Trailer-Type Rut Filler

Trailer-Type Rut Filler 27-3-10 Last issue we told you about Brian Hoffner's center pivot rut filler. Unfortunately, there was a mix-up on the photos. The correct photo is at right. Hoffner made a cart out of an old road sand and salt spreading trailer which he bought from a local state highway maintenance department. The machine, which holds about 10 tons of material, has a 16-in. wide conveyor at the bottom to drop material onto the fan. The sides slope in to the conveyor, so it empties out completely. He stripped off the spreader fan and then turned the box around on the trailer so he could see the opening from the tractor seat. Then he added a 2-ft. long flange on each side of the drop opening. "The flanges direct material into the tracks. I made them adjustable, so I can open or close them to fill narrow or wide tracks," Hoffner says. "It's become a small sideline business for me. I can use whatever material people want, from gravel to sand or soil," he says. "Gravel allows better drainage away from the wheel track, so ruts aren't as likely to form. I've found that if ruts are deep, I can fill them about two-thirds full with gravel and then the field can be tilled without disturbing the gravel base." He charges $30 per 10-ton load to fill ruts. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Brian Hoffner, 30300 Road 57, Gill, Colo. 80624 (ph 970 352-4654).

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