How to properly unload a hopper and load a hopper

Neither. Always leave your tarps closed unless you’re loading just in case rain sneaks up on you. A nice soft rubber hammer is good to have as well.

 

opening tarp depends if you hopper is vented and how fast you are dumping. If no vents and dumping super fast yes open the tarp or risk sucking the tarp bows down.

Dumping the bags is more of a personal preference. some guy do it just to get the hoppers closer to the ground and spill less. again maybe if dumping super fast dump your air but I've never seen a problem from not doing it

 

Open the tarps as previously mentioned. I 2nd the soft hammer to get anything stuck to the walls of the trailer unstuck.

I also rigged a long nozzled, 6ft., air line that I would use to blow the material stuck to the trailer walls. Worked great and kept me out of the trailer. I also had a very long handled, home made, push broom. That way I could stand on my collapsible ladder and push the chicken meal out without having to get in it.

On that note, you may find that some chicken meal will burn you, wear long-sleeved shirts and always carry a respirator for those places and in my case, some fertilizers. (Yes boots and long pants as well.)

Get an airline inside your truck as well. The dust and dirt when you pull a hopper will amaze you.

Good luck!

 

@Judge

 

Slow pit where you just crack doors open you can leave tarp closed.
If you open all the way and empty quick, it’ll pull your tarp down/bend bows/rip tarp.

If small pit don’t have to dump bags, big unload fast, dump them cause it’ll stretch them to max.
Can dump truck bags too on those, saves bags.

Some of what you’ll get into.

Soybean meal i don’t usually dump bags, that when you get it moving the trailer will bounce, rock side/side and sometimes help start, you’ll get dusted out.

 

here’s rice hill loading and winters coming..

 

Load your slopes let the product roll down on the doors.

 

Load it until it runs over the side,,, not really, but I never thought any hopper bottom paid very well, and why most DID load the wagon. 90-100K gross was not unusual. One never saw a hopper at a state scale, and a hopper could be on a back road harvesting, and were left alone, in the Badger anyways. Cops knew generally, they weren't going far, and may be their father-in-law, and let them be. Unloading too, I used to pick up in Hastings, Mn. ( Ardent Flour?) and the lines to unload stretched for blocks. I knew lots of farmers that hauled their own grain with worn out Werner Peterbilts, but I can't recall anyone actually doing that for the money. Good luck.