Hay wagon building tips needed

draftx

Member
Finally got a nice 6 ton EZ trail gear. Got it all wire brushed primed and painted. Got treated 4 X 6's for the 2 main beams going to get some white oak cross members cut. What is the best way to attach them to the 4 X6s . Plane to use white oak 1x 6 for the floor.
 
We used all fir to make our hay wagons. We used long carriage bolts to bolt the 4X6 cross members to the main stringers. That white oak is going to add a lot of unnecessary weight to the bed. Will the white oak for the floor be planed smooth? Rough oak would be too hard to drag bales across.

If the cross members are not secured well, the cross members will have a tendency to "roll" if a load is pulled up an incline.
 
I make mine out of larch, but oak is good too - as mentioned, it is heavy though.
I attach the cross ties to the main beams with 2"x2" angle, with 3/8" holes drilled in them. Then use carriage bolts to attaché the angle to the cross ties and beam.
You'll also want to cover the top of your beams with flashing or break metal. If you don't, hay will collect and rot them out
I pull mine with a pickup quite a bit, so I extend the reach to get the rear tires as far back as possible, to reduce sway.
Good luck
Pete
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I recently rebuilt the deck of one of my kicker wagons. I used 5/4x6inchwhite oak for the crossmembers. There are loops that bolt over the ends of the cross members that hold the uprights for the sides. These loops dictate the thickness of the cross-members. The old deck was a good twenty years old. 2X on the flashing over the cross members.
 
Years ago when I did small square bales I built many hay wagons/racks and after a few years of use they would loosen up and flop around. . One day while travel to a sale I spied a hay wagon that seemed different than most.... stopped and inspected it. The farmer/engineer extended the middle two(on each side) vertical/side braces below the bed and ran a hardwood brace across the underside of the wagon bed. The middle braces are then secured at two points..the bed and the under the deck brace.. I copied the design and my hemlock racks lasted over 20 years. Of significance is that the sides didn't "flop" around. I'm 74 now and long past throwing small squares around.. we use the big round balers for hay and baleage. To build a hay rack any other way is plain foolish.
 
I toenail the cross members to the main beams with large nails. I prefer a rough cut floor as a smooth floor becomes dangerously slippery when covered with a thin layer of chaff and dust from the bales. Even a rough floor will get slippery, it just takes more buildup to cause it. First wagon I built lasted about 10 years and then the rough cut hemlock rotted and I had to replace a lot of boards last year. Soon I will redo the whole wagon, probably next year as this year is getting too busy with replacing the pole barn. The wagon sits outside all year.
Zach
 
I just used 16' stringers and put 8' 2X8" PT stock cross ways with a 16' 2X4" under the outside to keep a low profile. After 10 years of living outside, it's still holding up well.
I do spray it once a year with used oil.
 
Search my posts. I posted pictures of how I build mine on 4-15-11.Its a design that has worked well for us.
 
Here is a pretty good read on hay wagon design

http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=ttalk&th=1562803
 
I do about the same as Jim. I actually use 5/4 decking, and run a pair of angle iron braces from the bottom of the beam out to the sides so it doesn't sag.

Anyhow, with this design, I oil the top of the stringers, and put a sheet of valley tin on the top of them, then put the planks across. I just rebuilt the decking for the 3rd time a few years ago on my hayrack that I'd well past 50 years old, used the same original stringers, no rot on them and they've been outside a lot.

Hay likes to catch in the cracks between the decking and rots the stringers in that little notch, the tin stops that.

Paul
 
we've always used galvanized c-channel rails with the pressure treated floor boards carriage bolted to those. Mostly because we have a cheap source for the channels.

Never had any trouble with pressure treated 2x6's as floor boards. They stay out in the weather, and hold up well enough. Thought we might see some corrosion problems with the hardware due to the newer chemicals in pt - but doesn't seem to have caused any trouble yet.

Other things to keep in mind - I like having a 1/2" gap between floor boards to allow loose hay to fall through, making things less slippery for anybody stacking. Might even go a little wider (of course boards over time could shrink too - don't want to go TOO wide).

We use carriage bolts to do a 2x4 edge on the sides. Keeps individual board ends from flexing when you step on them, and makes the whole structure a little stronger.

Also a 2x4 toe board across the front makes it at least feel a little safer when you've got a full wagon and you're stacking the front bales. - at least something to keep you from slipping off the front edge.
 
I used 2X8 oak stringers, 2X4 oak cross members and 1X10 poplar deck with 2X6s on the edges. The extra thickness keeps bales from sliding off on side slopes and I can feel when my foot is one the edge. I also run 14 inch radius with the router on all the corners and edges. I don't like splinters.
 
Grandad used white oak gunnels (lengthways stringers) and some type of pine(fir?) 2" x 12" laid flat cross-ways. There was a 3/4" rabbet cut into the sides with a key driven in locking each 2 x 12 together. There was a perimeter 2 x 3 bolted around the outside to retain the sideboards (cottonwood) as this was also used for grain hauling.

Most wagons around here used 3/4" tongue and groove laid lengthways. They were all painted. When stored inside they last multiple lifetimes.

Jay
 
Having built and sold several racks I will give my design. Attach 2x10 or 2x18 as floorboards crossway to the stringers. Bolt perimeter with 2x2x10ga angle iron with match drilled flat underneath. Angle iron ties boards together to distribute load and protect edge. Flat iron underneath is far better than washers that tend to pull through the boards after a few years. 5/16" x 2 1/4" bolts are ideal for perimeter, don't bother with washers. To secure deck boards to wooden stringer is use RSS 5/15" x 4" structural lags with the larger torx head, much better than the typical #10x3" torx screw. I use heavy angle for the back support and anchor to stringers with several 1/2" bolts; no side brace is nice when, not if, you need to get round bales. If you want some pictures I can email them to you. [email protected]
 
Having built and sold several racks I will give my design. Attach 2x10 or 2x18 as floorboards crossway to the stringers. Bolt perimeter with 2x2x10ga angle iron with match drilled flat underneath. Angle iron ties boards together to distribute load and protect edge. Flat iron underneath is far better than washers that tend to pull through the boards after a few years. 5/16" x 2 1/4" bolts are ideal for perimeter, don't bother with washers. To secure deck boards to wooden stringer is use RSS 5/15" x 4" structural lags with the larger torx head, much better than the typical #10x3" torx screw. I use heavy angle for the back support and anchor to stringers with several 1/2" bolts; no side brace is nice when, not if, you need to get round bales. If you want some pictures I can email them to you. [email protected] BTW I typically use true 3z10 stringers under a 8x16 rack so that I dont have to shim the bed up on the bolsters to clear the tires and the 3x10s are 5x stronger than the 4x6s for stringers.
 

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