bulk transport...

[mjbrown]

hey guys,
been at the iburncorn forum again,looking at ways to transport bulk material. i found this awesome rig there someone built to transport corn. the poster said the foot print is 4'x5' and it holds approx. 32 bushel of corn.

my math skills really bite so this is my question...how big would i have to build this to haul 2 ton of bulk pellets? thinking 4' wide x 8' long,but with the tapered bottom, i dont know how tall it would have to be. as stated, my math skills bite, but i can weld like a son of a gun!! i have worked in a fab shop and shipyard for 25 yrs. so the skills are there.

also, if there was a tight cover on this, would it be okay to store outside as they do corn in the gravity wagons?

thanx for any help, mike

by the way...that is a hancrank auger at the bottom that can be adapted to cordless or elec. hand drill.

 

[mjbrown]

pook,
just went back and read a thread i posted for info on bins. looks like 4x4x8 will hold approx 2.5 ton,so if i take away for the taper at the bottom,i will be somewhere in the 2 ton goal. you dont have to have an auger,you could just vac the pellets out, or tip the wagon to an incline and use a slide gate.


mike

i can buy my pellets for 180-190 per ton buying bulk,so that is why i am thinking on this line.

 

[Delta-T]

mj, I'm not great at math but i'll give it a shot..... If you make the bottom taper about 45 degrees and the trailer is 8 feet long I htink you need the side walls to be about 3 feet tall to get 2 tons of pellets in there. I wish I could show you my little sketch so you can see how I got the numbers but the part that would be the sidewalls (excluding the tapered bottom) would measure 3'(high) x 4'(wide) x 8'(long) giving you 96 cubic feet. The tapered bottom would be half of a rectangular box measuring 2.85' (roughly, length of each wall of the taper)x 2.85' (same rough number) x 8'(long) (2.85x2.85x8)/2 giving you an additional 32.5 cubic feet (roughly) for a grand total of 128.5 cubic feet. I say a ton is pretty close to a 4' cube (64 cubic feet, I know its actually a bit smaller, but safe to make it a lit bigger, to account for "fluffiness") so 2 tons should be about 128 cubic feet. Hope that helps....and please, anyone feel free to correct me.

 

[mjbrown]

thank you delta.
mike

 

[Delta-T]

don't thank me yet.....what happens if you build it and I'm wrong, LOL. I wish I could weld like a son of a gun, I'd have turned my Saab into a helicopter by now. As it is, all I can do is play the guitar,and paddle a canoe (not at the same time) which oddly enough does abosolutley nothing to help me move pellets.

 

[mjbrown]

pook, most people didnt like them this winter...maine woods pellets in athens.i burned them all winter(5 tons) as did my dad, and we never had a problem. i live 11 miles from the mill.

mike

 

[smoke show]

bushel of 12-15% corn =56lbs
that trailer holds 32 bu=1792
u need one more than twice that big

 

[kinsmanstoves]

I looked into bulk transport from a railroad car down to a bin that collapses and fits into the back of a pick up truck. The idea is great but to make it work is the tough part. Every time you move pellets they will break down. When pellets break down they lose their density and this causes a bad burn. As of right now the best way is bagged from the mill and not a bulk distributor.

Just my advice.

Eric

 

[smoke show]

oops just realized you were asking bout pellets

 

[mjbrown]

thanx for all the input guys. havent spent any monies yet...still in the research stage,and leaving the door open to any suggestions or options.


mike

 

[tjnamtiw]

bushel of 12-15% corn =56lbs
that trailer holds 32 bu=1792
u need one more than twice that big

And you'd have to go double axle since the most I've seen at Northern Tool is 3500 lb axles, which also has to carry the weight of all that steel. Just get 1 1/2 tons at a time and keep the cost down.

 

[tjnamtiw]

bushel of 12-15% corn =56lbs
that trailer holds 32 bu=1792
u need one more than twice that big

And you'd have to go double axle since the most I've seen at Northern Tool is 3500 lb axles, which also has to carry the weight of all that steel. Just get 1 1/2 tons at a time and keep the cost down.

Well, I was only off by a factor of two!! I was sitting in my 'Library' contemplating the world situation and reading through the Northern Tool catalog and I see you can get 7000 lb axles now. The last time I built a trailer, I could only get up to 3500 lbs. Amazing for single axle! Build that sucker!

 

[mjbrown]

actually thinking of using mobile home axel...2 if needed,depending on rating.

i have a 3/4 ton truck to pull it,and travel country roads to the mill, so i wont be going over 45 mph. the guys at work are doing up the figures for me for placement of the axel or axels,for proper tongue weight so the thing doesnt do the wig wag behind me. i dont like that, it makes for a scary ride.

thanx all, mike

 

[tjnamtiw]

actually thinking of using mobile home axel...2 if needed,depending on rating.

i have a 3/4 ton truck to pull it,and travel country roads to the mill, so i wont be going over 45 mph. the guys at work are doing up the figures for me for placement of the axel or axels,for proper tongue weight so the thing doesnt do the wig wag behind me. i dont like that, it makes for a scary ride.

thanx all, mike

That's a great idea. There must be thousands of those axles sitting around.

 

[mjbrown]

hi pook,

whats dysarts getting for the one ton bag?

hi tj,

thanx for the post.i will be spending a little time doing more research before i make a final desicion. have to think of the cost factor to build and the wife is going out of work for the summer next week for foot surgery.


mike

 

[tjnamtiw]

hi pook,

whats dysarts getting for the one ton bag?

hi tj,

thanx for the post.i will be spending a little time doing more research before i make a final desicion. have to think of the cost factor to build and the wife is going out of work for the summer next week for foot surgery.


mike

Sorry to hear about the wife's foot. I guess she kicked you in the butt one too many times??? Hope she heals quickly.

 

[krooser]

If you use mobile home axles you'll have to buy new highway tires for the wheels... the mobile home tires are junk!

 

[mjbrown]

heard that krooser...tell me, as a truck driver, what would you recommend for tires? i believ they are 15" rims.

thanx, mike

 

[flamegrabber]

Go here and check out the "Corn Caddy" at the bottom of the page. I was seriousley considering it for bulk transport and storage.

100% weather and varmint proof storage.

Great for bulk transport and storage in any weather.

(broken link removed to http://www.heavybiltmfg.com/dyn/showpage.php?id=16)

There are other products on this page as well.

FG.

 

[Sting]

Them sort of axles generally use 14.5 inch rims

Here is a link for hi-way rated tires

http://www.redneck-trailer.com/2009/E/E2-E5.pdf

 

[Titus]

whats dysarts getting for the one ton bag?

Pellet Prices
Ton of 40 Lb. Bags [Ton Tote (Super Sack)]
Picked Up $249.00 [Picked Up $239.00 + $15 Bag]
Delivered $279.00 [Delivered $269.00 + $15 Bag ]

The $15 is a refundable deposit. They want the totes back. ;-)

 

[mjbrown]

thank you guys..i really appreciate the help and input.

mike