People in the construction and roofing industries often get confused between buying a dump trailer or a dump truck. Dump trailers and trucks are often used to carry waste and other materials. However, there is a certain advantage of choosing a dump trailer, and you can be sure of it once you understand the difference between them.
Dump trailers are supposed to be hooked up to another vehicle, and it helps to carry cargo from one place to another. On the other hand, a dump truck is self-contained and requires no attachment for carrying cargo.
A dump trailer has great advantages, including compact size, reduced cost, better productivity and efficiency, lower bed height, and less impact on difficult terrains.
Peruse the section below to get a clear insight into why we claim dump trailers are a better choice than dump trucks.
What is a Dump Trailer?
Dump trailers are a type of vehicle or container that has wheels and sidewalls, and they are used to carry cargo from one place to another. A dumping trailer is supposed to be hooked to another vehicle before you can use it. Because of their portability, trailers are also often referred to as dumpsters with rubber wheels.
However, they are not the same as roll-off dumpsters, mostly because of the variations in transportation and the amount of rubbish each can carry.
Types of Dump Trailers
There are many permutations, beginning with frames, ending with gates, and everything in between. Channel, I-beam, and tubular frames are the three most frequent types of underlying structures of dump trailers. For many, the final decision of choosing between the two is based on price and performance.
Why Purchasing a Dump Trailer is Better Than a Dump Truck
Here are some of the major factors why dump trailers are a better choice compared to dump trucks:
#1. Different sizes of dump trailers are available for your needs
One of the prime benefits of choosing a dump trailer over a dump truck is that you have a wide variety of options. Smaller trailers are preferable when moving through confined spaces, but bigger trailers are more effective when moving high-capacity items such as garbage or mulch.
When transporting heavier materials like dirt, sand, or gravel, larger trailers often have higher load capacities than their smaller counterparts.
#2. The benefit of compact size and better maneuverability
A dump trailer is characterized by its compact size and high maneuverability, enabling its operator to drop cargo in stages. When distributing something like gravel, having this benefit is quite helpful.
Construction debris is often transported using trailers equipped with dump beds. For instance, a dump trailer may be hauled up directly next to a home with its roof replaced, and the debris from the previous roof may be dumped down into the trailer.
To make the trailer more accessible to the working area as the task develops, you should move it forward in its parking spot. In contrast, this cannot be done with a regular dumpster since the nature of the dumpster itself makes it immovable.
#3. Cost-effective
When compared to the expense of owning or renting a dump truck, a dump trailer is relatively inexpensive to buy or hire. If you already have a heavy-duty pick-up truck and only transport items that are moderate in size and weight, purchasing and maintaining a dump trailer will be far more cost-effective than purchasing and maintaining a dump truck.
Pickup trucks are equipped with either a rear hitch or a gooseneck to transport dump trailers, the sizes of which vary from compact to larger. On the other hand, semi-trucks are the vehicles of choice for transporting massive dump trailers.
#4. Dump trailers offer better adaptability
Your vehicle and the trailer you use for dumping are two independent equipment. It enables the vehicle to be utilized for various purposes rather than just one use, and this is true whether the truck is a pick-up truck or a semi-truck.
Another factor to consider is that maintaining a vehicle in addition to a separate dump trailer is easier than maintaining a dump truck.
In addition, when the demands of your company or your business evolve, switching to a bigger or smaller dump trailer is simply based on the activities at hand. When you use a dump truck, you are restricted to using just one side of the container since it is connected to the vehicle.
#5. Lower bed height assists in easy loading
Having a low bed height is necessary when loading or unloading large objects by hand. One analogy that comes to mind is the bed of a dump truck, which may be anywhere from three to five feet above the ground. Because of this, we need more hands to load the products onto the vehicle.
Because of the low bed height, you can use your dump trailer just like any other trailer and simply load in ramp-accessible equipment, such as a riding lawn mower or landscaping equipment.
In addition, you may operate your dump trailer just like a conventional trailer. Or you could use it to load up equipment, ladders, and supplies more easily than a pick-up truck and then go on to the next project site with the cover safeguarding your precious belongings.
Final Thoughts
The versatility of dump trailers surpasses that of dump vehicles. Due to the greater variety of shapes and styles available, trailers provide more opportunities for personalization than dump trucks do.
In addition, a dump trailer is detachable, which means that the vehicle used to pull it may be repurposed for other uses if desired; all that is required is to detach the dump trailer from the vehicle whenever it is required to do so.
Every project is unique, and although a dump trailer might work for some people, others might find that renting a roll-off dumpster is more convenient. No matter the course of action you decide to pursue, the most important thing is to ensure that your choice will benefit your company in the long run.