Farm Progress

Grain carts go high-tech

Manufacturers are offering advanced features and options on grain carts to streamline harvest.

Jodie Wehrspann

July 8, 2011

2 Min Read


If it has been a few years since you’ve purchased a grain cart, you'll see that manufacturers have added many new features that make the job of hauling grain easier than ever.
 
“In the past, there was a tendency to think a grain cart was just a big steel box on wheels with auger,” says Benjamin Vande Griend, ag products sales manager with Demco. “Now there are so many options you can get on it.”
 
Vande Griend outlines just a few of these options available on many carts today:
 

  • Electronic weigh scale and printer for on-the-go digital readouts and documentation

  • Automatic roll-top tarps to protect the grain

  • Hydraulically activated shutoff doors to eliminate manual adjustment

  • Adjustable (vs. fixed) auger spout that rotates from side to side for more precise unloading and easier approach to the grain trailer

  • Oscillating in-line duals (vs. fixed singles) to minimize frame stress and field scuffing

  • Dual and triple steerable axles to minimize ground pressure and reduce soil compaction

  • Hydraulic motor in place of drives and pulleys for driving augers

  • Hydraulic brakes for better control than tractor brakes alone

  • Mobile video cameras to monitor fill lines

  • Automatic drive chain oilers to reduce maintenance

  • Multi-control joystick instead of multiple levers and switches for controlling auger fold, shutoff gate, and adjustable auger spout 

  • High-strength auger flighting to reduce or eliminate wear


Contact the various grain cart manufacturer to find out which of these features are offered on their brands. Here’s a list of some of the major players in this market:
 

  • Balzer Inc., Cty. Rd. 27, Box 458, Mountain Lake, MN 56159, 1-800-795-8551, www.balzerinc.com

  • Pitonyak Machinery Corporation (Brandt), 1220 E. Durkee St., Carlisle, AR 72024, 870- 552-7517, www.Brandtpmc.com  

  • Demco, 4010 320th St., Boyden, IA 51234, 800/543-3626, www.demco-products.com

  • J&M Mfg., Box 547, Ft. Recovery, OH 45846, 419/375-2376, www.jm-inc.com  

  • Kinze Mfg., Inc., I-80 at Exit 216, Williamsburg, IA, 52361, www.kinze.com

  • Brent-Unverferth Mfg. Co., Inc., Box 357, Kalida, OH 45853,  800/322-6301, www.brentequip.com

  • KillBros-Unverferth Mfg. Co., Inc., Box 357, Kalida, OH 45853, 800/322-6301, www.killbrosequip.com

  • Parker-Unverferth Mfg. Co., Inc., Box 357, Kalida, OH 45853, 800/322-6301, www.parkerequip.com

  • Unverferth Mfg. Co., Inc., Box 357, Kalida, OH 45853, 800/322-6301, www.unverferth.com

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