Forecarts

[mcm]

I’m in the process of researching forecarts before I head to an auction in a couple of weeks. It seems like the main options for new equipment are Pioneer and I&J, and they each offer a number of options like brakes, steering, different seats, etc.

In researching the d ring harness I came across a lot of references to the Barden cart and find myself really drawn to it because it looks like it’s small, easy to access, and you can add a hitch or draw bar onto it.

In any case, I would like to have a 3 point hitch on the back of any cart so that I can continue to use my 3 point boom pole that is so useful, especially for pulling my chicken coops back up the hill. (The front of the coop has to be lifted so that it’s resting on wheels in the rear.)

It seems like the Barden cart is used mostly by people who are logging, and this is not likely to be my main activity, although I can sure see pulling some trees around for clean up and firewood.

I’d really like to hear about why people picked the cart they have and how they use it.

I see myself pulling a smallish dump cart, boom pole, and possibly a small wagon. I’d like to keep everything pretty small and maneuverable for my hilly farm and haflingers.

[mcm]

Oh wow. I just thought of something. I won’t have a hydraulic lift anymore. How do I raise the boom pole. Yikes!

[Will Stephens]

I am not an authority on forcats. I really only use mine as a chariot! and to occasionally pull things I attach to it with a chain (drag harrow, logs, tire, eetc.) My forecart is similar to a barden cart though lighter in construction. It was made by the farmer I bought my team from. Low entry platforms are safe and easier on the body if you are climbing on and off it a lot.

The hydraulic lift can be accomplished with a simple manually activated hydraulic ram. If you want to be fancy you can rig a 12 volt pump with an rv battery and even go one step further and put a small solar trickle charge panel on it. I have seen both but have built neither but there are examples out there.

Back to the forecart: I modified the pole assemble. I have a steel square tubing pole (I plan to switch to aluminum to save weight). I cut that off, added a 30″ piece of receiver stock (like for a trailer hitch) so I can now adjust the length of my pole, use the same pole on my wagon, and use a set of shafts instead of the pole for a single horse. It’s very versatile and I can’t take credit for much but I love the versatility and the forcart overall. It is also set up to use either a single steel implement seat or a bench seat on spring for taking y wife on a trip through the neighborhood.

[Crabapple Farm]

One thing to bear in mind with any 3ph forecart is the lever action – with a 2 wheel cart the wheels are the pivot point, so any weight lifted in the rear of the cart is going to have to be held down by the tongue (putting lift at the neckyoke). Some tongue lift is okay, and a D-ring is better from all I hear, but too much could be problematic. Hydraulics can make your job easier than a lever type 3ph (like I&J makes), but don’t make things more comfortable for your team. A boom pole (because it carries the weight so far back) doesn’t seem like a good fit to me for a 2-wheel forecart, unless the weight on it is pretty minimal. I don’t know how much lift you need to move your chicken coops, but most logging carts (like the Barden design) are designed to lift the end of a log off the ground a bit when skidding (but you need to be able to hitch close).

[mcm]

Lightweight and low entry sounds very good to me. I’d like to find some drawings for the Barden cart and get it fabricated out of aluminum if possible. I don’t know how much that costs.

I’ve thought more about my coops based on yalls comments. The lifting of the pole caused by the offset of the boom pole makes sense, and should probably be avoided. I think it will probably be better for the horses, the chickens, and me if I make some sort of two wheeled frame with a trailer tongue on the front that will carry the weight of the front of the coop. Something like that could be lifted and hooked directly to a draw bar and would be high enough to clear rough ground. I just have to figure out how to lift it high enough by myself. I can lift it now using a shovel as a lever, but only a few inches.

This is gonna take some head scratching.

[mcm]

I found a Pioneer heavy duty slightly used forecart with mechanical breaks on Craig’s list for $1200. Just not sure “heavy” is a good fir for me or my haflingers.

How hard is it to have brakes put on a cart that you have fabricated?

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by mcm.

[dominiquer60]

Regarding the Barden Cart Plans, it just happens that they are easy to get these days. The “Store” link on our Home Page menu will bring you to an easy to follow set of plans for $20. http://flofarm.org/dap/store/

[Donn Hewes]

Not exactly sure what would be considered a Pioneer “heavy duty”. If it is just an older (and they make a newer model) then I think it is fine. Does it come with shafts? The only reason to make your own over buying the pioneer is if you want something specific (like the barden design, or you want to save money. If manufacturing is not your thing, you won’t beat that price y much. Sometimes they are a little cheaper at an auction.

As far as towing the coops, it is possible to make a set of wheels with a short tongue that you lift up the tongue (picture picking it up like a hand truck) then you slide it under the front end (with a pin or hole to catch) and then you lower the short tongue and hook it behind your forecart with the leading edge of the coop off the ground.

If I weren’t at work I could draw a picture of how that might look!

[Mark Cowdrey]

Don’t know where you are but I have an older Pioneer w/brakes in good shape w a brand new PiggyBack Firewood Arch (which might help lifting your coops) for sale for $900. I am in Andover, NH.
Mark

[carl ny]

None of my business mcm, but that’s not a bad deal that Mark is offering.

cqarl nny

[LongViewFarm]

I’ve driven the cart Mark has at the gathering and it’s awesome.

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[Will Stephens]

I almost bought Mark’s despite how much i like mine. Mine is older and rust is becoming an issue for it. I bought a new welder instead. The pole is short for a d-ring. Of course there is no guarantee if you did buy Mark’s you would automatically develop the steely eye stare Jay in demonstrating in the photo though!
Will

[mcm]

Oh wow. It’s been a few days since I checked in. Mark, thank you, but I am in west Georgia and New Hampshire is a long way away. One of my biggest challenges is that I feel very far away from most draft horse activity. I know of no one in my vicinity who uses horses to farm, and I have looked high and low.

I mean, the steely eyed stare is pretty enticing, but after about 28 hours of driving, I think I’d have a much different kind of stare.

[mcm]

To MuleManDonn,

I would really like to see a picture of the lift that you are talking about. I am going to try to find a picture of one of my coops to show you.

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[mcm]

That is the front of one of the coops with one of my assistants, Leia, demonstrating her typical job activity. In the front you can see a cable with part of a hose on there. When the coop is going downhill, I pull it by hand one length as needed by season and amount of “fertilizer”. When it gets to the bottom of the hill, I lift the front with my boom pole and tow it to the top with my tractor.

It is a pretty clumsy process and I have to make really wide turns. When being towed, the coop lags behind and then will sometimes lurch foreword. I have to go really slowly. When lifting or dropping, you have to go inch by inch, because the coop wants to move of its own accord and can slam into the boom pole.

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