Corn Crib Built From Semi Trailer

Corn Crib Built From Semi Trailer CROP STORAGE Corn Cribs 21-2-4 When Andrew Ford's 1996 corn crop was 15 to 20-bu. per acre bigger than expected, his two existing cribs couldn't handle it all. So the Maysville, Ky., farmer came up with a quick, economical solution that gave him the extra storage he needed. Ford bought a used 45-ft. long semi trailer for $1,200 and turned it into a self-unloading crib that holds 1,400 bu. of ear corn. "We elevated the front five feet by setting a 9-in. dia. post on each side of the trailer," he says. "We notched the top of each post and mounted a piece of railroad track between the posts. Then we welded the trailer jacks to the track. We stacked railroad ties underneath the track to keep the trailer from sinking." Ford cut 2 by 4-ft. holes spaced 10 ft. apart in the roof of the trailer for filling with his elevator. He covered the back of the trailer with 2 by 6 slats spaced 1 1/2 in. apart. A 2-ft by 18-in. sliding door mounts in an angle iron frame at the bottom. He also trussed the sides of the trailer with three 1/2-in. dia. rebar rods spaced equidistantly through the trailer. He covers the trailer with a 45 by 12-ft. tarp when it's full to keep moisture out. He cut three 1 by 2-ft. holes in the bottom along each side of the trailer and covered them with expanded metal to provide air flow through the "crib". "Corn went into the crib at 19 1/2 per-cent moisture. I started taking it out for feed within a month of picking it," he says. "I can keep corn in it indefinitely." Out-of-pocket expense was about $1,600. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, An-drew Ford, P.O. Box 557, Maysville, Ky. 41056 (ph 606 759-7804).

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