Moving grain, gravity boxes? which ones?

I am prepping for my first harvest, 50 acres of soybeans. I will need to truck them about 10 miles once harvested. I am looking to buy some gravity boxes to haul them in. I'm will be looking for best bang for the buck, not necessarily the cheapest as I don't want problems on the road. I'll have to haul them 10 miles one way loaded. I have looked at older boxes that I can get for $500-$700, I think they hold 150 bu., maybe a bit more with extensions. These are typically older, some rust and usually old 15" tires that are starting to crack. I'm concerned about these tires holding the weight as they are only rated for 2400 lbs even when new. ( 8 ply implement tire) 2400 lbs x 4 / 60 = about 160 bushel capacity

I also see larger boxes, maybe about 300-350 bu. on wagons with 16.1" tires. These tires are both higher and wider, and likely hold much more weight (not sure of capacity on these tires) These boxes sell for $2000-$2500. Using these would mean less trips to the elevator and definitely a time savings (less trips, and less waiting in line).

I also see damn nice newer boxes, 400 bushel and some larger. These are on used truck tires, 22.5" rim and 9000 lb carrying capacity per tire. These boxes can't be that old at all, and I would feel very safe using these boxes even fully loaded as the tires would only be at about 70% capacity. The issue here is, these boxes are $5000.

I'm sure all these boxes have there place, however I'm looking for best bang for the buck long term as I plan to continue with the farming, next year I will have corn and will have much more material to haul. I don't want problems on the road and I'd like to minimize my trips. This leads me to wanting the newer nicer boxes but the price just scares me off. Can the smaller boxes be a good choice? Can the smaller boxes do the job safely? Can I get heavier duty 15" tires? Safety and overall issues long term are really my biggest worry here, I think most problems would be with tires which I why I look at those first in this whole scenario.

I'm curious on what you use and what you think would fit my scenario the best.

What are you pulling with? Hills?


The $500 boxes are $500 for a reason

Sorry, I should of mentioned I will likely be pulling 2 wagons hooked together with my IH 1486. I may also pull with my pickup, in that case likely just one box at a time. I do have a few smaller hills that I will need to climb, but not to bad at all. We are relatively flat here in Central MN.

Pulling with a pickup is not my favorite job. The older boxes I own are a hard pull. I have a nice old grain truck I am going to use this year. Over the road on a tractor is putting hours on the old tractor that are better spent elsewhere. Like everything else, there is a "best" tool for the job.

Most of the bigger trailers will have brakes on them to help stop

How about a $4 - $5000 grain truck that holds about 350 bu.? It would faster on the road than the tractor and probably safer.

as RG asked,

1st off what do you have to tow them with? smaller tow vehicle/tractor = smaller wagons

those big boxes are nice but not made to go behind a pickup of any type, at least not wagons without its own brake system.

I've pulled 2 big boxes loaded with corn with a 5288 IH. plenty of power (flat ground) but not enough brakes. have to slow way down before stop signs.

if you only have a pickup you should stick with the smaller boxes. or look for a low $ older grain truck .. ya there are other issues to watch with those depending on the age and care to but they were made to haul and drive down the road.

If i was just starting out i would go small and cheap for a year or 2 and keep my eyes open for bigger & better as i banked more $. This is not a good time of the year for bargins heading into harvest time.

Good luck. post pictures of your harvest.

where I grew up almost no one even owned gravity boxes let alone haul grain on the road with them. everyone used grain trucks.

Why worry about tires holding the weight? They sell tires every day. Dad always loaded his wagons full. When ask by a neighbor if he was worried about his tires holding the weight he answered with, If these tires won't hold it I'll get some that will. It has been my way of thinking as well.

We have a couple of the 150-160 bu wagons that we used for years. Max speed is about 25 mph. Bought a nice older grain truck 5 years ago. Holds 400+ bu and much safer going down the road, has air brakes and full lights so can combine into dark. Really nice for corn. Much faster especially on the return trip. Cost wasn't that much more than a nice gravity wagon. Plates and insurance are about $300 per year.

Something to consider.

Tim

(quoted from post at 16:42:16 08/31/15) I am prepping for my first harvest, 50 acres of soybeans. I will need to truck them about 10 miles once harvested. I am looking to buy some gravity boxes to haul them in. I'm will be looking for best bang for the buck, not necessarily the cheapest as I don't want problems on the road. I'll have to haul them 10 miles one way loaded. I have looked at older boxes that I can get for $500-$700, I think they hold 150 bu., maybe a bit more with extensions. These are typically older, some rust and usually old 15" tires that are starting to crack. I'm concerned about these tires holding the weight as they are only rated for 2400 lbs even when new. ( 8 ply implement tire) 2400 lbs x 4 / 60 = about 160 bushel capacity

I also see larger boxes, maybe about 300-350 bu. on wagons with 16.1" tires. These tires are both higher and wider, and likely hold much more weight (not sure of capacity on these tires) These boxes sell for $2000-$2500. Using these would mean less trips to the elevator and definitely a time savings (less trips, and less waiting in line).

I also see damn nice newer boxes, 400 bushel and some larger. These are on used truck tires, 22.5" rim and 9000 lb carrying capacity per tire. These boxes can't be that old at all, and I would feel very safe using these boxes even fully loaded as the tires would only be at about 70% capacity. The issue here is, these boxes are $5000.

I'm sure all these boxes have there place, however I'm looking for best bang for the buck long term as I plan to continue with the farming, next year I will have corn and will have much more material to haul. I don't want problems on the road and I'd like to minimize my trips. This leads me to wanting the newer nicer boxes but the price just scares me off. Can the smaller boxes be a good choice? Can the smaller boxes do the job safely? Can I get heavier duty 15" tires? Safety and overall issues long term are really my biggest worry here, I think most problems would be with tires which I why I look at those first in this whole scenario.

I'm curious on what you use and what you think would fit my scenario the best.

Click to expand...

I use a lot of older boxes in the 200-250 bu range, but we've done a lot to them in the past few years. Replaced wood stringers with steel, painted, changed wheel bearings etc. I usually put a 250 bu box in front, and a 200 bu box in the back, and then are able to haul 425-450 bu at a crack. We are a dairy farm, and so grain harvest is secondary, but do do about 300 acres of corn, 200 bean, 100 wheat for grain every year.

It works because our land base is nearly all contiguous. Longest haul is 4 miles from field to dryer. We also have 1 400 bu truck, which at times has advantages, but is another licence, insurance, engine, brakes, etc. last advantage to two small wagons- if I get stuck somewhere, I can unhook half the load and usually get out without assistance. That doesn't happen with one big box.

Make sure any wagon, big or small, trails decently before buying.

Good luck in your decision.

Don't you know anybody with a semi or a tri-axle who would be willing to work with you? if you have to haul 50 acres worth of beans to the elevator with 160 bu gravity boxes you could be in for a bunch of headaches.

I've pulled gravity boxes all my life, many the 150-250 bu size and the only thing you can count on is flat tires. Pickup tires seem be best, but even car tires on the smaller boxes seem better than implement tires. I think the implement tires have a softer tread and are more likely to get poked.

Ten miles with gravity boxes?

When I was farming, I had two 300 bushel gravity box wagons that I pulled together. With sideboards, I could scale over 600 bushels. BUT, I was only a mile and a half from the elevator.

I pulled them with a D19 Allis, 'cause my 856 wouldn't fit across the scale with the duals on. I only traveled in 3rd high on the road loaded 'cause I didn't have that far to go. There was a concrete pad on the scale, and the guys at the elevator joked that they always knew when I was hauling grain by the peel marks the rear tires on the D19 made on the scale. After I was weighed and dropped the clutch to leave the scale, both rear wheels would turn about a quarter turn before anything else moved.

Frankly, I'd be hesitant about hauling 50 acres of grain ten miles with gravity wagons. I'm not sure where you are, but most larger farmers here in eastern Nebraska went to semis, so there are plenty of single axle grain trucks on the market. You could probably buy something like a respectable C60 Chevy with a 16' box for not much more than you would pay for gravity wagons with the same capacity.

Plus, it would be faster, simpler, and far safer. When I came back from the elevator empty with the gravity wagons, it was like Russian roulette. I had to make a left turn into my field road and I never had any idea what was behind me.

My personal experience as follows. Pickup trucks are not suitable to move loads much past 100-120 as the transmissions and brakes are lacking. We run a bunch of 10 ton gears and Killbros 350 wagons. They have 11L15 tires and they are no more than adequate. Worth the extra money to be running 12.5X15 or 16 tires. Don't be a fool and expect a 120 to 150 hp tractor move 700 to 1000 bushels to the elevator just because it will move it on the level around the farmstead. Very few tractors have the clutch or brake capacity to handle such a load with failure most likely to occur on a pronounced grade. Have your convoy well lit complete with turn signals. Pushing equipment past capacity or thinking the other motorists have to guess your moves is a recipe for disaster and may have the ambulance chasing lawyers salivating at taking your farm from you.

I used only gravity wagons for the first few years hauling 5 to 10 miles to town, and still use them some. With 50 acres of corn or beans you'd be alright depending on your schedule. If you have the time and vacation days for harvest then you'd be alright, but if you are working 12 hour shifts full time then you'd want an older grain truck. I pulled only 1 behind a pickup, but I pull 2 or even 3 behind a tractor although I think 2 is a much safer setup. The biggest thing is to make sure they track well, I wouldn't buy at auction, buy from a retired farmer if possible and make sure you pull them around a little before you buy to see if they'll run down the road without swaying too bad. The wagon gear is the most important thing. I went through the wheel bearings and found heavy rated newer pickup tires for mine, hauling 100 to 150 bushels each. Newer pickup tires meaning used without much tread left but still much newer tires than the old implement tires that came with them. I hang an orange flag on the second wagon so I could see it in my tractor mirrors going down the road, and didn't get in too big of a hurry and plenty of stopping distance.

For the distance, you could find a 250-300bu grain truck for $2000. If 26,000 gross weight you don't need the dot inspections, farm plates and insurance are pretty cheap. You will get a lot more done with this $2000 truck than gravity wagons.

I'm in southern MN, have an elevator less than one mile I use gravity wagons to, and an elevator 5 miles away I got real real tired hauling gravity wagons to, I got a $2000 truck.

I have a number of 200-250bu gravity wagons, as they age they start breaking down. The implement tires don't hold up so well. Tho new tires will give you 5+ years of good service. I kept hitting debris on the roads making thrm flat.....

I got a pair of Minnesota 250bu wagons, they would have been nice but as I knew when I got them, wet corn or any oats doesn't slide out of them, too shallow of an angle, real pain in the rear, hardly used then the past 2 years.

I got a $5000 good 325 wagon a year ago (holds 350 good corn...) on cement truck tires, wow nice rig, very happy with it, durable dependable. Crops slide out do no shoveling.

I'm really happy with the big nice wagon and the 1970s truck, between the two I have $7000 invested and have some speed, some durability, can use only one if one breaks down, it keeps my crop moving. Last year the close elevator had higher prices, I moved 90% of my crop with the one big gravity wagon! one person show here.

I should sell off many of the little gravity wagons, don't need them not the best. Need to keep two for ear corn I guess.

Pick what you want from my message, it is where you will want to be someday, speed of a dependable truck or value of a well built bigger gravity wagon on cement truck tires. Or both. But I understand you got to start somewhere.

You will -hate- driving 20 mile round trip with an older small gravity wagon or two. It grinds on a person. A pickup with a 250-300 or a grain truck will be better.

I'd strongly look for a $2000 Chevy or Ford grain truck, and a cheaper but serviceable gravity wagon. Wouldn't bust the bank, and gives you hauling options. You will find how miserable that distance is with a gravity box but at least you can haul with a pickup or tractor.

50 acres time 40 bu is 2000 bu. 5 trips with the tractor and two wagons, is 100 miles. That is more wear on your tractor tires than you think..... With corn, 150 bu times 50 is 7500 bu, or 19 trips, that's not quite 400 miles, that is 20-30 hours of driving time....... You won't be happy with the tractor and 2 small wagons when you get to corn....

Paul

Trucks, semis, and wagons all have their advantages and disadvantages, just as everybody has mentioned. Do you have any neighbors that would loan you some hauling equipment or work with you? That way you could decide what works for your setup without investing in the wrong equipment

In Minnesota, you may only pull one loaded trailer behind a pickup, and at most 2 loaded wagons behind a tractor. Just a FYI, after reading some of the other messages.

Paul

Your marketing plan and when you need to hauling in your crop could make a big difference on your wagon needs.

Will you be hauling straight from the combine and how many bushels will the combine harvest per hour? At ten miles one-way, you are probably looking at around a 1 1/2 hour to 2+ two hour round trip to unload when there are no waiting lines at the elevator (probably none during September). Is the combine your own or is it hired? A hired combine will likely have the capacity to harvest your entire 50 acres in one or two days, or a weekend (elevator closed Sunday?). A hired combine will not be willing to wait for empty wagons or to make two or more trips to harvest one 50 acre field.

If you have enough on-farm storage to hold your crop, then you can harvest faster and then haul it to the elevator at your leisure, at peak market prices, or hire a truck to move the crop during the off-season. You can probably build on-farm storage (next year) for less cost per bushel than buying enough wagons to hold nearly all our crop at one time, and for less long term cost than storing at an elevator (especially for corn).

What are your crop rotation plans for next year? If you will plant corn next year you can expect three to five times the yield compared to soybeans. In Iowa, corn often needs drying. 50 acres x 150 to 250 bu/acre corn = 7,500 to 12,500 bushels of corn to haul during harvest or to store and dry on-the-farm. At the peak of corn harvest October/November depending on the weather) the lines to unload at some elevators can get hours long and elevators might stay open 24/7, meaning only one or two trips per day and much more traveling on the roads in the dark.

Be willing to tarp filled wagons or get them inside quickly when wet weather hits. Wagon brakes really help to control larger heavy wagons at road speeds.

All the smaller wagons will work as that is what they started with but time is important as well. Im guessing now days if you don't haul enough in at a time at the elevator you may find some people are irritated by your little wagons (lol) as you are in their way and taking up their time waiting in line. As stated the cheaper wagons are cheap for a reason. I would be skeptical of any wagons with rust in them hauling that far. You just never know and don't want to lose your crop on the road. If you keep your eyes open you can find some good deals on what used to be considered a "big" wagon a few years ago (300-400bu) as well as an older truck.

If you don't want problems on the road, DON'T get the older ones. Ever tried to changs a tire on the side of the road with a fully loaded gravity box? BTDT. That is if it doesn't tip over first. If you do get the older wgon, put all new tires on and check the wheel bearings. In my case, I bought two new BRUNS wagons last year, they are 400 bushel wagons with a 12 ton gear and 22.5 inch tires. I can pull and stop them loaded within my comfort zone safely with a 90 HP tractor. They were about $4500 CAN so you should be able to get similar in the US for around $4000. If I had only 50 acres of beans getting custom harvested, hire a truck for now.

Ben

I'm not advocating this but simply putting it out there for your consideration. How about moving in a grain bin. Then you can haul your grain in from the field with one small $500 wagon with poor tires. You could then market your grain any time of year. When time to haul to market hire a grain hauler with semi.

Advantages: cheap wagon with poor tires, market during off season when prices are higher, Once on semi you can have it hauled anywhere you like (for instance the ethanol plant 30 miles away), grain hauler has truck upkeep and traffic worries, fast if you are working off farm.

Around here in southern Mn. they practically give away those small old bins. Think about it.

You can retrofit gravity wagons with 20-22.5 rims and truck tires. Much more dependable than implement tires. Like paul says, the MN boxes are constipated...I just bought 3 J&M boxes (only) in southern MN for $375-500 a piece. One will go on a 10T Gehl gear, the other two on 10T MN gears that I"ll take the MN boxes off of. I"ve been debating about buying a single axle grain truck. Southern MN farmers are selling small gravity wagons cheap and going to semi trucks or 5-600 bu wagons, small grain trucks go cheap in the RR Valley or Dakotas. I wouldn"t want to go 10 miles with gravity boxes, especially during harvest. I"ve always put up enough bins.

Another advantage to the grain bin, you don't wait in line at the elevator. There may be smaller empty bins in the neighborhood you could rent. We haul 8 miles from one farm with 350 BU wagons. We have trouble keeping up some times and we have six of those wagons. Depending on the fall or like this summer with all the rain you may need a good size tractor with FWA to get 2 out of the field hooked together as well.

Those little wagons make good seed wagons for beans & wheat.

The only thing more dangerous than hauling gravity boxes down the highway with a pickup is a farmer in a $2000 dollar grain truck going down the highway. I have one of those $2000 dollar C-70 Chevy trucks and the first time I drove it down the highway was also the last time I drove it down the highway. Didn't really want to kill anybody with it so I parked it ever since. They can go down the highway, They just can't stop for Sh@t. 90% of them should go directly to the scrap yard today.

I was up to 8 junker wagons that held 180 to 250 bushel. I'm now selling them off. It gets old dealing with tires and hubs on that many wagons. It's better to pull one 350 bushel box versus 2 180 bushel boxes - half the hubs, half the tires, you can see all the hubs and tires from the cab, easier to back up I've been buying 300-350 bushel Parker boxes on Heider, Westendorf, or John Deere running gears. I avoid New Holland, Dakon (New Idea), Gehl, and Parker (see a LOT of Parkers with broken spindles) running gears. J&M makes a nice box, too. I think Bushnell, M&W, Dakon, and Killbros boxes are a little light and tend to have repairs done or needed to be done.

If you're gonna pull it with an IH tractor, you better find one with brakes, though.

Don't buy a grain truck unless you're gonna spend big money for a newer one with air brakes. Those old junkers are one broken brake line away from being on their side at the bottom of the hill. They're typically expensive to pass inspection, they have man-killer split rims, and they're not fun to drive loaded

Take an old junk truck and put the cheap boxes on that the tires will hold and the truck frame will run 50 mph easily. You could also either put side boards on the box or put 2 boxes on the frame depending on how long it is. We have 2 that we did that with one is about 400bu the other is about 160. They never give us trouble with bearings. The smaller one is on an old pickup frame. I do have a tire to change once in a while on it. We use old tires for these wagons I am converting the bigger one over to 22.5,can't get decent used 20's much anymore and I have tires from my trailers for them.