I have a scissors/dump, aka a pick/tipper in Daihatsu speak. It doesn’t really rattle, but it might be more than a regular bed. I don’t have a regular bed. So, I have no basis of comparison. As for maintenance, there are some extra things you have to do: grease the rotating points on the lift mechanism, it takes about twenty minutes every three months; check the hydraulic system for leaks; and, top off the hydraulic reservoir at the pump. Last year I had to rebuild the starter motor, which drives the lift pump. Which was an adventure finding the right parts. Plus side: On a regular bed you have to access the engine through the hatch in the bed. With a dump bed, you raise the bed, block the cylinder, (so it can’t accidentally fall on you), and remove the engine shield, (eight bolts). You then have clear, and unobstructed, access to the top of the engine. I can do a lot of things required for routine maintenance far easier, and quicker, than a person ever could through the access hatch in the bed.
I have owned and been around heavy equipment, and dump trucks my hole life. I have the same unit in a left hand drive, like Jigs. It's great. everything that jigs said is spot on. I especially like the scissor lift option! It's easy to secure rattle spots that occur over time with wear and tear. Limestone
Not sure. I didn’t think they did dump beds on the Sambars. And on a rear engine truck, I’m not sure you wouldn’t have worse access to the engine.
Depends on the needs of the buyer, but me personally would value any dump much more than a non dump version, I couldn't put a price value on it tho. Dumps versions are much harder to come by in decent shape, so if you find one in great shape, it's worth the price in some regards. I believe most all the kei trucks came with the option of having a dump in some form or another. Sambar's had 6 different variations for their dumps. There may even be more variations. I'm finding out the configuration capabilities of these little things are endless with options. Soft Dump (which is essentially your regular bed, with a smaller lift cylinder piston, can also get these versions with the cherry picker boxes as an additional feature) Hard Dump (Which usually had the heavy duty beds and a more commercial grade hydraulic cylinder, but I also believe the heavy bed was an additional option as well) Fuka(Deep) Dump (Essentially is a Hard dump but with much higher steel sidewalls) Tipper Dump (Was a tipper box, also used the smaller grade cylinder) Side Dump (Capable of tipping the load off the side of the truck, but can also tip it directly back like a standard dump.) Hooklift (This also doubled as a removable high wall dump bed, cant locate the image of the sambar I had at the moment but I have a suzuki carry variation with is essentially the same) Even with Sambar's having the rear engine, having the dump capabilities makes engine access very easy. I've attached some images for reference.
I fabricated a dump bed for my truck. I added rubber pad and nylon guide so nothing rattle. If you have a welder and lots of time for building and designing its a pretty straight foward job. You need to do some basic geometry calculations but there are online calculator out there to help you out.
I love the dump/scissor bed! I agree, with eliminating rattles and noises! A little TLC and you can eliminate all those unwanted rattles! As far as requiring more upkeep and maintenance, I would say, a little, keeping moving parts lubed, with grease fittings, or spray oil! I wouldn't say a lot, but for me it's well worth it! Value wise, It's worth more to me than a regular bed, truck! To me a lot depends on age, working condition or not, vehicle, size, going market value, etc...! Limestone
Is there a second method in lifting the dump without running the engine? The sambar engine can only be accessed by the tail end of the bed and it isnt accessible unless the dump is erected?
My Suzuki has a electric driven pump so it doesn’t need to be running to lift , I’ve seen both Belt driven PTO And transmission driven units but 85 to 90% have been electric driven pumps and no PTO Subaru’s as of yet
Just like Koffer is saying, if it's electric, it doesn't need to be running, but, you'll run your battery in the ground, without recharging the battery, while it's running, and your alternator is keeping your battery charged, by the unit running! Unless of coarse, you attach an alternative, battery charger to keep it charged! I can only see that useful, when you don't want, fumes discharged, out your exhaust, like inside your garage! Mine is electric, over hydraulic, with a pump, and hydraulic fluid tank! My top preference, with my years of experience! With mine,(Daihatsu Hijet), I've already, switched the dump to lift mode, and with a compact cordless drill motor, I've attached, a socket to the pump motor clutch, nut, and run my unit up in the air, and installed the, safety bar, so I've had easier access to the motor! Extremely handy! I really like a lot of things about this particular unit over some of the others! Limestone
My dump is electric over hydraulic on my Suzuki. If I dump with the engine running, I have to rev it up a little or the draw on the power system will stall the engine. The funny thing is that I can run it with the engine off too and its operates flawlessly. Like Koffer and Limestone said, continuous operation without the engine running will eventually drain the battery.
My Hijet has an electric pump with reservoir, and runs off the battery. I installed a battery with about twice the cold cranking amps, so I can run the bed, and my electric snow plow. If i need to run the bed up, I can do a couple of cycles, and still have enough battery to start the truck. Thinking on it for a minute: All of the dump beds on the tiny trucks, I know of, are single acting cylinders, which drop when a solenoid valve opens to return fluid to the reservoir. So, you could tee in a manual hydraulic pump, like they use on the 10 or 20-ton porta-power units, and manually raise and lower the bed if you needed to.
I have a Sambar dump and I love it. Its electric, so I can lift the bed as long as the batter is connected. I've had it for almost two years now and I haven't greased anything or refilled the hydraulic fluid. It still functions perfectly fine but I suppose I should probably look into that. Is there a specific grease and fluid that is recommended? My ultimate goal is to convert it from a dump to a scissor lift. I can't find any plans or enough pics/videos on how to go about fabricating something like that. I wonder if its worth it to import a beat up scissor lift truck just to swap the components.
Bobby, For the most part, Hydraulic oils are pretty standard. Yeah, I know that I'm leaving myself wide open here! My old Buddy Tim always say's "Something slippery is better than nothing at all"! Regular Maintenance, is always a good habit to get into! Remember, a couple squirts of all purpose bearing grease wouldn't hurt in you pivot points in the bed! When you don't lube, your asking for all kinds of repairs down the road! Metal on metal!(not good) Even spraying a little Wd-40, PB Blaster, or any kind of spray luibricant is a good practice! Today their are so many different kinds of products on the market, it's pretty amazing the choices! I even use a liquified spray grease in an aerosol can, that comes out liquid, and turns into a light duty spray grease! I like it best for certain applications! Look on the Forum, somebody just did that, and maybe you can pick their brain!(scissor) You might get lucky and find a used scissor lift, don't know! Might be hard to come by, like everything else on these things! Some of the guys and gal's on here, wheel and deal, and import units from over seas. You might want to post something in the classified section, while your looking, and who knows, someone might come up shootin! My guess is that it will be a while, but you could learn valuable knowledge, and get some great responses from it! Good Luck! Keep us posted! Limestone
This is off topic, but would you mind sharing what fabrication you had to do to get your lift and tires set up, if any? I really like your truck!
Thanks JDW. I decided to invest my fabrication energy in the dump bed instead of the lift kit so I bought a 4 inch kit already made. In the rear I have extended shackles two inches and a 2 inch block between the axle and the leaf springs. There is a mounting point on the block to reuse the stock shocks. I replaced the stock bump stop with a longer urethane one to be able to load it up without having the leaf spring go in a negative arch. In the front its the usual 2 inch spacer above the strut and I have a bunch of 2 inch spacers to drop the front diff 2 inch also. To fit 25 inch tire I had to trim around the front wheels both in the front and in the back.
