Truck-Mounted Wire Winder Made From Truck Rear End

Truck-Mounted Wire Winder Made From Truck Rear End FENCING Miscellaneous 24-4-10 When Eric McCalla had to tear out a big section of barbed wire fence, he dreaded rolling up the 300 to 500-ft. strands of wire by hand. He started looking for an alternative way to handle the job. "We made a wire winder that's different from any I've seen," says McCalla. "I bought a car rear end and several car and truck rims from a salvage yard. "We welded supports made out of 2-in. sq. tubing to the shackle area at each end of the axle so the rear end rests flat on the bed of my flatbed truck. One side of the rear end hangs off the passenger's side of the truck. "We welded six pieces of 6-in. rebar to each side of the wheel rims for rolling up the wire. Then we attached a wheel to the hub. The side of the rear end we used had only three lug studs so we could pretty much use any rim on there. If necessary, we just use a torch to enlarge the existing holes. Once mounted, each rim spins freely. "I made a crank out of a piece of 1-in. solid square metal and welded it onto the yoke out of the front of the rear end. Then we welded a short length of rebar to the end of the rear end that we were not using to roll up wire. That locked it in place so turning the crank rotates the other end fitted with a wheel/spool. "We fastened the wire roller to the flatbed with two large U-bolts that extend down through four holes that we drilled in the bed. With one person cranking the handle and the other guiding the wire, we can put 750 to 1,200 ft. of wire on a single truck wheel, wrapped nice and tight. It pulls 400 ft. of wire through heavy grass with no problem." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Eric McCalla, 803 West St., Shambaugh, Iowa 51651 (ph 712 542-3770).

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