650 BU Grain Cart

650 BU Grain Cart COMBINES Conversions 14-1-7 Roger Cohrs, Glencoe, Minn., built a 650-bu. tandem axle grain cart using the frames from a pair of big pull-type pea combines. Cohrs welded together the hitch and front half of the frame from a Hamachek pea combine and the rear half of the frame, including the tandem axles, from an FMC pea combine. A pto shaft operates an unload auger, which runs along the bottom of the hopper, as well as a hydraulic pump. A hydraulic cylinder at the rear of the hopper controls a series of sliding plates over 8-in. wide openings that alternate with solid floor above the auger. By flippinga hydraulic lever, Cohrs slides the plates back and forth to control the size of the openings and grain unloading speed. "We pull the cart with our 125-hp International 1066 tractor. We paid $150 for each combine and spent a total of less than $600 to build the entire grain cart. A comparable-size commercial cart costs about $7,000. It works better than a conventional grain cart because it does a better job of controlling auger unloading speed." The FMC combine was equipped with a hydraulic cylinder on each 18.4 by 16.1 tire which allows Cohrs to raise or lower each side of the hopper from the tractor. "We can raise the cart 3 ft. above the frame which allows us to unload grain into openings too tall for a conventional grain cart." The frame members are 4 by 8-in. tubing with 3/8-in. sidewalls. Cohrs welded 8-in. sq. tubing across the frames to tie them together. "Everything from the front of the wheels back is the FMC combine frame," says Cohrs. "We didn't use the entire FMC frame because it widened toward the front and the hitch was too high for hookup to the tractor drawbar. The Hemachek combine didn't widen in front and its hitch was the right height for hook-up." He used 2 by 4 steel tubing to build the framework for the 20-ft. long, 9-ft. wide, 8-ft. high hopper and covered it with 14 ga. sheet metal. The sliding plates are welded to a 1¢-in. dia. sq. shaft that's connected to a 3 by 8-in. hydraulic cylinder at the rear of the hopper. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Roger Cohrs, RR 2, Box 59, Glencoe, Minn. 55336 (ph 612 864-5012).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.