Wood preservative for hay wagon.

[Quickster2]

Completed wagon. 1st cutting hay down. It will get broken in this weekend. Added kick plate to front will also help the baler chute slide around during tight turns. Will rebuild the back support once things slow down around here a bit. $1250 all in it should outlast me. All treated lumber and over 1000 deck screws. 2nd pic is after the 4 coats of 50:50 used oil & diesel. 100 structural 8" screws through the 2X4's and into the frame. Solid as a rock.

 

[ArlyA]

I'd suggest you use a good or mid quality deck sealer. Its made for the job you have and will last longer than other chemicals mentioned.. My folks used linseed oil for their homes wood siding and it didn't last long enough to warrant its lower cost..

 

[LouNY]

Good luck getting your hay in.

 

[hube2]

I would've skipped the diesel. I just did my trailer with straight old oil. It takes a little longer to soak in that way, just leave it in the sun. Old oils is free. I also like the way it makes the wood look... carbon black stain

 

[Quickster2]

I'd suggest you use a good or mid quality deck sealer. Its made for the job you have and will last longer than other chemicals mentioned.. My folks used linseed oil for their homes wood siding and it didn't last long enough to warrant its lower cost..

After the treated lumber dries out for a few weeks I'll use Superdeck Canyon Brown transparent oil based stain on the decking. We use that on our fence boards, house siding, deck, and the carriage shed as well as our cabin in KY. Best transparent stain I've used in over 30 years of "experimenting". Thx

 

[Quickster2]

Good luck getting your hay in.

Blew a hose on the Hesston 1091 hydraulics late yesterday. Only got front field mowed which now was probably a good thing as it rained this AM and the new forecast includes rain Sunday AM. In hindsight it is good I only have about 1/3 of our hay down. Tractor supply had new hose available (cheap Chinese crap) but back in business once the weather forecast improves. The reason I say crap Chinese is because the same hose in two exact packages off the shelf 1 had 3500 max & 1 had 4000 max WIP with different sized fittings to put the wrench on. At least the threaded end 1/2" fittings were the same. Back together and no leaks so good for now. Now hoping to bale Saturday.

 

[oosik]

The deck on my farm wagon is 5/4 T&G plywood. I used VERY hot linseed oil - put on with a cotton mop. Wait a week and put on a second coating.

 

[mo1]

So I've stripped off all my top decking to my hay wagon. The 4X4 cross pieces or joists and the undercarriage wood is in decent shape. I plan to double up and sandwich the "joists" with treated 2X4's on either side and use 5/4 treated decking for the top. My question is what is everyone utilizing for a wood preservative on the untreated wood? I've pressure washed the untreated wood, had two applications of Wash Safe Supreme to kill any mildew, and 1 final pressure wash rinse. I'll let it dry for 3 days before applying some form of wood preservative before installing the new decking. I don't want to do this again for many years. Everything will be screwed together going back in. Thx

I would paint any untreated wood with a good exterior paint such as one of the few oil-based gloss paints still out there. Even at that, I would expect to replace it in a handful of years as being stored outside will degrade the paint and the wood will rot. The only way to really make untreated wood last is to store it inside of a shed. My old wagon is made of untreated wood, and it has held up fine for over 50 years by being stored in a shed. The only wood I've had to replace are the runners, as the 3" x 6" runners initially used were crushed where they sat on the axle frames.

Also, 5/4 decking is a little light for a hay wagon, generally this is 2" tongue and groove dimensional lumber.

 

[oosik]

I have no knowledge regarding hauling hay. I use my farm wagon to haul LARGE rocks and HUGE sections of pine tree trunk. It's held up fine for ten years now. One of the rocks and a section of pine tree trunk that I've hauled.

 

[Quickster2]

I would paint any untreated wood with a good exterior paint such as one of the few oil-based gloss paints still out there. Even at that, I would expect to replace it in a handful of years as being stored outside will degrade the paint and the wood will rot. The only way to really make untreated wood last is to store it inside of a shed. My old wagon is made of untreated wood, and it has held up fine for over 50 years by being stored in a shed. The only wood I've had to replace are the runners, as the 3" x 6" runners initially used were crushed where they sat on the axle frames.

Also, 5/4 decking is a little light for a hay wagon, generally this is 2" tongue and groove dimensional lumber.

I initially painted the decking (which was new when I bought the wagon) with oil based premium barn paint. Did not last 5 years and the wood all rotted out. Never going with paint again on that type of application. I'm very satisfied with the diesel & oil mix on the undercarriage and original cross beams. The original decking was 1" rough sawn oak. The 5/4 boards are thicker and with the doubling of the cross beams or joists the span is also reduced. I only bale square bales with the Massey 120 so I'm overkill now compared to the structure before the rebuild. The equipment never leaves my 10+ acres. Only got into doing my own hay because the folks that did it around me all retired. The bigger farmers around me are all too busy. Thx for the comments.