Dump Trailer Made From Underground Storage Tank

Dump Trailer Made From Underground Storage Tank WAGONS/TRAILERS Conversions 26-4-37 Don Hampton, Huron, South Dakota, is one of those people who can look at junk and see something usable. So when he needed a good dump trailer, it didn't take much time for him to figure out how to make one. "We had the rear end of an old farm truck that originally had a dump box on it. The hydraulic hoist still worked," his son Darrel recalls. "All it needed was a bed." The Hamptons made their own out of a salvaged 10,000-gal. underground gas storage tank. Made of 1/4-in. thick steel, the tank was 9 ft. in diameter and 12 ft. long. They made a single axle trailer from the truck rear end by pulling the channel iron frame members together and adding a hitch. To let the rear wheels turn freely and independently, they pulled the third member from the truck differential and sealed it. The dual wheels and tires from the old truck were still good, so they left them in place. Then they cut the tank in half, leaving two troughs that were 4 1/2 ft. deep at the center. One half was mounted on the truck frame where the old box had attached. Then they made a swinging, self-sealing tailgate by cutting out the back end of the tank and reattaching it on a hinge. Darrel explains that the tailgate is designed and weighted so it stays shut until you raise the bed. Then the load pushes it open, but as soon as the bed drops, the tailgate shuts and stays shut without a latch. To operate the old hydraulic hoist, they attached a power take off shaft from the pump to the tractor, with a manual control accessible from the tractor seat to direct oil flow to the cylinder. "To lower the bed, you just redirect the oil flow away from the cylinder and the weight forces the cylinder down again," Hampton says. The trailer will hold more than 4 yds. of gravel, which, he says, is a good load for their old IH 450 tractor. "The tank was free just for hauling it away. The rest was junk or parts we already had, so total cost was less than $400," Hampton tells. Since the first one worked so well, and they had two pieces of the tank, they found another truck rear end and made a second trailer, which is now for sale. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Darrel Hampton, 39694 201st St., Huron, S. Dak. 57350 (ph 605 352-6152; E-mail: shaz-darham@santel.net).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.