Cheap ideas to bulk handle brewers grains?

My dad gets brewers grains from a local brewery, and lately their brand has really taken off. Which means lots more grains for him.

Trouble is, right now they scoop it out of the vat and into 55 gallon drums that are cut down a little bit to go under the openings of their equipment. They then truck them outside with a dolly and Dad goes with a 4x8 utility trailer, and uses a dolly to load it up from their dock (a good foot or so drop to the trailer....)

He can only haul a max of 8 barrels at a time, but usually they have 4-6 outside for him. Sometimes if he misses a day or so, they'll have 10-12 barrels outside for him. Everybody's been starting to think there needs to be a better way to handle it, but the trouble is cost. Sure, Dad could buy a bigger truck and a dump trailer, and they could invest a bunch in augers and conveyors, but to tell the truth they don't really have much room in the brewery and Dad can't afford to buy a bigger truck. I could however let him use mine for a while if it would lead to a better way of handling.

Any ideas?

My first thought, atleast for our end, is use an old manure spreader without the beater and leave it there. When it's full, come get it and dump it. But then in the winter, just like manure, it'd freeze solid and have to sit until spring. Plus I have no idea how they'd load it, and how it wouldn't be in their way. Tiny parking lot, tiny building, with way too much stuff crammed inside to do much more to it.

Donovan from Wisconsin

A dock level lift gate. I have one that's designed for pick up trucks that lifts above the floor of the pick up to dock level. I believe it is rated for 1500 pounds.

I should have mentioned, he drives a Tacoma. Basically anything would require a bigger truck, but I can let him use mine (F250) for a while until he could find something cheap to use for the job.

Donovan from Wisconsin

Maybe find an old 2yd dumpster, put a better set of wheels under it and winch it onto a tilt-bed trailer. Most of the dumpsters are tappered so if it froze it would just be a matter of turning it upside down, with a little time and some sun it would slide out. They could roll it to the dock and fill it at their discretion and should (with the right kind of wheels and assuming the drive is in good shape) be able to roll it away if necessary.

Or mount the dumpster on a tow-able dolly that pivots in the center of the dumpster so you could dump it with a hydraulic cylinder.

I seem to recall you having all the necessary welding skills to make something like that.

Nate

You need a running gear with a box and hoist on it. It seems
like CL always has at least one.

What do you do with the Brewers Grains when you get them home?
Can you combine that with the pick up effort?

Milk cans instead of barrels? Wouldn't need a dolly to handle them and could double deck them with higher sides on the trailer. Maybe? Is it liquid enough that it could be dumped out of cans?

Without a truck and trailer upgrade seems like two trips would be the answer.

Hi Donovan,
Could you go to the wreckers and get a set of fifth wheel landing gear from a semi trailer and weld them to the back of your trailer? Then just crank the trailer up to dock height, slide barrels in and Bobs your Uncle, you are on your way home. I have landing gear on my cube truck for forklifts to drive in the back, but I have also used it to lift the back of the truck when there is no dock leveller.
Martin

Best money spent was buying a new 10K dump trailer
from Elkart, In.

Park trailer there, let them load it and pick it up
when you can.

I love just pushing a button and watching it dump.

-How about the tote skid tanks? They are on craigslist. Cut the top of the tote out. When you get it home tip it over.

-Other than that I would find a cheap dump trailer or dump wagon. Find a good easy way before someone else comes along and cuts you out of the picture.

What if you backed trailer up to dock and had
wheels go up metal ramps like used to drive cars up
to get trailer higher? Or make ramps the height you
need?

As VADAVE asked:
How does your dad handle the feed after he gets it home? Does he feed it directly out of the barrels, or does he transfer it into feeders inside a barn that does not freeze? It might take more labor to distribute the feed to the livestock than to get it home.

Your solution should include how your dad needs to handle the feed at the farm.

Dad's been getting the feed for a couple years now. The barrels have holes drilled in the bottoms to drain out some to help them loose weight. During the summer he leaves them outside and dumps them into the loader bucket, and then dumps that on top of the silage before taking a scoop from the bag. Mixes in pretty good, but most of the girls really like it as it is as well.

In the winter it's a little more work because they bring them in the barn to keep from freezing solid in the barrels. Normally scoop it out with a pail and feed it on top
of the silage as it's fed.

I will say the girls seem to have gone up some on milk, and the way they eat it dad will be getting it for as long as he can. They like dad down at the brewery because he'll come if they need some empty barrels provided they give him an hour or 3 lead time so he can make sure to dump a few out. Other guys they had were driving farther and much slower at turn around with a barrel of it.

The dock they have is basically an extension of they're wooden deck (they also have a restaurant) and the parking lot is kinda bowl shaped, so they already havea large concrete slab on one side just to level out the trucks. Adding another ramp to that would get kinda hairy in my mind. Going to the trailer isn't so bad because gravity helps him get them down to the trailer.

If he could afford one,a dump trailer would certainly be nice, but I really don't think they'd want it outside and there is no where inside to park it either. A dump bed on a running gear would be a no go as it's tight enough backing a trailer sometimes with the way some people park. Even hit an employee's car after warning him several times that it was a bad place because he needed to swing in there.

Food for thought right now and not all suggestions are impractical. Would just take some figuring on the brewery's end as to how to move it as well.

Donovan from Wisconsin

What about him stoping the trailer a little away
from their dock and using a set of ramps like
are used to load ATVs or Mowers into trucks to
ramp down from dock to trailer. Could move
drums with a hand truck. Could also use
ramps at home to get drums off trailer.
Just a thought.

That's pretty much how he does it. Users their dock plate and runs them in with a hand truck.

At home he just slides them out because the wood floor is slick enough with the run off from the barrels.

Donovan from Wisconsin

It sounds to me like you've all painted yourselves into a corner and there really is no cheap, practical solution here.

You can't keep anything at the brewery, which pretty much excludes any practical solution. Nobody really wants to spend any money, which just puts the final nails in the coffin for any practical solution.

Realistically, the only option you have is to keep doing as you've been doing.

If the business keeps growing the brewery will eventually have to move into a larger facility. Keep your ears open and if there's talk of this, put a bug in their ear to make sure there's space for a dump trailer for the brewer's grains. In the meantime, save your pennies for the day when this happens, so you can buy a truck and trailer.