Scrap, aggregate and bulk material move differently: density, abrasion and discharge decide whether you want a tipper body, a fence body or an open deck.
Bulk material sorts itself into two categories before you look at any trailer.
Dense material — ore, wet aggregate, dense scrap — reaches the axle limit with the body part empty. Body volume beyond that point is weight you carry for nothing, so the right vehicle is the smaller-bodied one with the stronger floor.
Light material — light scrap, shredded material, some agricultural loads — fills the body and never comes near the axle limit. Here volume is the whole point, and a taller body with an upper lattice earns its keep on every trip.
Mixed traffic is the hard case. If you run both, size for the one you carry most and accept a compromise on the other rather than buying a vehicle that does neither well.
Scrap and aggregate wear a body from the inside, and they do it fastest at the discharge end where everything slides past on the way out.
Two things follow. The floor wears before the sides, so floor thickness and material matter more than body thickness generally. And loading method matters: a grab dropping scrap from height does more damage in one load than a shift of chute loading.
Liners exist for this and they are a genuine trade rather than an obvious upgrade — they add weight you carry every trip in exchange for a body that lasts. Whether that pays depends on how abrasive your material actually is and how long you keep vehicles.
How the load comes off is as much a specification decision as how it goes on.
Side tipping is fast and suits free-running material on ground that is level enough to tip across the axis of the vehicle.
Rear tipping clears material that sticks, and it tips safely on ground where a side tip would be uncomfortable — which on a scrapyard is most of it.
Crane or grab unloading does not need a tipping body at all. It needs open sides and a body the grab can reach into, which is where a fence trailer body with removable or drop-down panels does the job better than any tipper.
If your traffic sits in more than one row, tell us the split and we will size for the dominant case rather than averaging them into a vehicle that suits neither.
| Material | Fills first | Usual body |
|---|---|---|
| Ore, wet aggregate, dense scrap | Weight | Side or rear tipper |
| Sticky or clay-bound material | Weight | Rear tipper |
| Light or shredded scrap | Volume | Fence body |
| Mixed loose material, grab unloaded | Volume | Fence body, open sides |
