700-Bu Shop-Built Grain Trailer

700-Bu Shop-Built Grain Trailer WAGONS/TRAILERS Miscellaneous 18-3-2 You can save 50 percent and get a better, stronger-built grain trailer by building your own, says Don Cross, New Castle, Ind., who built his own 24-ft. 700-bu. grain-hauling rig. "I built it in my farm shop for a bit less than $5,000 with some help from friends," says Cross. "I bought the steel from a local fabrication shop and used tandem axles from a semi trailer. Most trailers this size just require a single axle but tandem axles make it heavier and ride better across fields. I made my own Shur-Loc-type tarp hold-downs. "It's built a lot heavier than commercial units with a weight of 10,000 lbs. compared to 6,200 lbs. for a same-size trailer you could buy. We used 12 ga. steel where most commercial rigs use 14 ga. It unloads out the bottom like a conventional hopper trailer and is more maneuverable in and out of the field compared to a straight truck of comparable size. "I've used it for three seasons with no problems. People who see it can't believe it's not a factory-built rig. It has worked out so well I've nearly finished building a second trailer that'll hold 770 bu. It'll be ready for use next fall. "By building these trailers myself, I've saved 50% of the cost and ended up with a much heavier trailer. I do the building in my spare time," says Cross, who farms 300 acres while working full time at a manufacturing plant. He pulls the trailer with a Ford semi tractor. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Don Cross, 8556 E. Co. Rd. 400 S., New Castle, Ind. 47362 (ph 317 332-2844).

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