I'm not sure what the proper term is, when an equipment trailer has a tail that can be raised and lowered to serve as a ramp. They do not seem to be very common (likely due to cost), but the idea seems good. Does anyone have any experience with them?
I am not alot of help but i built one on my gooseneck trailer years ago that was 6 feet long i think. It was to much behind the axles i should have moved them back but i cut it in half and welded 3 feet solid to the trailer. There is a guy here that builds trailer with a hyd tail they look handy but i also wonder how much weight they will hold up when there flat. I have a tilte bed trailer i would hate to go back to ramps.
Very useful trailer type. Both level deck, and drop or lowered deck. Called a hydraulic tail trailer. My old trailer:
What size trailer? I bought a new 14K BigTex tilt last December and love it.
Around here they are known as a hydraulic dovetail. They are basically a two piece dovetail where the rearmost piece folds all the way back underneath and up which acts as a lock/support for the main hinged piece allowing it to carry a load without drooping. A lot of ag dealers use them.
10-15 ton. I recently hurt my knee and the heavy ramps on my current 10 ton deckover are not a good idea until I heal up. Perfect excuse to upgrade trailers
I always wondered how they stay in the level position. I looked at a few pictures and videos and the single piece type looks more like what I'm looking for, but I wonder how those lock into level position.
Looks nice but a little too big for my needs!
I have a small tilt deck trailer which is really nice for small stuff but can't haul the mini or dozer with it.
I deliver farm equipment part time with this trailer. 35' length last 9' or so is hydraulic and mechanically locks into the up position. You slightly elevate the tail, step on a pedal and lower the tail. Works very well:
Cool setup. Does it have a battery powered hydraulic pack for the movement? I'm curious to know how it works mechanically. I've read that some of them have power down and can lift the trailer off the ground. Also, I need help understanding how the tail can have enough strength to hold loads in the flat position. I know it has some sort of lock to hold it up but there must be some awful forces on the hinge and lock system with any weight on the tail.
All smaller hydraulic dovetails have a load limit on the tail. A 24-30K trailer will have a 6-10K load limit on the tail depending on the manufacturer.
I don't know the tail load limit in the up, or travel position. It will lift about 5K from about 1/2 way up the incline but falls off rapidly if the load is further down the ramp than that. I winch a lot of dead tractors up onto the deck and once up about 50% of the ramp, I raise the tail to lessen the pull on the electric 15K pull winch. Trailer has two 12.5K Dexter electric brake axles with oil hubs. It is 35' in deck length.