He Says He Built A Better Hay Wagon
Bryan Glett, Bellefontaine, Ohio, recently sent FARM SHOW photos of a 21-ft. long, 8-ft. wide triple-axle hay wagon he built out of an old 31-ft. travel trailer frame. The high capacity wagon is longer and wider than most hay wagons, and has several built-in safety features.
“I got the idea after I took over our rented-out family farm and started farming as a new career in 2008, at age 54, after my dad passed away and my agronomist son finished his graduate work,” says Glett. “I hadn’t done any farming for nearly 40 years. I had to buy or build all the equipment I needed to start over as a medium-sized organic farmer, so I essentially had a clean slate when building the wagon.
“Being gone from farming for so long, I had a pent-up desire to fix the unsafe and limiting things about most hay wagons in use on farms. I tried to incorporate all the improvements I had stored away in the back of my mind.”
He got the double axle trailer frame at a local scrap yard. He cut about 10 ft. off the frame behind the rear axles, then flipped them over to set the wagon about 1 ft. higher off the ground. He also welded an extra steel beam down the center of the trailer for reinforcement.
The main safety improvement was to weld strong front handholds onto both sides of the wagon, which allows the person stacking bales to stand safely right at the front of the wagon as it lurches and pitches across the field. “Surviving a fall off the front of a loaded hay wagon often depends on the tractor driver seeing you – something I didn’t want to count on,” says Glett.
The handholds are off junked-out factory “dock carts” often found at big box lumber stores. Glett welded a pair of angle iron ladder steps onto the wagon’s frame next to the handholds. “The steps make it easier to climb off and on a moving wagon to deal with mis-tied bales and the like,” he says.
The 8-ft. wide wagon is about 1 ft. wider than most conventional wagons. “The extra width means I can stack bales entirely within the wagon’s sides,” says Glett. “I never liked bales hanging over the sides because it forces you to compromise stack interlocking, and that contributes to unstable loads.”
The wider base also makes the wagon more stable, and the side gates further stabilize the load. They’re made from treated deck lumber and set inside stake pockets.
“I’m very happy with how it turned out,” says Glett. “I had a lot of help from my son, who recently completed his university graduate work in agronomy, and from two mechanical engineers in the family. The 21-ft. wagon is about 4 ft. longer than most hay wagons and can load about 25 more bales. The distance between the wagon’s front-most rear axle and the steering axle isn’t that different from a regular wagon, so there isn’t much difference in the turning radius.
“A big advantage of the handholds is that I don’t have to wear out my ‘sea legs’ trying to keep balanced, and hopping off and on the wagon is safer and almost fun! The handholds don’t interfere with the operation or stacking capacity at all.
“Now I can have friends and family help when baling without worrying as much about their safety or stacking ability.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bryan Glett, 2647 C.R. 13, Bellefontaine, Ohio 43311 (ph 937 599-1188; sbglett@embarqmail.com).
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He Says He Built A Better Hay Wagon WAGONS/TRAILERS Miscellaneous Bryan Glett Bellefontaine Ohio recently sent FARM SHOW photos of a 21-ft long 8-ft wide triple-axle hay wagon he built out of an old 31-ft travel trailer frame The high capacity wagon is longer and wider than most hay wagons and has several built-in safety features “I got the idea after I took over our rented-out family farm and started farming as a new career in 2008 at age 54 after my dad passed away and my agronomist son finished his graduate work ” says Glett “I hadn’t done any farming for nearly 40 years I had to buy or build all the equipment I needed to start over as a medium-sized organic farmer so I essentially had a clean slate when building the wagon “Being gone from farming for so long I had a pent-up desire to fix the unsafe and limiting things about most hay wagons in use on farms I tried to incorporate all the improvements I had stored away in the back of my mind ” He got the double axle trailer frame at a local scrap yard He cut about 10 ft off the frame behind the rear axles then flipped them over to set the wagon about 1 ft higher off the ground He also welded an extra steel beam down the center of the trailer for reinforcement The main safety improvement was to weld strong front handholds onto both sides of the wagon which allows the person stacking bales to stand safely right at the front of the wagon as it lurches and pitches across the field “Surviving a fall off the front of a loaded hay wagon often depends on the tractor driver seeing you – something I didn’t want to count on ” says Glett The handholds are off junked-out factory “dock carts” often found at big box lumber stores Glett welded a pair of angle iron ladder steps onto the wagon’s frame next to the handholds “The steps make it easier to climb off and on a moving wagon to deal with mis-tied bales and the like ” he says The 8-ft wide wagon is about 1 ft wider than most conventional wagons “The extra width means I can stack bales entirely within the wagon’s sides ” says Glett “I never liked bales hanging over the sides because it forces you to compromise stack interlocking and that contributes to unstable loads ” The wider base also makes the wagon more stable and the side gates further stabilize the load They’re made from treated deck lumber and set inside stake pockets “I’m very happy with how it turned out ” says Glett “I had a lot of help from my son who recently completed his university graduate work in agronomy and from two mechanical engineers in the family The 21-ft wagon is about 4 ft longer than most hay wagons and can load about 25 more bales The distance between the wagon’s front-most rear axle and the steering axle isn’t that different from a regular wagon so there isn’t much difference in the turning radius “A big advantage of the handholds is that I don’t have to wear out my ‘sea legs’ trying to keep balanced and hopping off and on the wagon is safer and almost fun! The handholds don’t interfere with the operation or stacking capacity at all “Now I can have friends and family help when baling without worrying as much about their safety or stacking ability ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Bryan Glett 2647 C R 13 Bellefontaine Ohio 43311 ph 937 599-1188; sbglett@embarqmail com
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