Tag Along Grain Cart

Tag along grain cart COMBINES Miscellaneous 16-5-2 Richard Gidel, Williams, Iowa, needed some extra carrying capacity on his Gleaner R40 rotary combine so he could make a full round in the field without stopping to unload. He solved the problem by assembling his own 200-bu. "tag-along" grain cart that's filled by a hydraulically-driven transfer auger he mounted on the combine. Grain is loaded out to the "tag-along" cart on-thego. Once the cart is filled, it's unloaded by its own hydraulic-driven auger that's con-trolled from the combine cab. Both the transfer auger and "tag-along" grain cart auger are operated by orbit motors that are plumbed into the combine's electro-hydraulic valves. "It allows me to harvest without hiring additional help and reduces soil compaction by eliminating trips through the field," says Gidel, who farms by himself. "Another advantage is that I farm on ridges and don't want a tractor and wagons on them any more than necessary. It also eliminates considerable wear and tear on wagons since they don't have to be driven into the field to meet the combine. "The cart and combine tank can be unloaded simultaneously, or independently. I added an extension onto the grain tank to keep it almost full so there's as much weight as possible up front. When the grain tank is full, a monitor beeps and I push a switch to activate the transfer auger. It moves grain from the tank to the tag-along cart as fast as it's harvested. "I built the tag-along cart in 1985 and pulled it behind a Gleaner F2 conventional combine. Then I traded the F2 in for the rotary combine and used the same transfer auger although I had to lengthen it. "A hydraulic-powered tag-along cart works better than running a pto back from the combine because it's simpler, doesn't take as much power, and costs less. I don't have any trouble turning at the end of the field because I put a long hitch on the cart that allows the combine to clear on sharp turns. There's no permanent modification to the combine." Gidel made a support brace for the 6-in. dia., 20-ft. long transfer auger by bolting a frame made of steel tubing on the back of the combine. The orbit motor that drives the transfer auger is bolted underneath a steel plate that he mounted inside the tank. "A section of stove pipe mounted on the end of the auger serves as a down spout so we didn't have to make the auger any bigger than necessary," says Gidel. He mounted an orbit motor flow control valve on the combine so that he can vary speed of the transfer auger. To make the tag-along cart itself, Gidel paid $100 for an old Hawkbuilt side-slinger manure spreader and mounted a 200-bu. gravity wagon box on the frame. The wheels were on 60-in. centers so he widened them to 120-in. centers to follow the combine wheels. "I didn't use a commercial grain cart because they're too big and have too much weight on the hitch," says Gidel. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Richard Gidel, 2950 190th St., Williams, Iowa 50271 (ph 515 854-2406).

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