Buying a used tipper trailer: the lift, the sides and the floor

What this page says about how a tipper trailer is built comes from the pages of three makers, Indespension, Nugent Engineering and Debon, as they stood on 10 October 2026. Each statement is that maker's description of its own product, not a test of it. The pages are listed at the foot. The checks are this site's suggestions and follow from what the makers describe. This is general information. The rules on what you may tow are outside this guide, so check official guidance before you buy.

Where tippers sit among the other kinds of trailer is covered in types of trailer.

How the bed is lifted

The makers lift the bed hydraulically and differ in what drives the lift. Indespension offers a choice "between manual or electric hydraulic lifts", and lists two electric tippers and one manual one (Indespension: Tipper Trailers). Debon says "Hydraulic tipping systems reduce manual labour and save time", and names electric tipping on several of its models (Debon: Tipper Trailers).

Debon's pages show that its electric lift runs from a battery. It fits one of its electric tippers with a "manual emergency hand pump" as standard, and gives the reason: the backup is there "preventing any problems should you not have charged the battery" (Debon: PW2.4 Three-way Tipper Trailer).

At a viewing:

• ask the seller to raise the bed all the way and lower it again while you watch
• on an electric lift, ask how the battery is charged and whether a hand pump is fitted, then ask to see the hand pump used
• look for oil around the hydraulic parts and on the ground under them

An advert for a tipper should say which lift it has.

Which way it tips

Some tippers unload to the rear only. Others tip three ways. Debon describes "the three-way tipping system" on its PW2.4 as "allowing loads to be discharged to the rear, left or right-hand side". Its range page lists rear tippers and three-way tippers as separate models.

On a three-way tipper, ask the seller to show how the direction is changed, and to tip it each way.

The sides

Indespension says its tippers have "removable drop sides". Debon lists "Removable Anodised Aluminium Drop Sides" on the PW2.4, with mesh sides as an optional extra. Nugent Engineering names drop sides among the features of its tippers (Nugent Engineering: Tipper).

Sides that lift off can be lost or left behind. Count them, drop each one and put it back, and check that every catch closes. If the advert shows mesh sides, ask whether they are included.

The floor and the chassis

The floor of a tipper takes whatever is dropped into it. The makers build theirs differently:

• Nugent lists "Hot Dip Galvanised Steel Flooring", and says its tippers are made "with a strong fully welded and galvanised chassis"
• Debon lists a "Plywood floor with galvanised steel protection plate" on the PW2.4, and a "Strong galvanised steel chassis" across its range
• Indespension says its tippers are built "on a reinforced box chassis"

Ask the seller which floor the trailer has. On a steel floor look for dents, splits and rust. On a plywood floor under a plate, look at the edges of the plate and from underneath for soft or swollen board. With the bed raised, look at the chassis below it and the hinge the bed turns on.

Ramps, rings and other fittings

Some tippers come with ramps. Nugent offers ramps in two lengths. Debon says the PW2.4 has "Integrated ramp storage" and "Integrated tie rings". Indespension lists "sealed bearings, and a heavy-duty jockey wheel" among its features.

Ask whether the ramps are with the trailer and where they stow. Nugent says its range comes with "a range of optional extras", so a used one may have fittings the standard trailer did not. Ask what was added.

What to say in an advert, and what to ask

These are the details the makers' pages use to tell one tipper from another:

• the lift: manual or electric, and whether an electric one has a hand pump
• rear tipping or three-way
• the number of axles
• the sides: how many, what they are made of, and any mesh
• the floor: steel or plywood
• the ramps, if there are any