Covering a gravity wagon for feed storage?

[tom-ky]

Anyone made a roof or other cover for a gravity wagon to use for feed storage? At first I don't have enough shed space to keep one inside and thought about building a roof on top of box or using a good heavy tarp. woudl the feed sweat any worse than a bin? Suggestions please.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I've never made one, but a neighbor has made several with good results. He uses a wood framework with an insulation board and then covers with tin. No water problem, and minimal condensation. On a gravity box make sure you have the slide protected from moisture as this can cause a problem. Probably a little more expensive than a tarp, but worth it in my opinion.

 

[JMS/.MN]

You can buy commercially made roll tarps for gravity boxes. Just like a mini version of what is on a semi.

 

[Rollie NE PA]

My BIL framed out a roof over a gravity wagon to store his Rice coal in. Worked well. Kept the coal dry, if it didn't the coal would not flow out the shute in the winter.

 

[John Harmon.]

Young man back home was in 4-H and had Market Barrows for a project.His dad gave him a fenced in lot to use and let him have an older gravity wagon to store his feeds in as he wanted to feed them with a bucket and let them get used to people at the same time.Any ways his dad built a pitched roof on the wagon with lift up doors for filling it.They would hook the wagon to a tractor and pull it into the crib alley way and grind it full of feed and supplements and then drag it back to the hog lot.Seemed to work real good for him.This was about 40 years ago. All history now but I generally spend a lot of time mired in recalling "History" JH

 

[M Nut]

We use some 2x4's laid across the top for support strength, then a good quality tarp that comes down about 1ft on all four sides of the wagon box. Tie it good, and it works fine. Do this with 4 wagons each year, and never any spoilage. Harvest oats into two wagons in August, corn into one later in the fall, dump ground feed into the remaining one, and have it all used up by about the next June.

 

[tom-ky]

(quoted from post at 16:43:44 03/27/11) We use some 2x4's laid across the top for support strength, then a good quality tarp that comes down about 1ft on all four sides of the wagon box. Tie it good, and it works fine. Do this with 4 wagons each year, and never any spoilage. Harvest oats into two wagons in August, corn into one later in the fall, dump ground feed into the remaining one, and have it all used up by about the next June.

Thought about one of these tarps, about as heavy as I can find.

http://www.mytarp.com/vinyl-tarps-22-oz-coated.aspx

 

[Anonymous-0]

if it doesn't need to be portable find a cheap used bulk bin to store feed in.

 

[Leroy]

Make sure you get the door top covered good as any rain from that side will run down the side of the wagon bed and in back of the door to get anything there soaked.

 

[RayP(MI)]

Best if you can make something that will cause the tarp to be roof shaped, so that water will run off, not pool on the tarp. Even a 5 gallon bucket in the center will help make tarps slope to the edges.

 

[tom-ky]

(quoted from post at 18:13:51 03/27/11) Best if you can make something that will cause the tarp to be roof shaped, so that water will run off, not pool on the tarp. Even a 5 gallon bucket in the center will help make tarps slope to the edges.

Yes I thought about making something like bows out of conduit or pipe so water would run off,

 

[usetob]

after you frame it out rubber roofing works well

 

[fixerupper]

Back in the 60's dad had the blacksmith shop make some pipe bows and brackets for a 6X10 barge wagon. A tarp went over the bows and we had an all-weather feed wagon. I dipped many thousands of bucketfulls of ground earcorn out of it feeding cattle in bunks. The only place the feed got wet was through the open back but we were using out of the back twice a day so it didn't matter much if it got wet. Jim

 

[Anonymous-0]

I made a simple "A" frame out of conduit for my wagon. Used 3 of them and a good tarp over the top.
It worked well, the feed stayed dry and little to no spoilage. You will see a little corrosion on the wagon at the line of the feed if it sits for a while. My wagon has a galnized box on it and I was able to pick up a poly bin at an auction for a good price.

 

[MPK]

I made a bent pipe out of steel conduit that went up over the middle from front to back and sat on the front and back ends. Was about two feet high. Then put the right size tarp on it and tied it down. Used this to keep my seed dry.

 

[INCase]

I've seen guys use fiberglass RV roofs. Work well. Here in RV country (northern Indiana) those are not too hard to find if you know where to look.