Delivering grain with Dry Van or other flat bottom trailer.

Mar 04, 2015 at 01:40 PM CST - 3
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Has anyone delivered grain using a Dry Van or a walking floor trailer. If so how did the unloading work.

Replied on Wed, Mar 04, 2015 at 03:11 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. No offense but you must not have much experience with grain. I don't have much experience myself, but I can't imagine using a van. Most grain gets loaded from the top and some places are lower than 13'6". My Walking Floor works well. You need a sweep tarp to save labor of course. The thing to watch for is that some places want a hopper attachment. One place I went to said, "What, no hopper? Don't come back again without one." They unloaded me last truck of the day and no hopper made extra work. The broker either did not know or did not care. Some places have nice, wide grates and it comes off tickety-boo. Some places I went to they wanted to know the previous product I hauled. That question should be covered before you get loaded I think. There is more you need to know about hauling grain than I ever thought. But the people on this site should know it all. Good luck!

Replied on Wed, Mar 04, 2015 at 03:11 PM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

No offense but you must not have much experience with grain. I don't have much experience myself, but I can't imagine using a van. Most grain gets loaded from the top and some places are lower than 13'6".
My Walking Floor works well. You need a sweep tarp to save labor of course. The thing to watch for is that some places want a hopper attachment. One place I went to said, "What, no hopper? Don't come back again without one." They unloaded me last truck of the day and no hopper made extra work. The broker either did not know or did not care. Some places have nice, wide grates and it comes off tickety-boo. Some places I went to they wanted to know the previous product I hauled. That question should be covered before you get loaded I think. There is more you need to know about hauling grain than I ever thought. But the people on this site should know it all. Good luck!

Replied on Wed, Mar 04, 2015 at 03:58 PM CST - 2
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. There used to be a lot of elevators in MT and ND that were setup for loading vans thru the doors. As long as they can load it and the place you're going has a lift to dump the trailer you'll be fine. I used to haul a fair amount of wheat to Lewiston ID with a flatbed and there were always vans waiting to unload. Both elevators in Lewiston had tippers.

Replied on Thu, Mar 05, 2015 at 08:59 AM CST - 1
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. They load grain , corn & soybeans on the floor of shipping containers all the time. They either have a tractor set up to lift the front of the trailer or have a tipping platform to unload.

Replied on Thu, Mar 05, 2015 at 08:32 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Quote: "No offense but you must not have much experience with grain. I don't have much experience myself, but I can't imagine using a van. Most grain gets loaded from the top and some places are lower than 13'6". My Walking Floor works well. You need a sweep tarp to save labor of course. The thing to watch for is that some places want a hopper attachment. One place I went to said, "What, no hopper? Don't come back again without one." They unloaded me last truck of the day and no hopper made extra work. The broker either did not know or did not care. Some places have nice, wide grates and it comes off tickety-boo. Some places I went to they wanted to know the previous product I hauled. That question should be covered before you get loaded I think. There is more you need to know about hauling grain than I ever thought. But the people on this site should know it all. Good luck! " Loading grain on vans, containers, flatbed with sides....alot of different ways to haul grain. Just need the infrastructure to load or unload.

Replied on Thu, Mar 05, 2015 at 08:32 PM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

Quote: "No offense but you must not have much experience with grain. I don't have much experience myself, but I can't imagine using a van. Most grain gets loaded from the top and some places are lower than 13'6". My Walking Floor works well. You need a sweep tarp to save labor of course. The thing to watch for is that some places want a hopper attachment. One place I went to said, "What, no hopper? Don't come back again without one." They unloaded me last truck of the day and no hopper made extra work. The broker either did not know or did not care. Some places have nice, wide grates and it comes off tickety-boo. Some places I went to they wanted to know the previous product I hauled. That question should be covered before you get loaded I think. There is more you need to know about hauling grain than I ever thought. But the people on this site should know it all. Good luck! "

Loading grain on vans, containers, flatbed with sides....alot of different ways to haul grain. Just need the infrastructure to load or unload.

Replied on Fri, Mar 06, 2015 at 05:57 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Quote: "Loading grain on vans, containers, flatbed with sides....alot of different ways to haul grain. Just need the infrastructure to load or unload. " I hauled grain on Flats years ago into a lot of the Mississippi river ports. They just had us drive on the scale and the scale raised the truck and dumped it out the back into a big pit. A lot of people used to haul this way into Chicago years ago and then haul steal out. Maybe some aare still doing it today. Western makes a good side kit trailer for that type of work. I had a friend years ago that pulled a van trailer that had doors made in the roof for loading grain into it. The flat i pulled also had slide openers in the floor for unloading. Side kit flatbeds and convertible hoppers allow for moreoptions in choosing loads and customer base.

Replied on Fri, Mar 06, 2015 at 05:57 PM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

Quote: "Loading grain on vans, containers, flatbed with sides....alot of different ways to haul grain. Just need the infrastructure to load or unload. "

I hauled grain on Flats years ago into a lot of the Mississippi river ports. They just had us drive on the scale and the scale raised the truck and dumped it out the back into a big pit. A lot of people used to haul this way into Chicago years ago and then haul steal out. Maybe some aare still doing it today. Western makes a good side kit trailer for that type of work. I had a friend years ago that pulled a van trailer that had doors made in the roof for loading grain into it. The flat i pulled also had slide openers in the floor for unloading. Side kit flatbeds and convertible hoppers allow for moreoptions in choosing loads and customer base.

Replied on Fri, Mar 06, 2015 at 06:13 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Years ago seen lot of vans and flatbeds moving grain. Flats would have a removable or fold down side kit, Vans would sometimeshrough the rear of the trailer and the spout would blow the grain into the trailer, a quick go and hit the brakes hard, and it would move forward. Usually a piece of heavy plywood would be used in the rear as a stop for the grain inside the door. Common practice for the beer haulers in ND, grain one way, beer the other. Also many flat bottomed grain trailers, refered as shovel bottoms, had 9 traps in the floor when needed, but mostly dumped on a large platform that would raise the truck and trailer together and dump the load. Today I can not even find a flat bottom grain trailer for sale, everyone uses hoppers.

Replied on Fri, Mar 06, 2015 at 06:13 PM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

Years ago seen lot of vans and flatbeds moving grain. Flats would have a removable or fold down side kit, Vans would sometimeshrough the rear of the trailer and the spout would blow the grain into the trailer, a quick go and hit the brakes hard, and it would move forward. Usually a piece of heavy plywood would be used in the rear as a stop for the grain inside the door. Common practice for the beer haulers in ND, grain one way, beer the other. Also many flat bottomed grain trailers, refered as shovel bottoms, had 9 traps in the floor when needed, but mostly dumped on a large platform that would raise the truck and trailer together and dump the load. Today I can not even find a flat bottom grain trailer for sale, everyone uses hoppers.

Replied on Fri, Mar 06, 2015 at 06:15 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Western makes a hopper flatbed that can dump like a hopper and the sides fold down to use like a flatbed.

Replied on Fri, Jun 03, 2016 at 03:38 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Chris knows what he is talking about, only prolbem im finding is some facilities cant handle it on there end

Replied on Fri, Jun 03, 2016 at 05:27 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Seen a lot of vans unloading at ardent mills in Hastings Mn they have the hydraulic ramps that lift up the truck an unload out the back

Replied on Fri, Jun 03, 2016 at 05:39 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Here is the deal with hauling grain on the floor of a dry van. Sometimes they shoot it in, sometimes they have an arm that extends and retracts as it drops the grain in piles. When you get to the other end you will be tipped to unload. This is method one, and it does not pay any more than a hopper to do so, as a matter of fact it pays less usually because you can't put as many bushels on and still be legal. The typical dry van weighs 13,000 lbs. Here is method two and this is the one that pays more than the hopper. They bag the grain and palletize it, you end up with about 42,000 lbs in grain, and 2000 lbs in pallets, give or take a few hundred lbs. These are the loads that we haul with our dry vans, and they have paid more then the hopper for doing so. Any of us that have been hauling seed this spring all will vouch for what I am saying. Which way is better? Number two, it does not leave a mess all over the inside of your dry van, a quick sweep and you are gone. Method two also pays detention and method one often times does not. Funny how a $3600.00 load of corn just became worth $20,000.00 because it was bagged and put on some pallets. Finish product always pays more then raw product.

Replied on Fri, Jun 03, 2016 at 05:39 PM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

Here is the deal with hauling grain on the floor of a dry van. Sometimes they shoot it in, sometimes they have an arm that extends and retracts as it drops the grain in piles. When you get to the other end you will be tipped to unload. This is method one, and it does not pay any more than a hopper to do so, as a matter of fact it pays less usually because you can't put as many bushels on and still be legal. The typical dry van weighs 13,000 lbs.

Here is method two and this is the one that pays more than the hopper. They bag the grain and palletize it, you end up with about 42,000 lbs in grain, and 2000 lbs in pallets, give or take a few hundred lbs. These are the loads that we haul with our dry vans, and they have paid more then the hopper for doing so. Any of us that have been hauling seed this spring all will vouch for what I am saying.

Which way is better? Number two, it does not leave a mess all over the inside of your dry van, a quick sweep and you are gone. Method two also pays detention and method one often times does not. Funny how a $3600.00 load of corn just became worth $20,000.00 because it was bagged and put on some pallets. Finish product always pays more then raw product.

Replied on Sat, Jun 04, 2016 at 08:56 AM CST + 1
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. There is one company in Kansas City, That load dry vans in Colorado and ship to KC. At the elevator they dump it out with the use of a tilt ramp. They do the same when you haul patatoes to the chip plants. They lift the truck and trailer. Very fast unload. St. Joe elevater loads rail container with soybeans to ship over seas. These are closed top containers. In the old days when a farmer did not have a hoist on the truck. the elevetor had a cable hoist to lift the front of the truck and dump it. The only thing I can't grasp is. The average hopper tries to load 52,000 lbs. and the average dry can handle 46,000 lbs. how do they make a good rate? I guess they just need to move a truck to a better area. Myself, I don't need experience, I need money.

Replied on Sat, Jun 04, 2016 at 08:56 AM CST

+ 1

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

There is one company in Kansas City, That load dry vans in Colorado and ship to KC. At the elevator they dump it out with the use of a tilt ramp. They do the same when you haul patatoes to the chip plants. They lift the truck and trailer. Very fast unload. St. Joe elevater loads rail container with soybeans to ship over seas. These are closed top containers. In the old days when a farmer did not have a hoist on the truck. the elevetor had a cable hoist to lift the front of the truck and dump it.

The only thing I can't grasp is. The average hopper tries to load 52,000 lbs. and the average dry can handle 46,000 lbs. how do they make a good rate? I guess they just need to move a truck to a better area. Myself, I don't need experience, I need money.

Replied on Sun, Jun 05, 2016 at 06:55 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. I know in the past there were some Oat processors in Minnesota that had truck tippers. Does anyone know if any of the facilities still have tippers?