Truck Frame Fitted With Two Gravity Boxes

Truck Frame Fitted With Two Gravity Boxes TRUCKS Conversions 28-1-11 When the wheels and axles on his 525 and 250-bu. gravity wagons started breaking, Walter Baldner, Austin, Minn., decided to cut off the running gears and mount both boxes on the frame of an old tandem axle truck. "By pulling a 350-bu. wagon behind the two boxes, I can haul about 1,100 bushels at a time," says Baldner. "We have a total of 10 gravity boxes and we're trying to get all of them on truck frames. We think mounting gravity wagon boxes on truck frames is more economical than buying a used semi truck. There's no cost for license plates or insurance, and none of the maintenance costs." The 525-bu. box was a Year-A-Round model, while the 250-bu. was a J & M. He bought the truck frame at a junkyard for $300. He welded 6 by 6 steel beams off an old Deere moldboard plow onto one end of the frame to lengthen it by 12 ft. He moved the truck's dual front axle back by 3 ft. to make room for the opening on the 525-bu. box. He rebuilt the tandem axle so that the front set of wheels steers independently of the back set. At the other end of the frame, he mounted the rear axle from an old gravity wagon. He added a homemade hitch on both the front and rear ends of the frame. He also added flashing and amber lights at the front, middle, and rear parts of the wagons, with electric plug-in wires leading back. All the tires are original to the truck except for the ones that support the 250-bu. box. It's fitted with tires off a cement truck, along with a set of car wheels just for looks. "We use it to haul corn and beans back to our dryer and also to the elevator in town. We use our Deere 8300 front wheel assist tractor to pull it," says Baldner. "We used the same idea three years ago, mounting two 250-bu. wagons on the frame of a single axle truck. We pulled a 640-bu. wagon behind it for a total capacity of 1,180 bu. We still use that unit, also." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Walter Baldner, Baldner Farms, 15148 U.S. Hwy. 218, Austin, Minn. 55912 (ph 507 433-9670).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.