EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
The more chickens my wife hatches, the more feed I have to buy. I also buy feed for goats and horses. I'm spending a stupid amount of money feeding all these animals, and I'm trying to figure out a way to save a buck so she can have more animals. Joking. I enjoy the animals too, but I would like to spend less money on them if I can.
I talked to a local Farm Supply store the other day that just started selling bulk feed from a couple of silo type things. You drive under them and they fill up your barrels, or whatever you have, with either 14% all stock, or cattle cubes. The 14% is .23 cents a pound. That's about $4 less per sack that I'm paying for feed at Atwood's. Tractor Supply is even more!!!
Has anybody done this? What should I know before doing it?
I don't have anything to put the feed in, so I'm thinking about buying a barrel to give it a try. I just hate the idea of scooping feed out of a barrel. I have a couple of IBC totes that are not doing anything, but I'm not sure how well feed would come out of them. I'm guessing it might create more problems then solve.
Buying a trailer has been my goal, but it's tax season and I owe lots of money. I'm also paying off my brother mortgage, and I'm helping my mom with her bills now that my dad has passed away. It doesn't make sense for me to go into debt to buy a trailer right now.
Hotwoods has one called the Versa Tote, but I wasn't impressed by the YouTube video that I saw of it, or any other brand. Their 3,000 pound capacity trailer is $3,550 and about an hour away from my place. The exact same trailer is also for sale in Alabama for $3,200 with a different paint job. I have no idea who actually makes them, they both claim to make them, which appears to be a lie. I've also watched some reviews of other brands on YouTube, and they all have their issues.
protatch.com
My wife suggested that I build my own on one of our single axle trailers that we have sitting out back that don't really have any use for. Just a plywood box type of thing. Has anybody done this before?
I'm thinking that I could put something together for a couple hundred bucks, but I have a few concerns.
Why don't the trailers for sale have springs? Their axles are welded solid to the frame. Are leaf springs bad?
The trailer for sale at the Farm Supply store with the bulk feed tanks has a sticker on it saying not to exceed 25mph. That seems kind of crazy to me. Reading on the other websites, I saw 60mph to be the limit for their trailers. I also read that they recommend 35 psi in the tires for towing empty, and 60 psi when full. This also seems kind of crazy to me.
I have two design ideas in mind. One is to copy what the metal trailers did with their tanks. Build a box with a funnel to the back where the feed would come out. This would be top heavy and probably lead to issues when towing if I go too fast, or if the springs bounce too much. I might be over thinking this, but since I've never done it before, I'm hoping for some advice. I can see issues with the funnel working properly over time because plywood might start to hold the feed and built up material. I'll probably have to do a good cleaning before refilling it every time.
The other design idea is to just make a box. Kind of like the barrel method, but make it bigger then a barrel, and just two or three feet tall so we can reach into it to scoop the feed out. Probably 45 the corners for extra strength, but also to stop feed from building up there. I'd have to come up with an easy to lift lid, but I don't see that as being too difficult. To keep the weight over the axle, I'm thinking that it should be a rectangle. I would have to use a hoe of some kind to pull the feed back to the rear of the trailer for scooping. What am I missing with this design?
Weight is an issue. I'm thinking that I'd buy a ton at a time. That keeps my cost under $500 per trip, and that should last long enough to be worthwhile. More would be better, but the single axle trailer just has five bolt wheels and I'm guessing 3,500 a pound axle.
Does anybody know the math for figuring out what feed would weigh per square foot? I might try figuring out the dimensions for a 40 pound sack of feed and go from there.
What else am I missing? Good idea, dumb idea? Other ideas?
Thanks,
Eddie
I talked to a local Farm Supply store the other day that just started selling bulk feed from a couple of silo type things. You drive under them and they fill up your barrels, or whatever you have, with either 14% all stock, or cattle cubes. The 14% is .23 cents a pound. That's about $4 less per sack that I'm paying for feed at Atwood's. Tractor Supply is even more!!!
Has anybody done this? What should I know before doing it?
I don't have anything to put the feed in, so I'm thinking about buying a barrel to give it a try. I just hate the idea of scooping feed out of a barrel. I have a couple of IBC totes that are not doing anything, but I'm not sure how well feed would come out of them. I'm guessing it might create more problems then solve.
Buying a trailer has been my goal, but it's tax season and I owe lots of money. I'm also paying off my brother mortgage, and I'm helping my mom with her bills now that my dad has passed away. It doesn't make sense for me to go into debt to buy a trailer right now.
Hotwoods has one called the Versa Tote, but I wasn't impressed by the YouTube video that I saw of it, or any other brand. Their 3,000 pound capacity trailer is $3,550 and about an hour away from my place. The exact same trailer is also for sale in Alabama for $3,200 with a different paint job. I have no idea who actually makes them, they both claim to make them, which appears to be a lie. I've also watched some reviews of other brands on YouTube, and they all have their issues.
Versa-Tote Grain Cart — Hotwood's
protatch.com
My wife suggested that I build my own on one of our single axle trailers that we have sitting out back that don't really have any use for. Just a plywood box type of thing. Has anybody done this before?
I'm thinking that I could put something together for a couple hundred bucks, but I have a few concerns.
Why don't the trailers for sale have springs? Their axles are welded solid to the frame. Are leaf springs bad?
The trailer for sale at the Farm Supply store with the bulk feed tanks has a sticker on it saying not to exceed 25mph. That seems kind of crazy to me. Reading on the other websites, I saw 60mph to be the limit for their trailers. I also read that they recommend 35 psi in the tires for towing empty, and 60 psi when full. This also seems kind of crazy to me.
I have two design ideas in mind. One is to copy what the metal trailers did with their tanks. Build a box with a funnel to the back where the feed would come out. This would be top heavy and probably lead to issues when towing if I go too fast, or if the springs bounce too much. I might be over thinking this, but since I've never done it before, I'm hoping for some advice. I can see issues with the funnel working properly over time because plywood might start to hold the feed and built up material. I'll probably have to do a good cleaning before refilling it every time.
The other design idea is to just make a box. Kind of like the barrel method, but make it bigger then a barrel, and just two or three feet tall so we can reach into it to scoop the feed out. Probably 45 the corners for extra strength, but also to stop feed from building up there. I'd have to come up with an easy to lift lid, but I don't see that as being too difficult. To keep the weight over the axle, I'm thinking that it should be a rectangle. I would have to use a hoe of some kind to pull the feed back to the rear of the trailer for scooping. What am I missing with this design?
Weight is an issue. I'm thinking that I'd buy a ton at a time. That keeps my cost under $500 per trip, and that should last long enough to be worthwhile. More would be better, but the single axle trailer just has five bolt wheels and I'm guessing 3,500 a pound axle.
Does anybody know the math for figuring out what feed would weigh per square foot? I might try figuring out the dimensions for a 40 pound sack of feed and go from there.
What else am I missing? Good idea, dumb idea? Other ideas?
Thanks,
Eddie
