Old hay wagon

[LightningCamaroGuy]

This was my dads, dads old wagon. My grandpa passed away in 1994. Me and my dad dug it out of a bunch of overgrowth today. I want to rebuild it. I have 3 daughters who take after their dear old dad, and love tractor rides, so I'm sure they'll love riding on a hay wagon pulled by a tractor.

This thing has drum brakes on all 4 corners. Trying to figure out if this thing is a certain brand, or if it was something my grandpa had pieced together. I know that the front steering setup is slapped together with a bunch of metal and welds, and the round tubing is broken, and held in place by a piece of angle iron that's welded to it.

 

[Southernspeed]

I pulled one out of the woods a few weeks ago. Just finished a 'resto' job on it today. It was a good project and will now be used for hauling hay on the farm, oh and for my wife's 'Fall display'
That looks very homemade in every way apart from maybe the cross beams? Big project!!

 

[oosik]

Certainly does look home made. I built this one about fourteen years ago. I bought a brand new ten ton Horst undercarriage. Built it up from there. I use it to haul large rocks and chunks of pine tree trunk.

 

[Southernspeed]

Certainly does look home made. I built this one about fourteen years ago. I bought a brand new ten ton Horst undercarriage. Built it up from there. I use it to haul large rocks and chunks of pine tree trunk.
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Good idea with the stake sides!

 

[CH4Ohio]

If you can get grease into the pivot points and get the wheels to spin freely, then all you really need is to tear off the old wood, blow some paint on the frame, add new tires and a new wood deck. If the wheels are rusted beyond use that will add even more to the parts list dollars. Don't expect to be able to buy wheels or spindles or other "standard" wagon parts that fit.

It's definitely homemade. I wouldn't be surprised if they removed the brake shoes and internal brake hardware when they put it together. (?) Shouldn't matter but it would just be added weight that might rust up over time and keep it from rolling freely.

If the wheels will spin and the steering will move from side to side, it might be worth fixing for the sentimental value. Nothing handier than an old hay wagon . . .

 

[oosik]

Southernspeed - yes - for what I haul; those 2x8 side boards are more than enough. I've had the farm wagon for quite a while and STILL learning on how to back it up. Anyhow - it sure comes in handy around the property.

 

[LightningCamaroGuy]

I think I'm going to cut out the piece of large angle that's holding the center tubing together, weld in a section of round tubing in its place, and then probably run maybe a .25x2.5x2.5 square tube between the axles on top of that to brace it even more. Act the same way a subframe connector on a Foxbody Mustang or other vehicle acts. I may even use square tubing the same height as the axles to sit flush with the tops of them. I'm also thinking about trying to source some old C-channel beams to use instead of timbers to run the length of the main support for the top boards. Maybe even build a frame around them with some angle that the board would fit in and screw to. The I could mount some I-bolt or whatnot to the frame to tie round bales and things like this down with.

 

[Southernspeed]

I think I'm going to cut out the piece of large angle that's holding the center tubing together, weld in a section of round tubing in its place, and then probably run maybe a .25x2.5x2.5 square tube between the axles on top of that to brace it even more. Act the same way a subframe connector on a Foxbody Mustang or other vehicle acts. I may even use square tubing the same height as the axles to sit flush with the tops of them. I'm also thinking about trying to source some old C-channel beams to use instead of timbers to run the length of the main support for the top boards. Maybe even build a frame around them with some angle that the board would fit in and screw to. The I could mount some I-bolt or whatnot to the frame to tie round bales and things like this down with.

Project’s getting bigger !!

 

[Southernspeed]

Southernspeed - yes - for what I haul; those 2x8 side boards are more than enough. I've had the farm wagon for quite a while and STILL learning on how to back it up. Anyhow - it sure comes in handy around the property.

My goodness… backing them up! Took mine for its maiden voyage this morning. Backed it up behind my other trailers, couldn’t believe how tricky they are!! Yet I’ve seen guys back a train of these!

 

[mo1]

This was my dads, dads old wagon. My grandpa passed away in 1994. Me and my dad dug it out of a bunch of overgrowth today. I want to rebuild it. I have 3 daughters who take after their dear old dad, and love tractor rides, so I'm sure they'll love riding on a hay wagon pulled by a tractor.

This thing has drum brakes on all 4 corners. Trying to figure out if this thing is a certain brand, or if it was something my grandpa had pieced together. I know that the front steering setup is slapped together with a bunch of metal and welds, and the round tubing is broken, and held in place by a piece of angle iron that's welded to it.

View attachment 809930View attachment 809931View attachment 809932View attachment 809933View attachment 809934View attachment 809935

That looks like homemade running gear under that wagon with the hubs coming from an automobile. That would explain the "slapped together steering" and the drum brakes on the hubs.

Southernspeed - yes - for what I haul; those 2x8 side boards are more than enough. I've had the farm wagon for quite a while and STILL learning on how to back it up. Anyhow - it sure comes in handy around the property.

Backing up a wagon is a lot different than backing up other implements or trailers as the tongue steers the front axle rather than causing the trailer/implement to pivot around the axle(s). You have to concentrate solely on pushing the wagon tongue right or left to steer the wagon in order to back it up. It takes practice. This takes some quick steering in order to get the tractor to turn enough to "chase" the tongue to complete some turns. The sharper the turning radius of your tractor, the easier it will be to back up the wagon and the less space it will take you to do so. Having individual wheel brakes helps too. A lot of people will use a front hitch or drill a hole in a pallet fork and hook the wagon to that so they can drive forward to push the wagon backward. That is easier because you can turn the tongue much quicker going forward as the distance between the steer axle and the drawbar pin is a lot shorter from the front than the rear, plus you don't have to "steer backwards" in order to move the tongue the correct direction.

An old farm wagon is handy to have around. Mine is an old (probably 1960s) 10 ton Westendorf running gear with a 6 1/2' x 14 barge box on it. The box has stake sides similar to oosik's, but the sides are taller. It has come in handy.