Help rebuilding a hay wagon

[Robert_in_NY]

You don't need the back rack but if you are stacking hay it does help as it gives you a solid wall to stack against. If you build the wagon without the back rack you can still stack the wagon with hay just fine but you have to make sure you tie the bales together properly and don't let the pile creep backwards while its being stacked. Drive the wagon careful and the load will stay just fine. The problem comes in when you have someone stacking that doesn't know what their doing and you have a big load of hay that isn't tied together and is very wobbly.

 

[aczlan]

When we built ours, we used gluelam beams with 4x4 posts on them and 5/4 decking on top of that.
Overkill, yes but we couldn't get anything heavier than a 4x6 in 4x conventional lumber and we weren't sure that a 4x6 would be strong enough to hold the weight of the bales

See: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/151176-haywagon-rebuild-thread.html for the build thread
I need to update that thread with the "after" pictures one of these days.

Aaron Z

 

[aczlan]

You don't need the back rack but if you are stacking hay it does help as it gives you a solid wall to stack against. If you build the wagon without the back rack you can still stack the wagon with hay just fine but you have to make sure you tie the bales together properly and don't let the pile creep backwards while its being stacked. Drive the wagon careful and the load will stay just fine. The problem comes in when you have someone stacking that doesn't know what their doing and you have a big load of hay that isn't tied together and is very wobbly.

I helped the neighbor finish their field the other week when their baler went down and we found that it is hard to slow a NH belt kicker enough for someone to stack in a non-basket wagon (especially when baling after dark). They had their load well stacked on their flat wagon, but it was MUCH easier to stack when we got out our basket wagon.

Aaron Z

 

[aczlan]

Ok, thanks Tessiers.
So the cross planks must be 2x lumber to be able to span that far.
I like your design, sounds simple which I like.
Treated lumber I guess? I hate that stuff, it's awful bad about warping as it ages. I wish I knew a good local place to get rough sawn oak at a reasonable price, I'd use that. What did you use and were you happy with it?
Also interested to understand the backboard a little better. Do the long beams stick out the back past the deck for that to attach to? I wasn't planning for a back board but that seems to be pretty common so must be worthwhile.

Looking at those pictures (from: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/151176-haywagon-rebuild-thread.html) it appears that they used a pair of 2x12 beams, then notched them for 2x4 crosspieces and put on 2x6 decking.

I have also seen where they put down tall beams, then lay 2x8s sideways across them and put a 2x4 or a piece of angle iron lengthways down the sides to tie the edges together.
Examples:
http://jk.webhost4life.com/jk/equipment-traders/forsale/050311haywagon.jpg
http://jk.webhost4life.com/jk/equipment-traders/forsale/042711hayrack.jpg
http://jk.webhost4life.com/jk/equipment-traders/forsale/052011rack.jpg


Aaron Z

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I helped the neighbor finish their field the other week when their baler went down and we found that it is hard to slow a NH belt kicker enough for someone to stack in a non-basket wagon (especially when baling after dark). They had their load well stacked on their flat wagon, but it was MUCH easier to stack when we got out our basket wagon.

Aaron Z

Remove the drive belt on the thrower and give the guy on the wagon a hay hook and just have him hook the bale as it falls out of the thrower. The plunger will push the bales up through but if you want the bales lighter you will want to remove a couple of the tension springs on top of the thrower that create the clamp effect. When I have had problems with my thrower in the past thats what I had to do to get the hay picked up while waiting for parts to arrive at the dealer.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

When we built ours, we used gluelam beams with 4x4 posts on them and 5/4 decking on top of that.
Overkill, yes but we couldn't get anything heavier than a 4x6 in 4x conventional lumber and we weren't sure that a 4x6 would be strong enough to hold the weight of the bales

See: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/151176-haywagon-rebuild-thread.html for the build thread
I need to update that thread with the "after" pictures one of these days.

Aaron Z

I had to repair a rotted main runner on one of my kicker wagons and it was a 4x8 which wasn't something easy to come by to match up so I built a new beam using standard 2x8's. I took three 18' 2x8's and stained all three individually first, then glued/screwed them together and before I slid it under the rack I bent up a metal cap to cover it and keep the water from sitting against the new beam which is what caused the other beam to rot. If I was building a new wagon from scratch I would strongly recommend bending a metal cap to sit on top the main runners as that is a great place for chaff to sit and hold moisture and even if there is no chaff its a good place for moisture to sit

 

[aczlan]

Remove the drive belt on the thrower and give the guy on the wagon a hay hook and just have him hook the bale as it falls out of the thrower. The plunger will push the bales up through but if you want the bales lighter you will want to remove a couple of the tension springs on top of the thrower that create the clamp effect. When I have had problems with my thrower in the past thats what I had to do to get the hay picked up while waiting for parts to arrive at the dealer.

We dont have springs to hold the top belt down, it is gravity only. I thought of pulling the belt, but we didn't start baling over there until 9:30PM and had to finish that night due to time constraints on their end, so I didn't want to mess with it.
We ran out of twine about midnight and called it night.

If I was building a new wagon from scratch I would strongly recommend bending a metal cap to sit on top the main runners as that is a great place for chaff to sit and hold moisture and even if there is no chaff its a good place for moisture to sit

That is what we did. I got some funny looks from my father-in-law and the guy I was building the wagon with, but figured that it made sense for the reasons you mentioned above.


Aaron Z

 

[Robert_in_NY]

We dont have springs to hold the top belt down, it is gravity only. I thought of pulling the belt, but we didn't start baling over there until 9:30PM and had to finish that night due to time constraints on their end, so I didn't want to mess with it.
We ran out of twine about midnight and called it night.


That is what we did. I got some funny looks from my father-in-law and the guy I was building the wagon with, but figured that it made sense for the reasons you mentioned above.


Aaron Z

How has the weather been where your at? Here in my part of WNY we finally have hay weather. I have 6000 bales promised to customers already and today I finally started baling without getting rained on and picked up 700 bales. I have a long way to go still but will be baling tomorrow and saturday as well. Need to start clicking customers off the list as I am getting tired of the phone calls asking about when I am baling their hay as its pouring rain every other day :confused2:

 

[aczlan]

How has the weather been where your at? Here in my part of WNY we finally have hay weather. I have 6000 bales promised to customers already and today I finally started baling without getting rained on and picked up 700 bales. I have a long way to go still but will be baling tomorrow and saturday as well. Need to start clicking customers off the list as I am getting tired of the phone calls asking about when I am baling their hay as its pouring rain every other day :confused2:

First cutting is in (6-700 small squares) is in the barn. ~100 bales for us, the rest to sell (200 spoken for).
Casualties included the elevator (motor died and the hitch area needs rebuilding), the neighbor's baler (them leaving it out uncovered all the time might have had something to do with that) and a tire on each of the neighbor's wagons.

Aaron Z

 

[sjbrunk0]

If I was building a new wagon from scratch I would strongly recommend bending a metal cap to sit on top the main runners as that is a great place for chaff to sit and hold moisture and even if there is no chaff its a good place for moisture to sit

That sounds like a great idea, and I would not have thought of that. Thanks!