Building a Hobby Farm- from woods to eggs

[hunterridgefarm]

He loves his treats, and I often test him by putting one on the ground when I leave for work........you know he won't touch it all day until I say he can.

Just check the bag and make sure they are not chicken flavored .

 

[tony123]

A full week with no update! Shame on me.

Not much of anything happening out at the farm. I've been working on paper to try and arrange the vegetable garden. I'll post a scan of that soon, and ask for some input. It's not as easy as it looks to layout where each vegetable goes. Particularly when you want the spring crops to make room for the summer, and those make room for fall. Looking at it on paper, the vegetable garden seems to be quite the busy place.

I have aquired a new to me peice of farm equipment! Check this out. I'm so proud of it.

I think its from an old Dodge. A local guy had it and said its been in trailer form for 15-20 years that he knows of, and probably long before that. It was sitting amongst a bunch of other "junk", so I stopped and asked about it. He took $40 and I went straight to the used tire store and put on $20 worth of new rubber. Was surprised how easy the wheels came off.

Another issue might be new bearings. They spin well enough, but are not butter smooth.

Its just a little large to use as a "farm" cart, but I wanted something that would double as a twice a year trailer on the road to get mulch, rock, etc.

 

[3RRL]

Tony,
That's a great find. I was looking for something like that to pull behind my tractor and load with rocks or logs. I ended up ordering a small hydraulic dump trailer. Mine cost more than yours, so you are Lucky Tony now!

 

[tony123]

Yeah Rob, for once, I stumble into a deal.

Anyone have a guess at what the payload might be on something like this. The truck was likely a half ton, but the suspension has all been removed and the bed is mounted right on the axle. Wouldn't that increase payload?

Would be nice to carry a ton. I'd like to use it for crush and run, and they sell it by the ton.

 

[Tororider]

I was getting worried, I am glad there was finally an update, hehe.

Nice buy! With regards to the payload, I guess it would be whatever the axle is rated at. You should probably put some lights on it before taking it out on the road, shouldn't be hard to run some wires to a couple tail lights on it.

Worse comes to worse, I am sure they will sell you it a half ton at a time or load a half ton and wait for you to come pick up your second half. Not ideal, but it could be done. I would think you would be ok with a ton, but that is just me.

 

[scgargoyle]

You're gonna blend right in in SC I would go ahead and throw bearings in it and grease things up. Now all you need is the front half of the same truck, and you're ready for Green Acres!

 

[Danno1]

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Ya, that sure is a good ole redneck trailer!!!

Before you load it too heavily on public roads, you should have someone who knows welding check as to how the tongue is attached. Actually, how is the axle connected to the body also? I've seen some pretty sketchy homemade jobs out there.

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[tony123]

SCGargoyle, yes, I am feeling like I fit in a little better.

Danno, good point. I wasn't going to make a ton my first load. I will test it with 4-500 pounds of mulch first. Then a thousand pounds of compost......work my way up to a comfort level.

You guys are as close as I get to a good resource on proper welding. I ran out just now and shot a few photos of the underside.

Heres where the tongue is attached. It is welded to a few of the cross rails, which, in turn, are welded to the axle. The tongue also runs right into the differential where the drive shaft would have.

And heres a shot from the rear showing the cross rails welded to axle. You can also see my $20 tires.

Any opinions?

 

[scgargoyle]

I decided I don't want a ride in it after all.... Looks fairly solid- I take the tongue is actually a driveshaft?! And no springs- it'll tear itself apart on a rough road, esp. loaded. I would load it gently, and make short trips on nice days, if you know what I mean. If the driveshaft is the only tongue, I'd keep the tongue weight down. They're pretty thin wall, designed for rotating force, not a side load. You might want to think about some amendments eventually. I wish I was closer- I could fix you up.

 

[easygo]

I'm by no means an expert on trailers but I think you want to go nice and slow with that when loaded. Not having any suspension would put a lot of extra burden on the tires when you hit a pot hole or bump. Also it will probably bounce a lot when not loaded if it hits the above mentioned pot hole or bump. I'm pretty certain tho if you GO SLOW it will handle a half ton easily. I was given an old boat trailer a few years ago and I converted that into a utility trailer. Just to put the pressure treated wood deck and sides on it cost me $110 or so and a day's work. I think you did good, it looks neat and will do the job. You should invite your kids to splash some paint on it. If it looks funny you might as well go all the way.