I am thinking to get rid of my 20' flatbed and get a 14' to 16' dump trailer. I want ramps on it, so i can still haul my tractor around if need be. But over all, I have way more use for a dump trailer than a flat bed. My thinking is that now is the time as the flatty now looks like new with its new bed, lights etc and I should get a bit of money for it. My question is, are there any brands to stay clear of in the dump trailer world or are they all pretty much the same. I have a big Tex dealer near here and there must be others around Knoxville or at least within a 50 mile radius or so. So what do you have and what are you happy with.

I have a 2018 LOAD TRAIL 14', 14,000 dump....bought it new, no problems so far it will haul 27 sq. of torn off shingles, or 3+ yards of rock

That size dump go with a goose neck. I purchased an Amish made dump last fall and the trailer is awesome. Iron Mule is the make. You are close to Kaufman Trailers in NC, they are great trailers and save with pick up instead of dealer lot.

I like the ones that have the hydronic cylinder on the front of the trailer. #1 It gets more leverage lifting from the front vs the middle. #2 when you need ro work on the hydronic the cylinder is on the front easy to get to and remove if needed not under the bed you have to lift up and support to get to the cylinders.

I have a Lamar 14 foot dump trailer two 7,000 pound axles and I use it for everything! It makes so many more things possible for the average guy. Last summer I brought home enough regrind asphalt to put a 3 inch layer on my driveway. I hauled a mountain of field stone with it. And I use it for hauling wood to my house and delivering to people I sell wood to. Just be careful because now I went and bought a F250 to pull it because the half ton didn’t like it that much and then I got a tractor so I can load material and wood into the trailer and now I’m getting a sawmill because I can move wood around with the truck and trailer and tractor so now I have plans of building a big shed at home with my trailer and tractor and truck and sawmill!

The Lamar is the only dump trailer I have ever had but it’s well built and well thought out and designed. Do your research and watch a lot of YouTube videos and you will make a good choice

^^^ Sounds familiar. I have the F250 and tractor and am building a saw mill as I want to build a house out of the trees that are on my property. Yes I heat with wood also. I think I know exactly where you are coming from

Yep your only missing link is the dump trailer!

I have a bri-mar dump, as said above its multi-purpose. it mostly hauls pallets of cement board, but gravels the driveway hauls off debris to land fill, wood and leaves to clean up, also sweet potatoes and hay it does it all lol, However i have a gooseneck to haul tractors. The big texes are a good trailer just make sure the axles will carry your intended max load plus. With all the construction going on around here I see tractors, bobcats and mini exes in the back of dump trailers all the time but most are overloaded. Good luck

My first one was a Maxi Dump. It was a solid, durable trailer. Best built trailer of the three I have owned. Needed a bigger one so replaced it with a Bri-mar that was used when I bought it. Wasn't impressed with the Brimar. The bed washboarded pretty bad. Now have a Carry On. Bought it new. It is holding up pretty well so far, but I had to modify/change some things right out of the gate.

A couple of things I have come to like on a dump trailer.
D rings in the bed of the trailer. Recessed D rings if possible.
Ramps stored above the wheel wells instead of in a "pocket" under the trailer. It can be difficult to get the ramps out of the "pockets" if the rails are dirty or the ramp has a slight bend to it.
A combination gate that functions like a barn door or like a dump truck gate
A tarp system.

Last piece of advice I can give you is pay attention to trailer weight/payload. It is pretty common to find 10' trailers that have more payload than a 14' trailer. They are both 14 K trailers, but the 14' will have a heavier empty weight and will reduce your payload.

I use dump trailers every day, I've undoubtedly hauled and dumped more than a million pounds in a 2015 pj 14, after 5 years all the paint had fallen off and it was rusting bad. New trailer is a 16' Diamond C.

I like the low profile trailers, easier to haul equipment. I feel the scissor lifts are less prone to bending. If at all possible keep the whole rig straight while dumping, jack knifing the trailer in, dumping logs then pulling forward can be tough on the trailers.

My diamond c with 9 gauge sides and floor etc is around $15,000 new, personally I am of the opinion that most people would not need the heavier built trailer as evidenced by how much of a beating my old pj took. Whatever you decide to buy look it over carefully, they slap them together fast and you don't want the one the new welder built on his first day.

Get something aluminum or stainless steel. We have a brimar that we bought new and it's rusted through unfortunately.

I would buy one from a dealer close enough to get it worked on and parts for. No matercwgatctrailer you buy you will need parts. I would make sure the cross members for the floor are around 16" center or a tad closer and a 14 or 12 gauge floor. That will help with the floor not getting waves in it over time. I like the scissor lift I don't see many of they in the shop.

i Have a legend been using it for 10 years no issues outside of dealing with a steady stream of wanna be borrowers

Nothing wrong with Big Tex. I rented a dump trailer once and thought I would haul rock home from the gravel pit for a pad I was doing so they could build my barn. I about killed my truck. A truck with a dump trailer is no dump truck. I can see where they would be useful though I just thought that I would mention it. Seems like the same advice as a tractor with a front end loader is no bob cat. I learned both those lessons building that barn and maybe you'll find it helpful.

I am lucky as i have a rock quarry about a mile from place. So taking home gravel is no long haul and i don't have to push the weight limit as I can do a round trepan about 20 minutes plus the time it take to load the thing.
A trailer are out of stainless or aluminum is not in the budget and also not needed. I am pretty good with any sort of welding and have a stick, MIG and TIG welder in my shop so can fix pretty much anything on a trailer. I can make my own bushings and hinges etc on my lathe so won't need a dealer near by ...... I saw that a lot of trailers of different makes use dexter axles and parts for those one can get pretty much anywhere.
Having said all that, I would like to spend more time using the trailer than fixing it so don't want to buy a junk brand from the get go.