hay wagon question

R

r3ritter

New User

• May 3, 2017

• #1

Is the back rack on a hay wagon supposed to be angled back, or are they usually just bent back from use? I am building a new fiberglass bed and need to desigh the back stop. Thanks.

 

WI Dan

Well-known Member

Location

Northern Wisconsin, Price County

• May 3, 2017

• #1

the angle helps to keep haystacks tight on the wagon. The idea is to avoid falling forward.
Doesn't take much. Just an angle degree or two.

Ours were built of wood. We left just a bit of slop in the brackets and they would lean back naturally.

 

M

Mike(NEOhio)

Well-known Member

Location

Newbury, Ohio

• May 3, 2017

• #1

Ours were always square but next one I build may be angled. I have quite a bit of downhill baling.

 

K

Ken Macfarlane

Well-known Member

• May 3, 2017

• #1

A good angle back lets you be a bit more lazy stacking as fewer joints line up exactly. Also you have a steeper face without it falling over so you can stand on the deck longer.

 

P

paul

Well-known Member

• May 3, 2017

• #1

As others say, it's much easier to stack a load with a tiny bit of angle to the back. Doesn't need much. Sure helps if you are actually stacking bales.

Paul

 

chuck machinist

Well-known Member

• May 3, 2017

• #1

That takes me back a few years. The hardest part
was stacking the last three bales, and hope my
brother didn't throw the clutch in to fast. Hee hee

 

db4600

Well-known Member

• May 3, 2017

• #1

Holy steel wagon Batman! That there looks well built. It brought to mind the old John Deere that made the smaller bales. I forget the model number but it something like a 12"x14"x36" bale. the baler was hydraulically tensioned to pack a tighter bale and the thought was to pack more into a smaller space to save space. If I recall it was aimed at the horse hay market where small facilities might be encountered. The drawback they realized ws that it did infact make a more dense and heavier bale which resulted in overloading the trailer and causing failure.

I vote for the angled back rack.

 

C

Cory Schmidt

Well-known Member

• May 3, 2017

• #1

we always built a lean in to the back rack...only 2 to 4 inches off square at 5feet up rack...with out lean you have to start around 2-3 inches out from rack then each layer go back a 1/2in or so to get the lean needed to keep the pile from falling forward. Piles move around more at top, causing bales to be more likely to tip off. Loads that piles are "tied" together from the lean don't shift as much as straight stacks, therefore hold better for transport.

 

R

Ray IN

Member

• May 3, 2017

• #1

If it were steel, I suppose the tires would be looking a little more squatted! This fiberglass stuff is quite light, but seems very strong. I used it because it is easier to clean and wood is not allowed/recommended for melons anymore.

 

L

Leroy

Well-known Member

• May 3, 2017

• #1

Did not know anybody ever put a lean on them intententionaly. Most had flop in from being made loose. I know ours never had it designed in. And no problem loading.

 

C

Cory Schmidt

Well-known Member

• May 3, 2017

• #1

"last three bales...didn't throw clutch in to fast"....sounds like you piled loads like I do... Right to the front edge :shock:

 

chuck machinist

Well-known Member

• May 3, 2017

• #1

yes we did. I popped the clutch on my brother Pastor John once before he was a pastor Case dc-3 and a JD 14t baler. I only did that one time!CM

 

J

jdfamily

Member

• May 4, 2017

• #1

Yea I threw way too many bales on those wagons, and alphlfa was the worst, so heavy. You could kind of get used to the motion of the baler, but when the driver stopped you had better not be in mid swing with a bale, particularly on the front of the wagon. We always went four or five layers high, unless the last load then no limit

 

L

Leroy

Well-known Member

• May 4, 2017

• #1

Never heard of that about melons. Could you elaberate on that. Local, state or national? Have a friend that raises a lot of melons and is head of the produce growers that have a weekly produce auction. Has nothing but wood wagons. He is 60 mile northwest of me but there is also a produce auction about 45 mile east of me. Never went to either but could if I wanted.

 

G

GVSII

Member

• May 4, 2017

• #1

In the old days that lean back was built in.

 

K

K Effective

Well-known Member

• May 4, 2017

• #1

I have gone to extra measures to build my racks square, but they end up leaning back, no matter how hard I tried. We load the wagons six full layers high and add a seventh "tie-together" layer. Seven high will just fit in the overhead door of the pole barn.

I also build the last wagon 18 feet long, to leave an extra few feet in the front, and now we can get five banks long on the wagon: five bales per group, six layers high with four on top to "tie-in", times five is 170 per load. Tight fit if pulled right behind the baler.

Where did you get the fiberglass to build the deck?

 

OP

OP

R

r3ritter

New User

• May 5, 2017

• #1

Its part of what they call "Good Agricultural Practices" for food safety. If a produce grower wants to have third-party inspection or audit for a safety certification, then they would not pass if they used wood wagons. Too hard to clean bacteria out of the cracks. The federal govt. recently passed a new food safety rule, which has different levels of requirements, depending on the size of the operation, whether sold wholesale or retail, etc.

 

OP

OP

R

r3ritter

New User

• May 5, 2017

• #1

The fiberglass came from the Amish guy who builds fences with it. He gets surplus from a factory in
Pennsylvania. the guy I know is in Odon Indiana. Waglers Fencing

 

D

Dale39

Member

• May 5, 2017

• #1

You have a beautiful shop! And being an electrical contractor, I can't help but notice the bus duct system you have hanging up at the ceiling. You are well equipped, electrically speaking, my friend! Oh, and the hay wagon looks good too :lol: