Switch Box For Hauling Livestock, Grain

Switch box for hauling liestock, grain GRAIN HANDLING Miscellaneous 14-3-36 Here's the slickest system we've ever seen for making one truck do the work of two. Built by Fred Bissen of Stacyville, Iowa, with the help of his sons and Freeman Welding, Little Cedar, Iowa, the "switch box" system consists of a new Ford cargo truck, a 28-ft. livestock box and a 22-ft. grain box. In just 10 to 15 min., one man can switch from one box to another without tools. Bissen says he got the idea from scrap trucks that pick up dumpsters loaded with construction debris or other garbage. "It lets one truck de the work of two with just one subframe and hoist. With either box mounted, the truck is as good or better than any grain or livestock hauler on the market," says Bissen. In order to keep the height of the boxes down and still be able to switch from one box to another, the men had to mount the Omaha Standard hoist down between the truck frame members instead of on top. That meant one frame cross member had to be reworked to arch down under the hoist. An 8,500-lb. "power up, power down" electric winch mounts at the front of the subframe. Even though the livestock box is 6 ft. longer than the grain box, both have the same stringers underneath that fit into the subframe, and the same king pin runs across the back of the frame to lock both boxes in place. When not mounted on the truck, the front end of each box is held by a pair of temporary legs and a set of wheels under the back end. To mount, the operator backs the truck up under the front end of the box, raises the hoist and lift rail to an incline, and then hooks up the winch, which pulls the box into place. Once the box is mounted, the legs and wheels slip out of their sockets and a king pin is inserted across the back of the truck, locking the box in place. An "air down, spring up" tag axle at the rear can be used to move big loads. Lights unplug at the rear from one box to another. Bissen built both boxes from scratch, using steel framing, plywood sides, and tongue and groove flooring. "We overbuilt every-thing so it would last. It's a real attention-getter wherever we go," he notes. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Fred Bissen, Rt. 1, Box 142, Stacyville, Iowa 50476 (ph 515 737-2518).

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