Country Manufacturing Wagon Repairs/Improvements

[DMF]

In the other thread (Off-Road Dump Trailers Revisited) I mentioned that my wagon was out of commission. There was and has been a lot of discussion as to the strength and design of these Country Manufacturing Wagons. My thoughts appear on the other thread if you care to read them. On this thread, I hope to illustrate the problems I had and the solution/repair that I have come up with so far. I’m sure this isn’t the best solution and I am open to suggestions, but this is what I’m trying for now; I’ll post my concerns further down on the post.

This photo shows the center steering knuckle of the wagon. The two large hole are attached to the front axle via a large pin, the smaller hole on the lower portion of the bracket ties into the tie-rods so when this knuckle pivots on the large pin it forces the wheels to turn. The tubing (if you can still call it that) is where the drawbar attaches with a ¾” pin (which wasn’t supplied to me BTW). This allows the drawbar to pivot up and down.

 

[DMF]

This is a view from the other side. I want to mention that this occurred when backing the wagon down a small incline with 1 – 1/3 yards of soil in it; within the 2-ton weight limit specified by the manufacturer. No “jack-knifing” of the trailer occurred however I attached the wagon to a drawbar on my 3-point. While backing down the incline, the wagon’s rear wheels came to rest against a small rock that was just large enough to prevent the wagon from rolling. As I continued (or tried to continue) to back up, the 3-point raised up and this damage occurred. My mistake, but it took a second to happen.

 

[DMF]

This photo is taken from the top in an attempt to illustrate the twist.

 

[DMF]

This photo shows the tractor end of the drawbar.

 

[DMF]

This is the same end but a side view. Not a very good design IMHO…

 

[DMF]

This photo shows the wagon end of the drawbar which is not too badly bent, probably because the tube on the steering knuckle collapsed so easily…

 

[DMF]

I wanted to illustrate the bow in the drawbar and this is the best I could come up with. The bar on top is a piece of square bar stock and is flat.

 

[DMF]

On to the repairs. I made the steering knuckle a little longer than the original. I used a piece of rectangular tubing for the upright. In it, I press-fit and tack welded a piece of tubing (with a heavier wall than the original) to serve as the drawbar attachment/pivot point. I used flat stock on the top and a portion of the original drawbar on the bottom.

 

[DMF]

This is an end view as if you were looking from the wagon. You can see the channel clearly here.

 

[DMF]

This is a shot from the underside. You can see the rectangular tubing I used as well as the pivot tube. I know it’s only for a pivot, but I can’t help but add a grease fitting to a tube when I know a pin is going to be installed…