ATV Hydraulic Hog Cart

ATV Hydraulic hog cart HOG EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Hog Equipment & Ideas (351) 14-6-10 "It works great for moving small bunches of pigs," says Brock Hansen, Wyoming, Iowa, about the hydraulic hog cart he built to pull behind his ATV. The hog cart received honorable mention in National Hog Farmer's inventions contest. Hansen copied the design of full-sized hydraulic trailers, but built his cart only 4 ft. wide and 8 ft. long. "The cart makes it much easier to load and move sows and litters into and out of pasture huts," says Hansen. "It holds two 600-lb. sows. I also use it in winter to move 60 25-lb. pigs out of our nursery to outside pens. It works great in wet conditions because it doesn't tear up pasture or newly-seeded ground. I can hook the trailer to my tractor. However, I still use my 16-ft. long tractor-pulled hydraulic cart to haul large bunches of hogs." Hansen welded the wheels and hubs from a 1988 Ford Escort GT to the axle which he built from a 1 1/4-in. dia. steel shaft. He positioned the axle about 4 in. off center so most of the load's weight rests on the trailer tires. He used 4-in. channel iron to build the frame and spaced the cross members 2 ft. apart. He built the tongue from 2 by 2-in. tubing and angle iron and the floor from 3/4-in. treated plywood painted on both sides. He used 16 ft. of hog panel to build the sides and mounted reinforcing rod around the top. Hansen salvaged a 12-volt hydraulic pump and a pair of 8-in. stroke hydraulic cylinders from the tailgate of a cargo van. He mounted the pump and a 12-volt battery on the cart's front panel and mounted the cylinders behind the wheels. He pushes a button on the cart to activate the pump and uses a lever to raise or lower the floor. When the floor is raised all the way up, he can flip a "stop" over the cylinders to lock the cart in position. The end gate can be pinned on either side to swing open in either direction. By lifting a 2-ft. slide gate built into the end gate, Wilson can back the cart flush against the door of a building and "walk" hogs into or out of the cart. He ties a 4-ft. wide divider gate anywhere inside the trailer to keep small pigs from getting stepped on by their mother. Hansen says he spent $300 to build the cart. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Brock Hansen, RR 1, Wyoming, Iowa 52362 (ph 319 488-2520).

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