then though, I've found way too many reasons to have them, and NONE to not have them. I can actually jack up one side of the trailer to change tires if I have to, without unloading the trailer. IIRC, they're rated 5 tons each, a lot more than the trailer will carry.
Very easy to install, especially if you can weld a little. Just weld the stumps on, and pin the jacks on. Easy peasy. They also have zerks for greasing the screw. Pretty impressive for cheap jacks, actually.
Not saying you did anything wrong (other than loading a disconnected trailer), but keeping that tongue off the ground is probably 90% of staying out of trouble with a trailer. What happened to you is exactly what prompted me to do this along with loading the tractor.
BTW, I like your little dumper. Is that the one Woodland Mills sells? It isn't highway rated and it's a little small for what I need (for a short while), but I really like the fold-down side panels. That's just as handy as a barn-door style tail gate.
