Looking for recommendations for a hay wagon

I'm looking for some advise about hay wagons. I need something to transport bails in the field and over the road with the pickup. I have no experience with manufactures or features to look for. If you have some thoughts I would greatly appreciate your input.

Thank you, Greg
 

Correct, small square bail. I may be able to purchase round bails also but the hay off our fields would be small square
 
Go to an auction and buy a running gear and build
your own deck to your needs. Around here they
have a habit of separating gravity boxes from their
running gear to sell them separate. That always
means several running gears at each sale. I think all
of mine are Electric. They make good wagons and I
have the frame stretched pretty far on some of
them.

They only things you need to watch out for are the
hitch components and the front spindles. If it has
been forced through deep mud to feed cattle the
front spindles will sometimes be bent. Also, pick up
the hitch and see how play it has in it. Backing a
wagon with a mile of slop in the tongue is murder.
Not to mention that they track REALLY well going
down the road. I have an Electric gear with an
Anthony feed box on it that I spent a day heating
things and welding in shims to tighten it up. It's
actually useable now.
 
(quoted from post at 23:21:20 09/15/15) Go to an auction and buy a running gear and build
your own deck to your needs. Around here they
have a habit of separating gravity boxes from their
running gear to sell them separate. That always
means several running gears at each sale. I think all
of mine are Electric. They make good wagons and I
have the frame stretched pretty far on some of
them.

They only things you need to watch out for are the
hitch components and the front spindles. If it has
been forced through deep mud to feed cattle the
front spindles will sometimes be bent. Also, pick up
the hitch and see how play it has in it. Backing a
wagon with a mile of slop in the tongue is murder.
Not to mention that they track REALLY well going
down the road. I have an Electric gear with an
Anthony feed box on it that I spent a day heating
things and welding in shims to tighten it up. It's
actually useable now.

Sounds like a good plan. What weight rating is recommended and what is a ballpark for prices?
 
(quoted from post at 04:52:27 09/16/15)

Sounds like a good plan. What weight rating is recommended and what is a ballpark for prices?

Both depend on what you're building. Bigger beds will take heavier loads and require bigger gears. Do you have a thrower or are you hand loading them? An 8X16 thrower rack will reliably hold 140 bales tossed or 180 bales stacked (more if you stack above the cage). You can get by with a 5 ton gear. I prefer to have too much gear under a wagon, so I have 7 and 8 ton gears under my racks. 5-8 ton running gears typically sell for $150 for poor ones to $1000 for really nice ones here in SW WI. You can often snag a better deal on one if it has a junk gravity box, thrower rack, or forage wagon on it.

I *just* built an 8X16 rack. It cost me $280 for rough sawn Burr Oak lumber from a local saw mill and $70 in 40d ring shank nails and carriage bolts. The same size deck in treated lumber would have cost $350 in wood plus hardware.

Don't skimp on the deck if you think you might haul rounds. one of those decks built on 2 by 12 main beams and cross boards won't hold up to the abuse of loading and unloading rounds.


mvphoto27724.jpg
 
I like 20 ft wagons vs 16 footers. I can get the same amount of bales on a 20, but stacked lower, 4 high or 5 in a pinch. More stable loads on my hilly ground. Dumping a load off the side and then restacking is no fun.


Also easier to find loader/stacker help if they don't have to go so high....or if it is you!

Not all wagons are road worthy. Many of my old on-the-farm wagons are fine for 2 MPH trips on the farm, but not worth a dime on the highway, darting and weaving.

A trailer behind a pickup is more stable going down the road.
 
The best trailing gears ever built were the John Deere 953 at 4 ton rating and the 963 at 5 ton rating and was the heaviest gear Deere built for years untill the 4 digit models. And a 953 was normall used with a 16' bed, 18' just too far to walk when bales are pushing up fast for loading. And full load on 16' bed was considered 120 bale with bales normally about 40-45# per bale. These gears were built in 40's up to early 60's and still gear only I buy for dealer to resell and pay up to $450 with tires not considered as most will have the rubber tire junked and steel wheels at $80 each put on. So that means when they get on his lot ready to go at about $900 for gear only.
 
(quoted from post at 10:35:17 09/16/15) The best trailing gears ever built were the John Deere 953 at 4 ton rating and the 963 at 5 ton rating and was the heaviest gear Deere built for years untill the 4 digit models. And a 953 was normall used with a 16' bed, 18' just too far to walk when bales are pushing up fast for loading. And full load on 16' bed was considered 120 bale with bales normally about 40-45# per bale. These gears were built in 40's up to early 60's and still gear only I buy for dealer to resell and pay up to $450 with tires not considered as most will have the rubber tire junked and steel wheels at $80 each put on. So that means when they get on his lot ready to go at about $900 for gear only.

I have found 3 units between 400-900 locally. There is a Gehl with no deck that was refurbished and painted. A New Idea with deck and a Gruesbeck. Most of the hay farms locally I could take the tractor and trailer. It sounds like a tight front end is key to road towing
 
Tight is nessary but towing good also involves the camber and caster of the front wheels so if that is off no mater how tight the steering is it will never tow good at speeds. And most companys as long as it towed reasoably well at tractor speeds did not bother to fine tune things for pulling behind a truck.
 
I have several John Deere 953 and 963 wagons and they are good. I also have a couple of 1065 gears and they don't pull on the road as good as
the old ones for some reason. Most of my beds are 18 ft, one 20' and a couple 16'. I usually get about 110 bales on the 16' beds and 125 on
the 18's an. 150 one the 20.
 
Do you have help on loading on the 18 & 20' beds? I had a 18' and with me driving and Dad loading behind a New Holland 66 engine powered baler I had to slow down begause it was too far to walk with each bale he could not keep up with the capacity of that small baler. Hard enough at start on the 16' beds.
 
We've got 2 8x18 wagons I stack on, and the start of the wagon is a bit of a hustle. After that, it's no problem and I can stack right around 165+ on those 2. On our 16' wagons, I can get around 150. I stack 6 high. This last year we had 7 wagons in the fleet and had close to 1100 bales loaded that we put in the barn in one day.

Donovan from Wisconsin
 
Don, how tall are you? Dad and I were both about 5'6" and going to 6 high was too much of a reach to do it, 5 was limit, now if you are 6'3" then that 6th bale might not be a problem and also tall perhaps you have a longer stride so would take less steps to reach the back of the wagon, I only wore a 29" inseam pant but if you are one that wears a 34" inseam the length of bed would not bother you as much due to a longer stride. Just curious.
 
I'm only 5'7". I stand on the bottom bale to put the last one up there.

I've done 8 high before but that was just to say I did it.

Donovan from Wisconsin
 

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