Six Things to Do Before Your Dump Trailer Arrives

A dump trailer delivery takes about ten minutes when the site is ready and considerably longer when it is not. Here is the short list.

1. Clear the spot

Move every vehicle out of the driveway, including the one you were going to move later. Take down anything portable in the way — basketball hoops, trash cans, planters, kids' equipment.

We need room to back in, which means we need the driveway plus the approach. A car parked at the curb directly in front of the drive is a genuine obstacle.

2. Look up

Overhead clearance is the constraint people forget. Low branches, power drops to the house, carport roofs and gutter overhangs all matter, both for towing in and for the tub when it tilts.

Walk out and look straight up over where the trailer will sit and along the path in. If a branch needs trimming, doing it before delivery day is far easier than rescheduling.

3. Think about the surface

A dump trailer sits on its tires and a jack foot, so it does not drag across your driveway the way a roll-off does. Even so:

• Pavers and decorative concrete benefit from a board or a pad under the jack foot to spread the load
• Fresh sealcoat should cure fully before anything parks on it
• Soft ground, grass or a dirt drive can rut under a loaded trailer — plywood under the tires helps a great deal
• On a slope, tell us in advance so we can plan placement

4. Plan where the debris is coming from

Place the trailer as close as possible to the source. Every extra foot you carry a load of drywall is multiplied by however many trips it takes, and on a full-day cleanout that adds up to real fatigue.

If the job is at the back of the house, consider whether a side gate or a path is workable, and tell us — sometimes a slightly awkward placement saves you hours.

5. Sort what cannot go in

Set aside anything prohibited before you start loading, not after. It is far easier to keep it out than to dig it out.

The list includes paint and liquids, chemicals, batteries, tires, appliances with refrigerant, propane and other compressed gas cylinders, and anything containing asbestos. Our guides on <em>what you cannot put in a dump trailer</em> and household hazardous waste drop-off cover the alternatives.

6. Have a loading plan

Load heavy and flat items first, along the floor. Break down boxes and furniture rather than throwing them in whole. Fill voids as you go rather than leaving air pockets you will regret near the top.

Distribute weight evenly front to back — a trailer loaded heavily at one end tows badly and is harder on everything. Our guide to loading a dump trailer properly covers the technique in detail.

A five-minute walk-through

Before delivery day, walk the route the truck will take and the spot the trailer will sit. You will spot most of the problems in one pass, and every one of them is easier to fix the day before than the morning of.

Questions about placement? Call (727) 779-8919 and describe the driveway. We have seen most of them.