Preferred hay wagon features?

[LongViewFarm]

I have a 3 ton pioneer gear that I got from Mark last year, and I want to build it up as a hay wagon this year. My goal is to have a flat bed with front and back vertical supports like David Fisher’s. My wagon will have to work with a loose hay loader and also as a general purpose flatbed for the farm. I’d like the front and rear ladder type supports to be strongly attached to the bed, but also removable. I also aim to make bench seats for each side of the bed, with a tenon through the bed so that I can peg the seats in place for rides, but remove them when desired.
Sills will be 4×8. Floorboards will be 2×8 softwood lumber laid crosswise, sandwiched between 1x lumber running parallel to stringers at outside edges. I’ll run triangular braces down to the sill every 4′ for support, and will leave 1″ gap between floor boards for drainage.

Too ambitious?
What are your hay wagon dimensions? Length x width & height of bed from ground?
How tall should I make supports for loading loose hay? (Rear support is a function of hay loader height)
Is the gap between floorboards a bad idea? Will it lead to faster rot of the sills due to exposure on the top side??

[Michael Low]

I made my 3-ton gear as follows:

4x 8 runners with 4×4 bunks every 2′ and 1x’s running the length of the wagon on top. This is rugged and uses a little less wood than the 2x’s w/out bunks.

The 4x bunks are set in 4″ from the ends of the runners so that I could bolt the 2×4 uprights for my front and rear ladder racks both into the runners (through the 2″ side) and then through the bunks (through the 4″ side of the 2×4 uprights). This makes for two 1/2 ” bolts holding each of the two uprights up. My racks are ash. The front rack about 6′ and the rear about 4′. I used it with a John Deere loose hay loader and yes you adjust height of the rack to the loader.

My flooring naturally spaces 1/4″ as it dries. In my experience the rotting happens mostly because the chaff collects on your runners and bunks and holds water so maybe 1″ gaps you could clean them easily. Generally speaking more air flow saves wood.

Removable seats sounds do-able and a good idea.

My wagon is 7’x14′. Don’t know height.

The pictures are my siblings and I bringing in a heavy crop of first cutting.

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[LongViewFarm]

Thanks Michael,
Your info matches very well what I received from David Fisher via email. I am sharing his response here so it is available to other people too. I’m going to start my build soon, and will post pictures as it goes.

From David Fisher:

“When we got in to loose hay I copied the wagons of Donn Hewes’ Amish neighbors (and their barns to go with them).

Our wagons are 76” wide X 14’ long. The Amish were a full 7’ wide. We were reusing old cross members that were 76” so that’s where we stopped.

The deck stands about 38” off the ground. This is kind of high to hop on and off of, but we wanted the extra height to be able to get produce across the river here even in somewhat high water. Certainly could go lower.

In case I didn’t mention, our wagons are dual purpose – farm / produce wagon one day, hay wagon the next. So for general use, front standards are 33” high off the wagon deck. For hay, we swap it out for the hay standard which is 78” tall. Could go taller still, I suppose, but that’s plenty for us. Note – these numbers are to the top of the boards. The vertical posts extend maybe 6” higher which I like for tying up the lines. Just leave wide enough gaps between boards on the hay standard so that you can pass the lines through for driving as the load builds up – as you see in the photo you sent. No doubt, there are times when the boards are right in front of your face. I have fantasized about plexiglass instead of wood.

The rear standard is 37” high off the deck. Don’t go much higher or it will bind with your loader on tight turns.

All of our standards, as well as sides are easily removable. They just drop into metal stake pockets. The front and rear standard pockets we made custom. Needless to say, make them beefy and attach them strong, as there can be a lot of force on them, and leverage with the big standard especially. As you can see from the photo, we use 2 x 6 in the strong direction, tapered towards the top to save some weight, but heaven forbid your standard should pull off the front of the wagon and land on your team – yikes!

One important detail is that the rear edge of the hitch (for us this is essentially a beefy ring welded on to the end of a piece of flat stock, all in one plane, parallel to the ground, for the loader to latch onto) should be about 7” rear of the rear end of the wagon deck. Closer and again, your loader will bind on the wagon. Much further and your hay will come off the loader and drop down behind the wagon rather than on the wagon, only to be picked up by the loader again and again in a never ending cycle.

As for the deck, I gap the boards so as to let any moisture dry more easily. However, the gaps to collect hay chaff, etc. and we usually have a late hay crop growing out of the gaps by the end of the year right on the wagon – talk about labor saving! If I had a roof to store my wagon under, I might consider a tight deck. Oh, and we have our main beams, then 4 x 4’s cross wise, then the 2” decking on top, running lengthwise. I like this because it makes sliding hay / hayforks rear to front much easier.”

[Donn Hewes]

If someone wants to make a slightly lower wagon floor you can build these with out the 4 x 4 cross beams. I stold my wagon design (no front standard for baling hay), from another Amish community near by. I bolt down 3×10 long beams on the running gear. Then nail directly to that 1 1/2″ or 2″ floor boards across. Nailing this is so simple and fast. I use big gaps too like David. There is one critical finishing step. Use a top and bottom 1×3 or 1×4 on each outside edge of the floor. Bolt through these to clamp the floor boards (a 3/8 carriage bolt every 2′ apx). This ties all the floor boards together at the edge. Flat 4″ plate can be folded and drilled to make good standard pockets that bolt right on the end of the 3×10. This is a very simple and low way to build a flat wagon. These standard pockets actually work better than bolting on verticals as those bolt holes will start to give a little.

[LongViewFarm]

I’ve started building. Will finish the deck today and probably the uprights. It’s a big wagon but I can still move it around easily on flat ground.

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[LongViewFarm]

Here’s the finished product. The short side uprights will likely not stay. They were there to help move square bales.

We are going to load the first loose hay on it today. Maiden voyage.

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[LongViewFarm]

Success with the new wagon and old loader.

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[carl ny]

Nice looking set-up..

[LongViewFarm]

Thanks Carl,
Some observations:
1) my fiance, in the green hat, still wants to marry me
2) after loading the wagon she says- buy a baler
3) I need a hay trolley for my barn
4) After unloading the wagon by hand she still wants to marry me in 2 1/2 weeks.

It’s a lifestyle we enjoy, and DAPNet has done a lot to make that possible.
Thanks!

[JaredWoodcock]

Wow, You have me beat for sure. My wife does not like my farm ideas, it is like pulling teeth to get her to help me. She has finally come around for chicken butchering but I will never convince her that haying is a good idea…. Maybe once my kids are big enough they will help dad out.

Nice work, have a great wedding!

[carl ny]

I would advise you to latch on to her very quickly, she sounds like a keeper. My DIL is the same way. We use a baler but my son goes to work at 2:pm, that’s just about the time we start baling. Guess who does all the work. Two years ago when she was pregnant I told her that it was my last year in the mow, I’m getting to old. As long as I only keep about one bale on the elevator she can keep up. She is one tough girl….

Carl nny

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