# Hydraulic dump kit for stock truck bed



## tpirobert (Jun 27, 2000)

Has anyone experience converting stock truck bed to dump? Northern Tool has a kit for $850. I have 8' bed on Chevy 3/4 ton and want to dump small loads of mulch, brush etc.. I have mesh sides/ladder rack that allow hauling 4+ cu.yd. of mulch. A brand new 1 ton dump would be nice, but don't need to spend big $ or take on more debt at this time. Any thoughts? Thanks


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## cat320 (Aug 25, 2000)

I wanted to do that but i think it would be better to just put a slide in dump body a little more money like about$1,800 or so but once you get it set up you can slide it in and out very easy and no welding and no problems with bumper or hitch.


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## GeoffD (Dec 21, 1999)

I second, Cat320's message. These pick-up dump kits, work fine, however most pick ups built in the 90s don't have a stiff enough bed for dumping it's full payload. If you were to add several supports to you pick up bed you might be fine. However like said before for 1800 bucks you can get an insert body, where you can't go wrong.

Geoff


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## tpirobert (Jun 27, 2000)

Thanks for input...got me re-thinking what will be best for my needs and hold up to use. Perhaps best to pay more and add little more weight for insert dump. Had not thought about moving insert to new truck when needed. Also had not thought about potential bumper/hitch problems. What was I thinking? Thanks for your thoughts and advice.


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## steveair (Feb 24, 2000)

yes,

the insert sounds like the best way. By the time you get the northern kit and spend all that time and money putting it on, it may be about even anyways.

As for capacity, I will say that even though you only plan to dump a few yards of mulch or what not, it will be about a week after getting it that you will be trying to finish a job at night, and being that you don't feel like coming back again, load the hell out of the thing and snap it in half. I have a 12 foot rack body dump, and I seem to be finding myself loading 10,000 lbs of topsoil in a truck with a 10k gvrw more and more everyday (too easy to underestimate what will fit in that big bed...........). Get the most out of what you have and go for it. It will pay off.

Also, just a thought, but maybe look for a beeter of a dump and use it only when you need. For around 3-5k, you can get a truck that will run and dump, which is all you need. I paid 3k for my dodge, and have spent around 2500 in fixing it, but it is worth it, as it has made me more money than I ever imagined. Plus, the best thing is that its still worth the 3k I paid for it. Why, I don't know, but a running dump is always worth 3k, just about no matter what shape it is in.


steveair


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## tpirobert (Jun 27, 2000)

Steveair

Thanks for your input. A used dump truck would be nice. Could also be a back-up truck for hauling trailer when main truck is down. However, the wife is gonna want a new car or some other "bribe" if I get another vehicle!LOL. The $3-5K dump could end up costing $30K.


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## Smither (Nov 10, 2000)

Have you considered a hydraulic dump bed trailer? I don't know the capacities they come in, but unless backing up or overall length is a problem, that could be a good way to go.


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## tpirobert (Jun 27, 2000)

A dump trailer may be a possibility, but I'm often pulling an enclosed trailer with mowers etc. and that would be a problem. I'm trying to be as versatile as possible with my equipment. Kind of like the Swiss Army Knife. My truck is great for small jobs I do, but would be better if dumped. For large mulch jobs I have it delivered.


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## JCurtis (May 14, 2001)

The one problem I found with converting the standard pickup bed to a dump body was fueling the vehicle. I used to have a 78 chevy half ton with dual tanks and a converted pickup dump. It was a pain to fuel. You had to raise the bed to gas up.

The only thing I like about the dump bed was I could raise it a little when parked and keep the rain water from collecting in the body.


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## Superior Lawn Care (Nov 23, 2000)

I use an "Easy Dumper" tandom axal dump trailer with twin dump cylinders. Its dump box is 6'x12' and will dump up to 10,000 pounds it come with ramps so you can haul as much as a skid laoder in it. Haven't tried that yet, but i haul my mowers in when doing yard clean-ups. I just put the yard debris in the front of and the mowers towards the back that way I just unload the mowers and then I can dump the rest of the debris somewhere else. It works great!


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