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Loading air-seeder cart from semi -- need ideas

34K views 42 replies 31 participants last post by  Jeffrey Vaughn 
#1 ·
Looking at logistics for planting season and trying to figure out the best way to load an air-seeder cart (JD 1910) from a semi instead of grain dump trucks.

The cart has an auger system and the existing hopper wont fit under a trailer.

Options:
a) Add auger hopper extension to air cart auger.
b) Add Michel's augers to trailer + wet kit to semi. Unload into air cart auger.
c) Tow a transfer auger/conveyor and unload into air cart auger.
d) Tow a field loader conveyor and unload directly into cart, skipping air cart auger altogether.
e) ????

Any views on which option will be the easiest to work with at a reasonable cost?

Also -- could the Michel's augers option make harvest easier by just pulling up beside the bin-loading auger and not having to set swing auger hopper?
 
#5 ·
I used "C" for one field. And that was enough to convince me tandems and end dumps are the way to go. Used "D" for half a season when I found out where the center of gravity on my BG cart was higher than I thought and a new auger was a couple weeks away. What a pain having to move another unit around.
 
#6 ·
Don't bother with "A", you will not be happy.
"B" is a great choice but skip the wet kit and use the carts hydraulics.
"C" and "D" just don't work very well, especially if you are alone. You would need electric trap openers for your trailer to make this option work well.
Another option, although the most expensive of the bunch would be the televeyor express that mounts in place of your existing auger. Very fast and very simple to set up.
One thing to watch if you go the Michels augers is watch your ground clearance going over approaches, don't want to be bending them up. Don't ask me how I know!
 
#9 ·
D is what I do. Tow it behind the tandem. Set up once and just keep driving under it until the truck is empty. Never start the truck unless I have to go home for seed. Will be putting remote hoppers on the trailer, but hasn't really been that bad without them. Fill a 430bu cart alone in 10 minutes from leaving the cab to getting back in. Haven't used the cart auger once in 1100ac of rye seeding this fall. It will probably be taken off for spring.


Last I heard the Televeyor Express was as slow as an 8 inch auger. Maybe they have changed it because it sure looks handy.
 
#11 ·
B is what I currently use with the same 1910 cart. I also have the air seeder hopper on, but it rarely is used during seeding unless we use the other semi for a fill here or there. The Michel's augers are really slick for pulling up to the hopper once to start filling instead of "guessing" where you need to be for the air seeder hopper under a trailer. However, I sometimes have to adjust the trailer when I switch from the back tank to the front tank on a fill. It usually is just a small move, but it still needs to be done. I also have to fight the 10" auger into and out of the cradle, and then I have to battle the spout when switching to the various tanks. As a result, I will really try to get into a seed tender for filling the cart next spring. That way I don't have to ever deal with the Deere auger setup, which I completely hate. Right now I think I would go with a Timpte trailer with a conveyor out the back run by a wet kit on the truck. We are needing another trailer anyways, and the conveyor can be removed after seeding is done.
 
#12 ·
Go with option "B" but with a Cancade single auger setup that pivots between the two hoppers. We have been using that for the last 5 or 6 years and love it. Tried an airseeder hopper but found it slow and heavy to move. Also have side chutes on one trailer but that is a pain and you can't empty out your trailer completely.
 
#13 ·
For 2015 things will change for us. New cart and going with a low profile swing up conveyor at the end of the cart auger. This way I can use any trailer available to us. In the past we used the Michels augers. The augers worked well but I'm getting tired of installing and removing the augers every spring. It's not that time consuming (other than cleaning them out for storage) but the steel ones are heavy and very cumbersome to move around. And unless you want to buy two sets of augers then you're only limited to using that one trailer. Anyway, we added hoses off the back side of our TBT cart and used those hydraulics to power the augers....straight from an open scv on our tractor. Using flow from a single source to power both the cart auger and the Michels augers slowed the entire system down a little so fills took a hair longer than they would have if the truck had its own wet kit. At least that's how it worked with our set up.
 
#17 ·
We use option B with a wet kit on the truck for seeding. Works really well with remote control augers. Can turn them off from the top of the drill if need be. Tried to use them at harvest the first year but they are too slow for the 13' auger and ended up heating the oil up too much on the truck. Bought a remote swing for spotting the auger hopper instead. Really slick.
 
#19 ·
Have michels augers, don't bolt them on anymore, used auger last couple years, will be using a conveyor next year. Set up under semi, drive in with a TBT tank. I only use semi for fertilizer, use tandem for seed and fill with the auger on a flexicoil cart at the same time. Makes for fast fills
 
#20 ·
Airseeder Hopper is what I use. Make sure your grain trailer has taller hoppers. I fight one trailer and am tempted to trade it in just because of this. Otherwise, I have no problem filling by myself. I would like remote control doors on the trailers, but use a little wireless battery powered camera if I need it. Called Hitch cam or something like that. Carry the screen in my hand were ever I need it. I have 3 tank flexi cart. Put 2 fertilizer products in 1 trailer and seed in the other. If I had a second person helping me I may do things different. Moving around gets to be a hassle and try to keep equipment to a minimum.
 
#21 ·
A three tank 1910 can be loaded without ever moving the auger if it's placed in the right spot at the centre. The trick is, the flex section on the spout needs to be just the right length, if its too short it won't work. Michael's with remotes are my favourite.



With 10" augers on this tri-hopper, it will easily keep the conveyor full on this 7950 cart with the screen in place. With a cart full, and a trailer load parked for me, I'm often good for most of a day.




With remotes on everything I can fill it from front to back from on top of the cart without ever getting down when things go perfect. I wouldn't care to fight with that conveyor under the trailer considering its movement arcs and limited retraction because of the walkway railing.
 
#23 ·
What kind of remotes are you using? I have Brehons and after opening and closing trailer shutes a bit they get gummed up from fertilizer dust and seed treating and opener starts to malfunction losing its memory. So eventually I would have to completely clean out trailer which means getting inside and shovelling the last bit into hopper auger then cleaning slides and reprogramming openers. Going back to tandems myself.
 
#24 · (Edited)
The hatches don't have remote openers on them, I just set them by hand for a flow a fair bit less than screen capacity so I don't have to get down to adjust it for lumps on the screen. That's usually the only reason I do have to get down is if I get too greedy about starting out too fast.

The remotes are just for the servos to turn on the augers, the ones that come with a Michael's setup. The remote on the conveyor is of course the standard Bougault unit.

I didn't check to see what kind of pump was on the wet kit that came on the truck they provided. It most likely had been in an end dump application with a telescopic hoist. It's a beast, at curb idle it actually turns the augers faster than they really need to. The whole setup is stress and hassle free for one person.

The long hopper section of the conveyor provides enough length variation to fill the very long cart without moving the trailer.
 
#26 ·
I personally can't answer that because I have never been involved in planting any. The older 8" system could be made to turn quite slow. Because of the smaller wet kit, I ran the engine about 1100 RPM for fertilizer and cereals. I think the new aluminum 10"s would be too fast on the particular truck in use. A simple throttling bypass valve on one orbit motor should make it a gentle as you like. I'd plan on needing that just for the satisfaction of doing the best you can.
 
#29 ·
Michels augers are the way to go! after the initial install they go on in less than 15 minutes.
We mounted a 13hp portable hyd. pack with electric start under the rear slope of the trailer. Then it doesn't matter which truck goes on that trailer.
We used the cart hydraulics the first season, works okay, but you always had dirty connections, dirty hands, which means dirty touch screens ......
Hit the key and go!!!
 
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