He Built Never Rust Bunk Wagon

He Built Never Rust Bunk Wagon LIVESTOCK Feeding Equipment 19-2-11 "It's just a fact of life. Steel bunk wagons all rust out eventually, but my wagon should last 50 years or more," says Dale Oldenberg about a nearly maintenance-free feeder wagon he retrofitted with plastic. He bought the wagon used at an auction. It's 30-ft. long by 5-ft. wide and held 3 tons of silage when it was new. But, as the pan rusted out over eight years, capacity diminished because feed fell through the bottom. "I got to thinking about how we use plastic in our mangers and that we should be able to use it iri our wagons to increase longevity," says Oldenberg. "Nobody makes a plastic-lined bunk wagon. that I know of." To begin with, Oldenberg took the rusted out pan off the wagon, saving the uprights and flared top part of the wagon. Then he constructed new framework out of 2-in. by 4-in. steel tubing and welded one rail lengthwise on each side of the wagon chassis. Next, Oldenberg welded the original up-rights and flared top back on the new frame. He then used 2-in. thick T -bar stock to make a V-shaped gridwork for the wagon so gravity pulls feed to the middle as in a hopper wagon. Oldenberg then got six 5-ft. by 10-ft. 1/ 4-in thick sheets of ag grade plastic from Badger Plastic & Supply Co., Plover, Wis. The company custom heat-shaped the plastic to fit into the V shape of the wagon. He used three sheets of plastic per side, overlapping each sheet 2 in. so feed can't drop through. He used 18 ga. stainless steel caps in the four corners and around the top lip of the wagon to hold the plastic in place. Including the plastic, which costs $150 a sheet, Oldenberg says he has about $1,200 in the wagon. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dale Oldenberg, W 4525 CTHO, Medford, Wis. 54451 (ph 715 748-3739).

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