Found Myself A Farm Wagon, But What Is It Worth?

Bryce Frazier

Well-known Member
Hi all, well title says it all! A good friend of mine has a "People Hauler" that he takes to all of our club events, but he has decided to sell it and move on because no one ever uses it anymore!

He and I got to talking, and he told me that he bought the trailer (tandem 2 axle) with a rotten deck from a neighbor. He tore the deck off, and then built a flat bed with rails, and a whole bunch of 2 person bus seats. He told me that I could just take my backhoe and lift the entire thing off, and then do what I wanted with the running gear!

He told my $200 for everything, which I am thinking is a very good deal, but I wanted to make sure! He says that he is %100 sure it is factory made, and %90 sure it WAS New Holland colors before he repainted it...

I REALLY want a wagon, and I have been kind of looking for a NH, because I could pull it behind my NH 68, and I am thinking this sound like a good deal!

Also, someone on here posted pictures of their completed NH Wagon? I know it wasn't more than a couple of weeks ago, but I can't find the pictures!! If you would post them again so I could have a better idea of what it would look like that would be great!

THANKS!!! Bryce
 
If you are going to end up with a bare running gear that you have to add a flat rack to, and paint it, probably not the smoking deal it looks like. I am sure that New Holland is a great gear but them again a Bradley gear from Wards/Sears was perfectly fine also. Lot of time and material into that. Just from my perspective...I have stopped buying "projects".
 
You could do a google search for pictures of a New Holland running gear. Most likely, they were made for New Holland by another manufacturer and would differ from year to year.
 
I just found this on Ebay. I think this is what it is? I didn't realize that it was adjustable!! I think I am going to try to get it... I am going to look at it sometime next week, hopefully, and if I do I will post some pictures. Here is a link to the add I found:
NH Running Gear
 
Cost me about $400 to build a hay rack for a bare running gear. Got lumber from Amish sawmill. Plus hardware from TSC, and deck screws like used on outside decks on homes. Self drilling, threading -drive with torx bit and 1/2"electric drill. Got a dandy setup.
 
Thats about what I figured... Neighbor has a saw mill, so if I took him the logs, I am sure that he would help me cut them... Would Cedar be O.K., or do I need to use pine or what? I have Western Red Cedar up to the Waaa Zooo around here, so that wouldn't be a problem. I would want it to be as close to original as I could get it, so for a bale wagon, it would have probably just have been a flat bed with a back board right?

I could probably use 2 x 6's for everything.. Maybe some 2 x 4's spaced out for the back board. 4 x 4's for the beams/uprights for the back board... Doesn't sound too bad to me! We have a bunch of left over deck stain, so I could make it look really nice! Bryce
 
Did you mean my wagon ?
a162468.jpg
 
Ahhhhh yes, perfect! Soo, correct me if I am wrong, but you have two, 4x4/4x6 running the entire length that are sitting on the wagon, and then 4x4's attached perpendicular to those? Then you ran decking the long way? What are the uprights in the back that are holding up the back board, 4 x 4's? Also, how did you attach them to the trailer/deck? Thanks for the picture, that was the one I was thinking of!! What is the length of that one? 16? Bryce
 
(quoted from post at 06:19:41 07/08/14) Hi all, well title says it all! A good friend of mine has a "People Hauler" that he takes to all of our club events, but he has decided to sell it and move on because no one ever uses it anymore!

He and I got to talking, and he told me that he bought the trailer (tandem 2 axle) with a rotten deck from a neighbor. He tore the deck off, and then built a flat bed with rails, and a whole bunch of 2 person bus seats. He told me that I could just take my backhoe and lift the entire thing off, and then do what I wanted with the running gear!

He told my $200 for everything, which I am thinking is a very good deal, but I wanted to make sure! He says that he is %100 sure it is factory made, and %90 sure it WAS New Holland colors before he repainted it...

I REALLY want a wagon, and I have been kind of looking for a NH, because I could pull it behind my NH 68, and I am thinking this sound like a good deal!

Also, someone on here posted pictures of their completed NH Wagon? I know it wasn't more than a couple of weeks ago, but I can't find the pictures!! If you would post them again so I could have a better idea of what it would look like that would be great!

THANKS!!! Bryce

I bought three of these running gears a few years back for $600. Built racks on two of them. I think I had about $200 in lumber for each. Sold an old ugly hay wagon for $700 this spring, need to build another rack for the third gear.


 
Wow, those look to be pretty big wagons! You must have to pull them with your John Deeres. hehehe ;)

Thanks for the pictures, always good to see! I made a rough list off of Mike's picture, and I called the local building shop to see what it would cost.. I could buy all treated 4x4/4x6 PLUS non treated pine deck boards for about $300. Didn't sound too bad huh? Should I go with treated or not? He said that they had both, but the treated was cheaper!!?! Bryce
 
Mine are set up that way - 4X6 stringers with 4X4 sitting perpendicular to the 4X6 and then instead of planking mine use 2X6s, 2X8s and 2X10 for the decking with 1/4 inch spacing. They are all treated wood with only the 4X6s bought new - the rest of the wood was salvaged from several decks I tore down.

The 5/4 X 6 treated decking doesn't handle the weight or the flexing a wagon goes through crossing the fields - after a couple years the screws all start to pull through leaving the boards flapping.
 
(quoted from post at 08:03:27 07/08/14) Wow, those look to be pretty big wagons! You must have to pull them with your John Deeres. hehehe ;)

Thanks for the pictures, always good to see! I made a rough list off of Mike's picture, and I called the local building shop to see what it would cost.. I could buy all treated 4x4/4x6 PLUS non treated pine deck boards for about $300. Didn't sound too bad huh? Should I go with treated or not? He said that they had both, but the treated was cheaper!!?! Bryce

As a matter of fact, I do use the wife's 520 to pull them. Deere's pull wagons well....I leave the big jobs to the AC's :D

 
Here in the hills most people nail a 2x4 flat to the perimeter to help keep the hay bales from sliding in the hills.
 
Bryce
If You get it,You could try selling the people hauler deck, some other club might need one.
Or remove the seats and salvage what lumber You can and sell the seats.
Just a thought.
Good Luck with it.

Steve A W
 
Yes it is 4x6 mains, 4x4 crosses, then 5/4 deck run the long way. I put 4x12 metal plates between the mains and the running gear to take the rubbing instead of the wood. Also put tin on cross pieces to shed water and delay rot. I did not gap the decking as I figure it will shrink up and make a gap later on. All southern yellow pine that is treated.The wagon is 14x7 overall which is how I wanted it, even though smaller it is handy. I had 96 bales on it saturday . I have larger wagons for other jobs. The back board is 2x4s with the 5/4 cross pieces. It is held on with U brackets to the mains. I used nails on the deck because I have found screws will snap off on uneven ground while the nails will flex some or just stick up and can be hammered back in. I used a lot of carriage bolts and angle irons to hold the crosses to the mains. I have about 600 total into it including lumber,paint,nails,bolts,angle iron,tire tubes, axle grease, and SMV sign.
 
No offense to Eldon, but running the deck boards crossways like that isn't near as strong as if you add a second layer of 4x4's and run the deck boards lengthwise.

Lengthwise, the deck boards are supported end-to-end while they are just hanging off into space on the crossways design.

A 4x4 is much stronger as a cantilevered beam than a 2x6 laying flat.
 
(quoted from post at 10:00:10 07/08/14) No offense to Eldon, but running the deck boards crossways like that isn't near as strong as if you add a second layer of 4x4's and run the deck boards lengthwise.

Lengthwise, the deck boards are supported end-to-end while they are just hanging off into space on the crossways design.

A 4x4 is much stronger as a cantilevered beam than a 2x6 laying flat.

I agree it is not as strong, but it is strong enough for what I am using it for and very easy to build. It allows for adequate support without raising the deck height. The outer edges are not hanging in space, they are tied together with the skirt board so they all share the load.
 
I agree with Eldon. I build our wagons with just 2x's laid across the stringers. Keeps the deck a little lower and it works fine for baling hay.





I gotta build another wagon or 2 myself. After pricing it out, I think it'll run a little over $400 for treated pine for a 8'x16'.

Donovan from Wisconsin
 
Stronger usually because you can run proper deep beams without
making the wagon sky high.

Most of the 4x4 stringer ones have tiny little beams and droop in
the middle when loaded.

Once you get to the 20-24 ft wagons we have to use the big beams.
 
You're blocking up the support so if you put the beams flat on the wagon's metal you could put a 4X4 cross underneath and still have the same deck height and a lot stronger and durable wagon body.
 
I've built three hay wagons on running gears made out of old car axles('32 Chevy, '35 & '36 Ford}. Got the running gears for about $50 each. Had to do some repair on them, and build the decks. I used 4x6 treated stringers, 2x4 treated cross supports, and 5/4 deck boards length wise. I regularly loaded 100-120 bales on them, used them for 20 years without problems, and finally traded them for more than I had in 'em. I don't think I could have built a hay wagon any cheaper.
 
Soo, here is the question:

I am ALL FOR a lower deck, easier to load, however, I want to be able to haul hay/logs on it through out the summer. And then on 4th July/Fair I am going to put Dad's 2 or more hit and miss engines on, that in its own could be 4000 lbs! Sooo, for bales, I would probably be pulling it directly behind the baler, so height doesn't really matter!

What I want to know is, how would it have been originally? Or was it just farmer built! I think I still like the idea/look of 4x6 stringers + 4x4 cross beams + decking long ways....

Thanks for all of the input and pictures guys! This has been a VERY educational thread for me! Bryce
 
The EZ Trail brand of wagons runs the decking widthwise, and they tend to sag around the outside. Most, possibly all, other wagon brands use 4x4 cross beams and run the decking lengthwise.

I've never seen a properly built wagon with 4x4 cross beams sagging, that wasn't completely rotten.

Personally, I like the look better too.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top