Fence unrolling tow sled, all from scrap

LehighValleyPA · Oct 17, 2010

Here's something for the "low budget" file. If necessity is the mother of invention, this is what happens when necessity has a regrettable hookup with cheapness.

The inspiration was from the first time I tried to install a 330' roll of 4' sheep fence from Tractor Supply. It was not fun; too much manhandling of it. So I whipped up a sled that would hold the fence roll and unspool it when towed by a tractor. (See pics)

This contraption was made 100% from stuff lying around:
- a piece of formica countertop
- some 2x4's
- a round piece of 1/8" plywood with a center hole
- a round fencepost from maybe the Eisenhower era
- two short pieces of 1/2" copper pipe
- two long carriage bolt, nuts, washers
- a piece of 1/2" rebar, bent
- a bungee cord

I bevelled the ends of some 2x4's and mounted them under the countertop for runners. (I've heard of this newfangled "wheel" thing but it's just a fad.) Then I ran a carriage bolt up through the middle of the countertop, and set the 1/8" plywood over that. I drilled a hole in each end of the post and hammered in the pipe pieces. The post was set onto the carriage bolt where it could rotate like an axle.

Another 2x4 was mounted vertically at the front of the sled, as tall as the post. I used the rebar to connect that 2x4 to the top of the post, to hold the post upright and resist the fence tension. From under the countertop I added the other carriage bolt and mounted a 2x4 arm with the bungee to keep tension on the fence spool, so it wouldn't unravel on its own.

So in operation, you take off the rebar and the post, set your spool on the 1/8" plywood, and reinstall the post and rebar. As you drag the sled, the plywood spins on the slippery formica despite the weight of the fence on it, allowing the fence to pay out with a little tension.

This is actually the successful Mark II version. The first one had a non-spinning post axle and no plywood; it didn't make it very far. The Mark II rose from its wreckage and has lasted for two or three spools. In the photos you'll note we should have had the fence unrolling from the other side. Oops.

Sorry for the length of this post, but my fence unrolling sled just cracks me up. That's my long-suffering wife at the wheel of a JD 790.

Runner · Oct 18, 2010

Good idea. Cheap is also good, particularly for something that you won't be using "all the time". I've been thinking of building something to help unroll barbed wire and this gives me some ideas.

Thanks for sharing.

MF1652 · Oct 18, 2010

Work smarter. Not harder. If it's cheap and works, you did well.

6011Artist · Oct 19, 2010

good idea on the wire device build, always looking for a easier way to get my work done.

Runner, 12 yrs ago I was putting up my pastures with high tensil slick wire. It came rolled but with no spool. I already had a reese reciever tube hitch for my tractor, so I built a device using 2" square tubing to work out of the trailer hitch reciever. about a foot of tubing coming straight out, then turned it up right @ 90 degrees. Then I put a piece of solid 1" rod as my pin or axle to put my home made spool on. In your case, weld a piece of pipe to it that will fit through the barbed wire spool. In short, 1 piece coming out of the hitch, one upright to desired height, one turned to the side to hold wire. Easy build that will save you a lot of physical work.

jbooth · Oct 19, 2010

6011Artist said:
good idea on the wire device build, always looking for a easier way to get my work done.

Runner, 12 yrs ago I was putting up my pastures with high tensil slick wire. It came rolled but with no spool. I already had a reese reciever tube hitch for my tractor, so I built a device using 2" square tubing to work out of the trailer hitch reciever. about a foot of tubing coming straight out, then turned it up right @ 90 degrees. Then I put a piece of solid 1" rod as my pin or axle to put my home made spool on. In your case, weld a piece of pipe to it that will fit through the barbed wire spool. In short, 1 piece coming out of the hitch, one upright to desired height, one turned to the side to hold wire. Easy build that will save you a lot of physical work.

Since this started as a "use available material" an old disk blade on the bottom of the barb wire rolls will let the wire unroll smoother. Used to have one that went in the stake pockets of my pick-up. The one I used was used in the vertical position.

tree grower · Oct 21, 2010

Great gizmo for flat land, but not so good on a slope. I put up 8 ft of deer fence (2 tiers of 4 ft) around 5 acres several years ago, and modified my post-hole digger for the purpose. Removed the auger and replaced it with a length of 1" pipe with a 18" diameter plywood washer on the bottom. The roll of wire hung from the gear head just as an auger would. To keep the roll vertical as I drove the tractor forward, I attached a length of chain from the bottom of the pipe (under the washer) to the draw bar. Obviously, there is no need to engage the PTO. My investment was the same as Lehighvalley's---$0. If we could get another 200 million Americans to invest in the same way, our troubles would be over.