Farm wagon

[Will Stephens]

I need a hay wagon and have been thinking about how I would go about building one with a wood bed. Hay bails, firewood, and hayrides for the fair, etc. would be the intended uses. Has anyone out there tried making one out of an old truck/car frame? Weight is my initial concern with that. And how to design/weld a steering bracket that would hold the pole. Any other parts ideas out there?
Will

[JaredWoodcock]

It is hard to beat a basic hay wagon running gear. That being said some of the 5th wheel style running gears are simple and would be easy to build out of a couple straight axles and some scrap steel.

http://www.knowlesmfgco.com/products/wagons/1105X,_905X,_705X_fifth_wheel_wagons/fifth_wheel_wagon_models_1105X,_905X,_and_705X.htm

I always thought it would be neat to build one out of oak instead of steel. Judging by some of your projects on your website I think you are up for the task!!!

Keep me posted; building my own lightweight running gear is also on my short list…

[Donn Hewes]

If I am patient I get good running gears for $150 to $250. There isn’t anything I can make for less than that. I can describe how I like to put a slightly lower bed on a hay wagon. After placing two 10 x 3 beams on the gear, I skip the cross beams and go directly to 2 x 6 decking nailed directly to the beams. The 2 x 6 could be tru dimension larch or hard wood, or pressure treated 2 x 6. To secure and strengthen the outer end of each board 1 x 3 or 1 x 4 are run above and below on the outer edge. This share the load from one to the next when you step on them. This wagons are fast to make, and a few inches lower than a wagon with 4 x 4 cross beams. That have lasted great. Two of my wagons have tongues that slide short for towing behind the baler or forecart, and can be extended and an evener added to hook a team right to the wagon. These sliding tongues are handy for hooking up when the wagon is heavy.

[Will Stephens]

The sliding tongue is a great idea Donn. Living in exile on the island here makes used equipment unlikely as an option. If it is not here it means a boat ticket, drive with trailer that adds up to almost the cost of new running gear. That said if you fins a good bargain out there let me know, maybe we could get that visit to Cortland in. Wood fifth wheel…. I’ll do some research on that. I hadn’t considered anything but steel.

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