Manure Spreader?

[ametcalf]

Has anyone ever used a manure spreader to haul top soil? Right now I am loading a dump wagon with my BX23 and pulling and dumping it with our old Allis 5040. Because of the way I have it set up I am not very good at tail gating the dump so the dirt ends up in a pile and then I have to spread it with the BX23. I got to thinking that if I used a PTO driven manure spreader and disconnected the beaters I might be able to haul and spread the dirt from the manure spreader with just the chain on the floor dumping it out the back as I drive forward. Another advantage is that we have had lawn care people dump leaves on our farm and so we have some good two plus year old leaf mulch. We also have an unlimited supply of horse manure about 3 miles away that we can have for the hauling. I think a manure spreader would be worth the investment if I can use it to haul and spread dirt. Any ideas will be appreciated.

 

[sweettractors]

I would not load the topsoil very deep. We have several on hand and just bought a cherry Massey Ferguson ground drive today. Ken Sweet

 

[ametcalf]

I would not load the topsoil very deep. We have several on hand and just bought a cherry Massey Ferguson ground drive today. Ken Sweet

Ken, that was a quick response, thanks. I was thinking along the lines of about 1 foot deep or 2 at the most. I imagine that if it works a little testing will tell me how deep I could load it. I just don't know if the chain along the floor is strong enough to pull even 1 foot of dirt out the back. The advantage of a PTO driven spreader is that I think the dump speed and the ground speed would be independent of each other allowing the depth on the ground of the dumped material to be controlled easier. I may be wrong about this and am anxious to learn. I haven't used a manure spreader (at least the mechanical kind) for 50 years since I was a teenager so I am not sure if my ideas are even practical.

 

[sweettractors]

Ken, that was a quick response, thanks. I was thinking along the lines of about 1 foot deep or 2 at the most. I imagine that if it works a little testing will tell me how deep I could load it. I just don't know if the chain along the floor is strong enough to pull even 1 foot of dirt out the back. The advantage of a PTO driven spreader is that I think the dump speed and the ground speed would be independent of each other allowing the depth on the ground of the dumped material to be controlled easier. I may be wrong about this and am anxious to learn. I haven't used a manure spreader (at least the mechanical kind) for 50 years since I was a teenager so I am not sure if my ideas are even practical.

PTO drive spreaders are nice until you overload them and blow the gears in the box or bust the cast housing holding the gears. Simple is usually better. Ken Sweet