I have a full frame end dump, for what I use it for, it works great, I'd like to have a barrel style end dump as well, to determine what frame you need, you first have to know what conditions your dumping on, if your off road and not perfectly level or on pavement and never leave it. I run everywhere with mine, dump anywhere, and never worry about it, when stuck off road, we hook on anywhere and pull it, from the back, front of the truck, also use the dozer to shove us out off the back of the trailer, anything imaginable we do it. I like my full frame end dumps, the only way I'd buy anything less is to run a lot lighter and keep it for on road only, never leave the level hard surfaced roads and always dump on good ground, which has its merit at time, I could haul gravel and sand with a lot lighter end dump for those purposes and get by.
I've been looking for another end dump, several in fact, one being a barrel style, with full frame under it for lighter demo work I do, mine now was used in mining to haul shot rock to the crusher, its built like a tank, and also a frame less or quarter frame for hauling gravel and sand with.
As for brands, they really don't mean much to me, it more in how they were taken care of and used, than the brands, they all run basic axles and go by the condition of them more than anything else and never buy an aluminum end dump for demo use.
There are makers who use hardox for the construction and others that use mild steel, for a barrel style, I'd go for hardox myself, much tougher stuff and takes the abuse more, especially if your going to dump concrete chunks into it often, but those bring far more money than regular steel.
The other thing you need to keep in mind is if it has a single point suspension under it or not, meaning all the wheels stay on the ground when dumping it, if your off road, this is a major plus, with a lot of frame less end dumps that don't have this option, only the back wheels will be on the ground when dumping, so if your heavy and in wet conditions, when you dump, your stuck and what dozerman was talking about inching your way out, with most quarter frames, all the tires are on the ground I think even if it doesn't have single point suspension, but I could be wrong on that, maybe someone else will chime in and correct me. With a full frame, all the tires stay on the ground all the time.
If your doing much over 24 foot hauling demo, I'd think hard on a triple axle setup myself, especially with a 26 or 28 footer, air lift pusher axle would be great, have seen a few with just fixed axle for a third too and that works, anything to help bridge the load you haul, more times than not your going to be overweight with demo anyhow.
Your area might also require you to have a tarp on the load for demo, you might want to check on that too before buying, I've never used a tarp before, its not required in my area at all, we just can't have junk falling off the trailer is the only requirement here.
