The question is wether to buy a truck, or a trailer...
But for your circumstance, the best answer is NEITHER...
Because you said "quarry is a 2 hour round trip"
The cost of the material you're hauling, is low, in comparison to transport.
Let's say you wanted to match that 24T haul with anything smaller... you might be able to go with a 5-6t tandem axle 5th wheel, or with a class 6 farm truck, the former being a little faster on the road, the latter being substantially more expensive to own and operate.
The big truck haulers can carry a significant amount (especially a semi with long-dump material bed) in the same time or less, under their insurance, and burn about the same amount of fuel, but transport more material in less time.
In that case, the only issue is dumping, and depending on circumstances, I can see why some will, and some won't spread with the tailgate. Same around here... the county trucks WILL (and they have a little belly blade they use to spread it when they do), and many owner-ops will tailgate, but COMPANY drivers won't, because companies don't submit to the risks.
A box-blade to spread is the better scenario, and just invest the quality time. Yeah, it takes alot. Got a grandkid that can operate the skid-steer? A half mile drive will take a while, but bein' able to bucket it part-way will speed it up lots.
Aside from that, I own a light tandem dump trailer. I haul firewood, trash, gravel, sand, dirt, and scrap metal with it. The truck has maneuvering advantages, but the trailer defeats those with versatility. I can park the trailer in one spot, hand-load it full of scrap, dirt, or whatever... then pull it with the D17 to driveway, hitch it up, and head down the road. I can pick up a load of compost, pull it home, unhitch, pull it to the back with the D17, park and tarp it, and when weekend comes around and she wants to spread compost, I hook it with the D17, pull it alongside the gardens, and we hand-unload.
It WILL tailgate. Yes, balance CAN become an issue, but not with it locked to the D17. If I need to unload PART, I just swing the gate open, drive the Kubota up to it, and knife out a bit onto the ground, pull forward, do it again. I can drive the Kubota up INTO the trailer to unload or load it. Can't do that with a dumptruck, it's too tall.
Registration is something like $25/yr here...
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