"Our new enclosed steel toppers for gravity wagons add 36 to 80 bu. of capacity. They're easier to use than canvas toppers and far more durable," says Deach Koch, Koch Mfg. Co., Gann Valley, S. Dak.

The one-piece topper is built from 16 ga. steel and clamps onto the top of the wagon sides. It has a 34-in. wide, full length door down the middle that's opened and closed from the ground by a lever at the front of the topper. The door lid slides off to the side on a track.

"It's stronger, safer, and faster to use than a canvas topper and will last as long as the wagon," says Koch. "Canvas toppers sag, rip, weathercheck, and get blown around by the wind. They're difficult to put on because you have to climb on top of the wagon where there's nothing to hold onto. You use a front-end loader to set our topper on top of the wagon and fasten it with 10 clamps. The job takes only a half hour and there's no need to drill any holes.

"Some farmers use their gravity wagon to store ground feed and leave the wagon by their feed bunks where they can unload feed into 5-gal. pails, etc. Our waterproof topper will keep the feed dry."