The main difference between these two trailers is the way they operate. The Scissor lift has a scissor-type hoist mounted beneath its bed. In contrast, the Telescope dump trailer has a sizeable rod-shaped lifting mechanism at the front.
It’s usually easier to dump with the Telescopic dump trailer than a Scissor dump trailer. Moreover, the former has more capacity to carry the dumping load than the latter trailer.
But both are good in durability and stability over the long run.
A Quick Comparison Table
| Comparison Differences | Scissor Lift Dump Trailer | Telescopic Dump Trailer |
| Working Mechanism | This dump trailer works on a mechanism built beneath the bed and operates as a hydraulic system with a scissor lift hoist | The dump trailer has a large lifting mechanism built at the front side of the trailer that provides easy lifting |
| Load Bearing Capacity | Less Capacity | More Capacity |
| Reliability for Dumping | A little less because you won’t be able to dump the stuff you have placed at the front side of the trailer | Excellent as it can clean the trailer in one shot, and all the loaded stuff will be on the ground |
| Gravity Position | Gravity is Down, but it might be problematic if the battery goes down | Doesn’t create a problem and comes down even without having a battery |
| Operated on | Battery | Battery |
| Material Construction | Made of Steel | Made of Steel |
| Pricing | Usually, Cheaper | A Bit Expensive |
In-depth Differences Between Scissor Lift And Telescopic Dump Trailers
- Working Mechanism
If you need to compare both dump trailers, you will have to look at how they are built.
A Scissor lift trailer works on a scissor hoist mechanism, usually under the bed.
The lifts provide the force to let the trailer go upside, and in this way, you go for easy dumping.
On the other hand, Telescopic Scissor is entirely different from the Scissor lift.
It has an enormous lifting rod with hydraulic pumping built on the front side of the trailer.
When you press the button, the trailer gets lifted towards the upside, and you can clean all the stuff you’ve contained on the bed.
This way, more people like dumping with this kind of trailer than Scissor lift because it’s easier for them to dump with it.
- Material Construction
These trailers are often made with heavy gauge stainless steel construction that lasts a lifetime.
You will find your investment worth it because you’d have bought a complete solution for daily dumping problems. The Steel will not rust or leave you at any point while working with these trailers.
- Load Bearing Capacity
According to many dump trailer users, they have pretty good experience with the Telescopic trailer.
They claim telescopic trailer can lift more weight and has more capacity than a scissor lift trailer. It’s because the Trailor is more significant with bed size and has more area coverage.
But that might be only in a few cases; we have a better dump trailer in the Scissor lift category with more pressure and support to lift more weight simultaneously.
Hence, whether you take the Scissor lift mechanism.
- Reliability for Dumping
Some people complain about having the Scissors lift the trailer because they say it doesn’t leave all the waste on the ground.
There will still be stuff on the upper side of the trailer. Therefore, while loading these trailers, the loaders have to leave a space on the front side of the trailer so they may be able to do easy dumping.
But for the Telescopic trailer, you will not face that problem. It goes so high as all the waste loaded in that trailer will be carried to the ground.
We can say that a Telescopic trailer is more reliable than a Scissor lift trailer.
- Operated on
The major similarity between these two trailers is a battery operates both. It doesn’t matter whether you rely on a Scissor trailer or a Telescopic trailer, both work on a battery.
- Gravity Position
Usually, the Scissor lift dump trailer is built with a solid gravity position towards the downside.
But once you find the battery dead and your trailer is in the up position, it might get stuck at that position while coming back.
However, that’s not the case with the Telescopic trailer because it is built so that even if there is no battery working, the trailer would still come down to its original position.
- Pricing
In my research, I’ve found that the Telescopic trailers offer more benefits and are usually a little more expensive than the comparing options.
But such a difference between the price is not that higher. You might find both options at similar prices sometimes.
Which Dump Trailer Is The Best Option For You?
Well, both trailers are reasonable, considering dumping needs. The final selection would depend on your experience with either trailer.
But if you are a new person in the trailer market and want to buy one for yourself, you must go with the Telescopic dump trailer by all means.
However, if you have a good experience with the Scissor trailer, I won’t mind if you’d not change your decision.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
To many owners, Scissor lift does a great job on a trailer. It usually puts less pressure on a critical point and gives enough support to the frame. Besides, these trailers have durability and excellent lasting period.
The Telescopic hoist is one of the best types of lift for a dumping trailer. It has a total of 3 stage cylinders with 100 percent of the payload behind the lifting points. This type of hoist is the most efficient way of lifting weight.
The 14-size dump trailers are considered best.
It can lift an estimated payload of almost 9640 pounds with 14000 GVWR.
Final Thoughts
Conclusively, both Scissor Lift and Telescopic Dump Trailers are best when selecting your specific option. You cannot go wrong whether you go for the Telescopic trailer or a Scissor trailer.
But I believe the Telescopic trailer is more efficient and reliable than the compared option. In most cases, it is worth the investment.