Is Your Dump Trailer Going Up but Not Coming Down?

Do you have a dump trailer that will go up, but won’t come down? If you are facing this problem, there are a few different issues that could be causing it. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to troubleshoot hydraulic problems in your dump trailer.

Check the Remote

First things first, it’s important to understand the different contact points involved in

your dump trailer’s hydraulic system. Oftentimes the problem lies within the contact points in the remote. This is very simple to check, so open it up and take a look. Remove the screws and check the contact points – sometimes they may have shifted due to the remote being dropped or bumped around. If this is the case, it’s usually an easy fix to slide the contact point back into the correct position so the button can make contact with both points within the remote.

Check Coil Magnetism

When you hit the down button on your remote to lower the trailer, the motor should kick on. This causes the solenoid to send power to the square coil, which then opens the valve to release the hydraulic fluid and lower the trailer. The exact opposite happens when you hit the up button and the solenoid sends power to the round coil, which opens the valve and raises the dump bed. Sometimes the up coil (round) or the down coil (square) goes bad and is rendered useless.

To diagnose this issue, you’ll need a metal wrench or screwdriver (make sure it’s insulated to avoid the risk of shock). If you're dump bed goes up, but doesn't come down, lay your tool on top of the square

coil and hit the down button on your remote. Try to pick up the tool – if there’s resistance due to the coil magnetizing your tool, it’s not your coil that’s the problem. If there’s no resistance, it’s likely that the coil is the issue. You can double-check this by laying your tool on the up coil (round) and pushing the up button to see if there’s resistance as well. If one of the coils on your pump is bad, but the other one is good you can swap the wires on the coils. This will allow you to lower or raise your dump bed for a temporary fix. Just remember, if you swap the wires on the coils you will need to push the up button on the remote to go down and vice versa.

Avoid a Low or Dead Battery

If you push the buttons on your remote and only hear clicking, you may have a low or dead battery, or perhaps a bad ground. These problems are simple to troubleshoot. For the low or bad battery, you can use jumper cables to connect your vehicle battery to the pump battery and quickly determine if the battery is the issue. When checking to see if you have a bad ground, make sure to check that the ground wire is tight, as well as both battery of the cables. The solenoid on the pump should have a wire that goes down and is grounded to the toolbox. If that has come loose, tighten or reinstall it and try again.

Operating the dump trailer with a low battery (to where it's pushing out 9.8 volts or less) can be the reason that the coils or even your solenoid go bad. This alone is an excellent reason to make sure your battery is fully charged before you use the dump trailer. Also, you avoid the frustration of not being able to dump a load due to a low or dead battery.

In most cases, the issue with your dump trailer’s hydraulic system will be related to the remote. By following these troubleshooting steps, you can quickly and easily determine the cause of the problem and make the necessary repairs to get your trailer back to working order.