Hay wagon bolts. front only yes or no

[Roto]

I have a new ez trail hay wagon running gear and I am building the deck myself. The dealer I got it from said to only put 2 bolts through the front and let the back ride up and down on its own incase you go through ditch in field with one side he said it will twist and break the bolts if you bolt all 4. I think if its loaded with hay its gonna twist the running gear and bed anyway. they make them to twist and the wooden deck will twist too as I have seen several wagons parked on the side of the road with a major twist in them looking from front to back. Anyway I am afraid that if its empty and you go through ditch like he said that the running gear will twist and the deck will stay somewhat strait and when it lifts off the running gear it may not settle back down beside the metal bracket, it may land on top or something. I just wanted some input from some people who have hay wagons and if they have it bolted in all 4 corners or just the front.

thanks
Mike

 

[gone]

The New holland wagons back when i was on the farm were bolted front and had a strap over the rear that alowd the rear to float up to the top of the rear up right,alowing the body and running gear to be independent to a point, it does help to keep all 4 on the ground emtey so wagon dosn't have tendency to slie sideways on side hills even though theres not much weight on the low wheel it is on the ground

 

[markct]

well all my wagons are bolted at all 4 corners, the wagon body flexes plenty, and believe me i have some rough fields and especialy some of the field roads going in and out of them, the two other people i know taht do hay around here also have there wagons bolted on all 4 corners, i dont see what good it does to not bolt them, i mean if you go thru a ditch or whatever thats more than the wagon body can flex then the wheel lifts off the ground, no big deal, if its not bolted then the wagon body lifts off the frame and the wheel stays on the ground, but there isnt any weigh on it still, the weight is on the other 3 wheels just like if it were bolted rigid. i also like bolting them down because then it gives the front and rear axles a more rigid connection than just relying on the 2 inch pipe in the middle. but thats just my opinion, im sure others will tell me i am all wrong, but so far none of my wagons have had a problem nor any of my friends wagons that are bolted at all 4 corners

 

[rambler]

For a hayrack that gets loaded from the rear, bolt the 2 rear corners down.

For grain wagons, all kinds of different ways, but a chain or cable is used to tie it down, but loose enough to allow it to flex.

--->Paul

 

[kensfarm]

I bought the wagon gear from Northern Tool.. I ran 4 2x6 beams from Front to back.. then attached 4 2x6 layed flat width wise evenly spaced across the beams.. then finished w/ 2x6's layed flat from front to back. This gave enough height & clearance so the wagon bed could be as wide as the wheel width. I fastened all beams to the frame w/ U bolts. How much did that wagon gear cost?

 

[MadReferee]

Using the IE serach function, I found the manufacturer. Take a look here.

E-Z Trail Farm Wagons

 

[Roto]

The running gear I think the model 890 with 90 inch width and 8 ton capacity was $1200 and the materials for the bed is $200 from local mill and that makes around $1500 total with tax and bolts and lags. You can get the bed from the dealer too but its $800 and I can build for less then $300 so its not worth it. Basically you just take two--4x8x18 feet long and stand them on end and bolt in the 4 corners (or 2) and lay 2x8's around 9 feet long across them spaced about 3/4 inch and thats about it. I am also putting 2x4's the length under the outside to keep that strait and it can be done in a couple hours. I saw the factory ones and they just nailed the 2x8's down but I am lagging them down since the flexing may lift the nails out.

The dealers main reason was the bolts shearing or breaking.
The only way I think they would shear or break is if you had the bolts the exactly size as the hole in the steel and wood and too tight. The holes are 9/16" in the steel and I may drill 9/16" in the wood as well and put half inch bolts through there and double lock nut it not quite tight. A 1/16" doesnt sound like much but it flops around in there. That will leave a little room for flexing and may keep bolts from breaking but I may just crank them tight and call it good. Some more input here would be nice from hay wagon owners.

Mike

 

[sweettractors]

The most common method of securing the flats to the gear in this area is to have 1 bolt in front and 1 bolt on opposite corner in back--this keeps both ends secure and also allows plenty of flex--We use this method on six 20 ft long flat hay/tobacco wagons on our farm--Ken Sweet
Sweet Farm Equipment LLC *New "Kory" 8 ton Wagon Gears $795-10 Ton $895*

 

[Roto]

I dont see how opposite corners will work. If you look at the attachment picture I have in the first post and imagine that the tire on the tail-gate and the opposite corner are the ones without the 2 bolts as you mention opposite corners then the wagon would still twist as much as if all 4 were bolted because the 2 bolted corners are on the ground. I think that opposite corners will only work if you happen to have the right corner hit the dip or hump but thats only 50% of the time. I see this is one of those topics in which there is no clear answer or correct way. There was no manuel with mine but I wonder if the manufacturer recommends a certain way?

Mike

 

[RickB]

Back in the day, I owned 10 kicker racks and 4 gravity boxes. I always bolted the rear bolster stakes to the stringers and chained the fronts. I left enough slack in the chains so the gear could flex if it wanted to, but not enough so the stringer could jump over the bolster stake. Over boring the holes and/or leaving the bolts loose will cause them to shear more quickly than tightening them properly in correctly sized holes.