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One Man Trailer Moves Grain Bins
Nebraska farmer Glenn Kirchhoff, of Weeping Water, figures he's moved more than 1,000 grain bins with the "one man" bin-moving trailer he and neighbor Dale Nielsen designed and built 20 years ago.
"We'd purchased some government bins and needed a way to move them without taking them apart. Dale and I came up wit
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One man trailer moves grain bins CROP STORAGE Grain Storage 11-5-23 Nebraska farmer Glenn Kirchhoff, of Weeping Water, figures he's moved more than 1,000 grain bins with the "one man" bin-moving trailer he and neighbor Dale Nielsen designed and built 20 years ago.
"We'd purchased some government bins and needed a way to move them without taking them apart. Dale and I came up with this trailer, which has been in constant demand ever since for custom-moving grain bins and corn cribs," Kirchhoff told FARM SHOW.
He gets a flat rate of $145, plus $30 per hour spent traveling down the road with the trailer and a bin loaded onto it. Working alone, he can have a bin loaded and on the road in about 1.5 hrs. Unloading the bin and setting it up at the new site takes another 1.5 or 2 hrs.
Designed to handle bins up to 18 ft. in dia. ("anything bigger poses too many problems with power lines and other obstructions"), the trailer is pulled by a 4-WD pickup which carries a pump to supply hydraulics. A series of valves mounted on the trailer tongue control action of the trailer's two large 3-stage truck hoist cylinders.
The first step in moving a bin is to undo the anchor bolts. "Some older bins have the first ring below ground level. I use outriggers on the back of the trailer to raise them up and out of the ground," notes Kirchhoff.
To keep bins from collapsing, he installs three interior support chains, each pulled tight with a come-along clamp. Resembling spokes in a large wheel, the chains are positioned "around the clock" at 9:00/3:00, 10:00/4:00, and 1:00/7:00 o'clock.
Kirchhoff backs the trailer up to the bin and folds out its three hinged "ribs" which, when folded out and raised vertically, fit tight against the curvature of bin. Cables are pulled up tight around the bin at each "rib" to secure it to the trailer.
To lay the bin down, A hydraulic-driven winch on the trailer tongue starts tipping the trailer and attached bin. When the bin tips past the balancing point, the two large hydraulic cylinders take over and gently lower the bed and bin in the horizontal position for road travel.
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Glenn Kirchhoff, Rt. 1, Weeping Water, Neb. 68463 (ph 402 267-5345).
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