field fence 3 point hitch unroller

[grsthegreat]

I was looking at a Field Fence unroller and stretcher unit for sale at tractor supply and another farm supply outfit locally. They were about $580.00 PLUS nearly $300 shipping fees. No way..

I decided to build my own from some scraps and a new piece of 1/4" x 3" steel channel. Total cost about $54.00 plus my time. I had most parts in stock from previous projects.

I'm not worrying about stretching the wire, as i have a clamp device that i hook to a chain from bucket to stretch wire. i only wanted a easier way to unroll 1,800 feet of horse non climb fencing than to roll on ground thru grass.

Haven't tried it yet, but should work fine. Ill post some pics of it in use later next week.

 

[DJ54]

I did the same thing, about 10 years ago. Back then, we had a local salvage dealer you could buy new steel drops for scrap price. I bought most of it for that project, but like you, a couple pieces were in the "left over from another project pile". Also had enough primer & paint left over from building fronts for my horse stalls to paint it. Total out of pocket for the new steel I bought was less than $18.00.I suppose if you would throw in gas & welding wire, and a couple other consumables, it was still less than $25.

It worked like a champ,and fence stood up, leaning against the posts. Did the stretching with oak 2 X 4's sandwiching the fence between them, and pulled it taught with one of those double dogged, 2 ton come-a-longs. That was the easy part, I'm just getting too old to wrestle those rolls of fence anymore. Fence came on a pallet, on end. Plate on the un-roller is about 1" shorter than the pallet, so they rolled right on.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I was looking at a Field Fence unroller and stretcher unit for sale at tractor supply and another farm supply outfit locally. They were about $580.00 PLUS nearly $300 shipping fees. No way..

I decided to build my own from some scraps and a new piece of 1/4" x 3" steel channel. Total cost about $54.00 plus my time. I had most parts in stock from previous projects.

I'm not worrying about stretching the wire, as i have a clamp device that i hook to a chain from bucket to stretch wire. i only wanted a easier way to unroll 1,800 feet of horse non climb fencing than to roll on ground thru grass.

Haven't tried it yet, but should work fine. Ill post some pics of it in use later next week.View attachment 603704 View attachment 603705 View attachment 603706

I have the one from Tractor Supply (although I swear it was a lot cheaper).

It looks like it was made in someone's garage. A bunch of pieces of metal stock welded together.

 

[cat fever]

Have you thought about some way to add resistance to the roll so only what you want unwinds?

 

[oosik]

Back in the day ( 1982 ) I used a single roll unroller on the tractor 3-point. It worked - it was slow. The neighbor loaned me his 4 roll unroller. I never did get the hang of it. It created more tangling problems than speeding things up. I think I should have had help preventing tangles when using the 4 roll unit. It was only me doing the job - I went back to using the single roll unit.

I have one and a half miles of four wire, barbed wire fence around my 80 acres. The fence line is over hill, over dale, around and tru pine stands and large fields of sage brush. It was a real JOY of a project. I check the fence line twice a year and am glad it is done and still stands straight and strong.

 

[grsthegreat]

Have you thought about some way to add resistance to the roll so only what you want unwinds?

Im only unrolling 100' spools of non climb fence, so that shouldn't be an issue. If it were the 330' field fence that would make a difference

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Have you thought about some way to add resistance to the roll so only what you want unwinds?

The one I have (from TSC) has the bottom plate fixed so it doesn't swivel. That creates plenty of resistance to the roll, I've never had a problem with excess fence unrolling.

 

[cat fever]

Sounds good,

I was thinking of helping my brother put up barbed wire and it was a mess, kept unwinding more than we wanted.

 

[Gem99ultra]

I was looking at a Field Fence unroller and stretcher unit for sale at tractor supply and another farm supply outfit locally. They were about $580.00 PLUS nearly $300 shipping fees. No way..

I decided to build my own from some scraps and a new piece of 1/4" x 3" steel channel. Total cost about $54.00 plus my time. I had most parts in stock from previous projects.

I'm not worrying about stretching the wire, as i have a clamp device that i hook to a chain from bucket to stretch wire. i only wanted a easier way to unroll 1,800 feet of horse non climb fencing than to roll on ground thru grass.

Haven't tried it yet, but should work fine. Ill post some pics of it in use later next week.View attachment 603704 View attachment 603705 View attachment 603706

Nice job. That's using your head. Makes me wonder how TSC or anyone can justify charging nearly $900 for a fairly simple unit.

 

[massey collector]

Becuse those who can't build one pay the price.

Al