[jazz]

I need a little more grain handling ability on my little homestead. I have 1 good tandem truck and then 2 junkers which are taking a lot of time and maintenance to keep going. I was hoping to replace those two with a cart of some type.

I was eying one of these J&M gravity wagons. We aren`t loading semis but the wagon could serve multiple purposes. They can be built with split compartment and used a seed tender and they are also classed as farm implement so you can pull it behind a tandem without a A1 license. I don't think they are rated for more than 30-40 mph though. If you did have soft fields you could use these behind a tractor but they have no easy way to offload to a truck unless you can throw a 10`drill fill auger or something in the back. Plus it is very low maintenance.

Don`t see many of these up in canada though.

 

[Jason Hildebrand]

They don't have much for tires, I don't think they would be much better than a tandem truck in a soft field. I would consider looking for a true grain cart, some of the older models come up really cheap.

 

[SouthernSK]

Jazz I think you will be disappointed with one of these carts. They are hard to dump into a auger, they do not pull good on the road, they are hard to back up, floatation is terrible, grain does not slide well out the spout, etc, etc.

 

[Fena farms]

I'll sell you a really nice Brent 1080 with UHarvest and scales only used one season

 

[uthinkyourwet?]

As a farmer who has maybe more understanding of the farm size of jazz, who has limited manpowerage, who actually uses one of those wagons, and so know how well they may fit or not, I will chime in here.

Dumping into an auger is WAY easier than with a truck. The grain empties COMPLETELY from the box, unless setting a combine is not your forte'. No sweeping corners and such is nice between loads, complete and easy cleanout is nice at seeding time. Yes they are kind of hard to back up, but I have had mine for several years, and have only really backed up twice, so no big deal.

They are more versatile and dual or triple purpose than a grain cart. I use mine for seeding, harvest, moving grain around all year, and I love it!

I have harvested in wet conditions most years, and they tow well enough.

I pull it on the highway at 80 to 90km/h, tow straight and true, no problem: these are not your grandpas hopper box.

Finally, they are reasonably priced for what you can do with them.

A split box would be the cats meow at seeding time on a smaller farm. Fertilizer in the front, seed in the back etc. A mini semi, without the plates, the tires, the transmission, the engine, the oil costs, and all the other crap that must be kept up with a semi.

Don't shy away from this idea, IMO. We do not all farm 17 000 acres.

 

[farmforlife]

I was in your situation last year, got five inches of rain in harvest on top of the 25 before that so needed some kind of cart. Looked for a gravity wagon but there wasn't much available right away. Ended up with a Brent 800 bu grain cart. I find it quite hand in fact using it today for cleaning out bin bottoms when semi leaves with the top of the bins. I still would like a gravity wagon with the divider in, I think would be incredibly handy especially at seeding. I to am a smaller farmer with limited man power. The grain cart is just gonna be a portable bin in the field on dry years, there is only two of us some don't have a driver. They each have there purpose but one is half the price of the other as well.

 

[Baudy]

I think this is a good idea, Jazz. I am not so sure about this at harvest but I love the idea at seeding. I have been thinking about ways to speed the fill times at seeding and prior to the release of the Horsch Tender cart and Morris' Gamechanger I thought about a purpose built unit like those to fill the aircart. I think this is the ticket for the smaller farmer. With flotation tires, the seed and fert could come to the air cart if an operator is available and the cart is filled with the auger/conveyor or multiple augers/conveyors. I like what uthinkyourwet? pointed out; there are no corners to clean!

This would work at harvest as well, I think it would be pretty sweet to have with two compartments.

 

[uthinkyourwet?]

I use mine at harvest. You pull up BESIDE the swing auger, open the chute, and away you go, no backing up, good for the novice.

 

[meritmat]

Flamans sells the 600bu gravity wagon. Think there 15kish. Few in my area since most guys don't have pto's on there 4wds. For the price im thinking about one

 

[Nairb]

We have a J&M 680 and it works very well. It pulls great behind a tractor. Never tried behind a truck. Can pull doubles behind a tractor.

As long as your crop is dry it comes out without any problem. We have been using ours as a hopper for our mill while combining corn. Can unload a semi in 5 minutes and be on the road again to get another load while it gets milled.

They are very well built and there is a lot of people around here that do use them during harvest.

 

[brazil07]

carts are much better

They don't have much for tires, I don't think they would be much better than a tandem truck in a soft field. I would consider looking for a true grain cart, some of the older models come up really cheap.

x 200 - sold one of those crap tandems few years back that you have to fix/insure, etc and for twice the price of that got a good used grain cart(not much more than what your gravity thing going to cost). Been no maintenance and is much handier. Maybe do not use it in Spring much, but almost use it more in winter to keep hired grain haulers going(load up grain cart while they making trip and have them ready to load in less than 30mins when they get back - not sure what kind of trucker you get who will wait 2hrs for load these days). Pretty sure that could sell cart for what paid for it today so that is a bonus. Kicker is you have to have a unit with PTO that you can pull/operate it.

 

[SouthernSK]

I have a split 3-400 bushel gravety wagon. Ours does not work that well for dumping into the airseeder. We had to extend the shoot and the product does not slide that well out of it. If you open the gates to much the product over flows the shoot. Ours is a unverferth not a JM. For me I would take a tandemn any day over our cart when it comes to seeding.

 

[LutzSK]

If you are interested I think it would be worth the time looking into an RJ Equipment or a Brute box from Ontario. They usually come on a Horst running gear. They aren't as fancy as J&M etc but are much cheaper and probably just as reliable.

Very popular in Ontario. It doesn't take long to find an RJ box. You could likely buy two for the price of one J&M and pull a set of two. Tires aren't bad either. Same tires as on a heavy truck front.

 

[Benkrijger]

We have both and use our gravity wagons more then our grain cart, very handy for moving grain around the yard and can hook it up to anything you want basically

 

[cptusa]

I am all gravity wagon here to get the crop from the field to the bin, utilize a chase cart in the field. They work great for me, hook them in tandem and pull with a magnum 180. No registration, no inspections, no weight limits compared to a semi. If conditions get wet I can split the wagons and pull a single if needed. If I was to be hauling my grain to an end user, then I would have to move to trucks, but the grain haulers here are way to cheap for me to even consider that.

 

[jazz]

Has anyone seen two smaller grain carts (i.e. 500 bu) pulled in tandem before? Then you would have 2 true separate compartments with a dedicated unload auger on both and now it can be used as a seed tender and also as a chaser at harvest.

 

[Daner]

We have a Demco 650 with a split hopper. Figured it would work well for seeding winter wheat so a truck wouldn't be tied up. When I pulled it home I felt comfortable at 55-60 mph. Frost ridges in the road were terrible but I survived. Had to go to Iowa to get it. It has super singles.

I used it some for harvesting winter wheat this fall and it worked ok. I used it to haul from the combine to the bin. The surge brakes are out of fluid so I didn't haul it full on the road. Definitely want a good tractor to pull it loaded with. 1566 with shaky steering left something to be desired.

It comes in handy at the elevator when cleaning to have another container with a tarp. No batteries or gas to fight with.

 

[Big Cob]

We use both trucks and gravity bins here. Probably 40% truck vs 60% Gravity Wagons on a 15 to 20,000 Mt harvest yearly.
Gravity bins on the closer farms are faster and easier than trucks .
On the farther away farms the trucks are the main and the gravity wagons are the back up .
We have 2 @750 bu with brakes and 2 @500bu without brakes for harvest , we pull them in tandem with a 750 in front with 500 on the rear on each set up.
Brakes on all gravity bins would be nice but really depends on your hills.
We have good heavy tires on them all (445/65R22.5) and use a NH T7050 to pull them close to 31mph when smooth .
Occasionally we will put a 750BU behind a tandem truck if we are in an area where we can't get a semi in and out of .
In field we use a grain cart to keep combine going and load on the road or very close to it.
For us some of the advantages of the gravity bins is that there is no special license required so labour is much easier to come by , very simple to use , easy to load / unload and the backing up part you will get used to. Do not require annual inspections like truck and trailers and are covered by the farm's normal equipment insurance .
We have had numerous running gear over time and I would highly recommend getting a Horst Welding running gear under whatever gravity bin you choose , they are well built , easily serviced ,pull nice and straight and are CDN made.
Gravity bin wise , the 1's we like Best are made by RJ Equipment , they clean out good and are continuous welded to seal the seams which we find quite important for seed and fertilizer at planting time.

Some of the manufactures that make both bin and running gear as a package make a nicer (Prettier looking) set up but what we found in the past was either they would pull good and have a crappy bin , or they would have a good bin and a terrible running gear.
Best of luck

 

[jazz]

Somebody for the love of god go weld 2-500 bu grain carts boxes onto a single frame and put another set of floaties out the back. Like a cheaper toned down version of that morris monstrosity. Price it around $50k and you will sell it like hotcakes.

 

[litefoot]

Somebody for the love of god go weld 2-500 bu grain carts boxes onto a single frame and put another set of floaties out the back. Like a cheaper toned down version of that morris monstrosity. Price it around $50k and you will sell it like hotcakes.

Dont think that would fit through the elevator!