Farm-Built Livestock Beavertail Trailer

2024 - Volume #48, Issue #5, Page #29

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James McKeown, a Northern Ireland dairy farmer, was shocked when he priced out cattle-hauling transport bodies that would fit his beavertail, tractor-drawn trailer.
Rather than extending his finances, he decided to design and build his own.
“I already had the beavertail for hauling my digger and feed but thought it would be handy to have a livestock body that would fit for hauling cattle,” McKeown says. “I thought I could make something that would work well.”
The project took a few months to complete.
The result is a galvanized steel, removable 28-ft. long by 8-ft. wide body that pivots to kneel at the rear for easy cattle entry and exit. The secret to his design is the tough, triangular side plates that act as both a guide when the rear section moves and bridge the gap in the body when it’s lowered. The trailer is divided into four compartments for the easy grouping and loading of animals.
“I lower the beavertail of the trailer, and then the rear door of the livestock body opens up further at a reduced angle to allow cattle to load more easily and quietly,” McKeown says. “It offers a slope of 20 degrees or less. And it’ll stand abuse as I usually go overboard when building something.”
The floor is checker plate with a sprung section that expands and contracts when raised or lowered. He attached rubber sheets to deaden the sound when bolting the body in place.
The rear door and the raising and lowering of the beavertail are operated hydraulically for safety reasons. A small section slides to fill the gap when the beavertail is lowered. He added extra features such as an LED light bar, rear door rollers, rear mud flaps, a slurry trap, and magnets to secure the gates in the open position.
Removing the livestock body from the trailer is simple. McKeown turns down four jack legs, removes 10 pins and bolts, inserts four locking pins that connect the front and rear sections, jacks up the body, and it’s ready to drive away. The entire process takes about 15 to 20 min. Reattaching the body takes slightly longer as the driver needs to be more precise in lining up the positioning.
McKeown patented the livestock body design and has offered it for sale to other farmers.
Engineers have expressed an interest in producing the bodies for McKeown to market.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, James McKeown, Carnview Farms, 43 Loughmagarry Rd., Ballymena BT43 6TW (info@carnviewfarms.co.uk; www.carnviewfarms.co.uk).

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Farm-Built Livestock Beavertail Trailer LIVESTOCK Handling James McKeown a Northern Ireland dairy farmer was shocked when he priced out cattle-hauling transport bodies that would fit his beavertail tractor-drawn trailer Rather than extending his finances he decided to design and build his own “I already had the beavertail for hauling my digger and feed but thought it would be handy to have a livestock body that would fit for hauling cattle ” McKeown says “I thought I could make something that would work well ” The project took a few months to complete The result is a galvanized steel removable 28-ft long by 8-ft wide body that pivots to kneel at the rear for easy cattle entry and exit The secret to his design is the tough triangular side plates that act as both a guide when the rear section moves and bridge the gap in the body when it’s lowered The trailer is divided into four compartments for the easy grouping and loading of animals “I lower the beavertail of the trailer and then the rear door of the livestock body opens up further at a reduced angle to allow cattle to load more easily and quietly ” McKeown says “It offers a slope of 20 degrees or less And it’ll stand abuse as I usually go overboard when building something ” The floor is checker plate with a sprung section that expands and contracts when raised or lowered He attached rubber sheets to deaden the sound when bolting the body in place The rear door and the raising and lowering of the beavertail are operated hydraulically for safety reasons A small section slides to fill the gap when the beavertail is lowered He added extra features such as an LED light bar rear door rollers rear mud flaps a slurry trap and magnets to secure the gates in the open position Removing the livestock body from the trailer is simple McKeown turns down four jack legs removes 10 pins and bolts inserts four locking pins that connect the front and rear sections jacks up the body and it’s ready to drive away The entire process takes about 15 to 20 min Reattaching the body takes slightly longer as the driver needs to be more precise in lining up the positioning McKeown patented the livestock body design and has offered it for sale to other farmers Engineers have expressed an interest in producing the bodies for McKeown to market Contact: FARM SHOW Followup James McKeown Carnview Farms 43 Loughmagarry Rd Ballymena BT43 6TW info@carnviewfarms co uk; www carnviewfarms co uk

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