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speaking of backing wagons

B

big hunter

Member
40 years ago when my uncle was flail chopping sorgum pulling a chuck wagon with a JD 630 he spun out on a hill (he had at least a half a load on the wagon and it rained a little the night before). He had to back down the hill and turn the whole rig to one side because there was a woods at the bottom of the hill. My uncle the superman backed that JD 630 with a flail chopper hooked to it with a chuck wagon hooked to the chopper down the hill ole, it was a good 60 -70 feet. Then he was off the hill enough to turn away from the hill enough to take another route.
 
I enjoyed it. I used to bale myself into corners so I would have to back out.

I don't think I would have liked it on a hill, though.
 
I knew a farmers daughter thea backed a tractor, corn chopper and forrage wagon around a corner and into the machine shed,( about 75 feet). ON THE FIRST TRY!!!.unfortunatly, she married a city boy and now works at aknitting factory in Alabama
 
Used to be a major event at the county fairs where I grew up. They would set up an obstacle course and you had to back a 4 wheeled wagon through it. I tried it once, they convinced me I need to hone my backing skills.
 
When I was a kid, maybe 10 years old, I watched our neighbor back a full hopper wagon, behind a two row corn picker hooked to an 806. He backed up to a 2nd loaded wagon and came within a couple of inches of being dead on.

I was dropping the pin in the 2nd wagon and didn't have to move the the tongue very far to hit the hole. I was able to move it myself, so that's pretty close.

Still impresses me today, I can back a 4 wheel wagon OK but I'm not even going to try to back with another hinge point in between.......
 
If we have to back wagons long distances, I simply turn the tractor around and hook the pin to the front bumper. This gives directional control of wagons whose front axle turns. I have backed a wagon about 20 feet, and my grandfather has done it further (that is without turning the tractor around).

SF
 
Backing a wagon is a lot of factors rolled into one fiasco.
Backing over unecen ground, especially up hill - even a slight grade can be challenging.

If your wagon's steering gear is even a bit loose, it becomes magnitudes more difficult.

Can be done from rear drawbar of tractor, but far easier if you can hitch to front of tractor. Unfortunately, front hitch on our one tractor that has a front hitch is rather high, putting wagon tongue at a bad angle, which makes it more difficult.

If the wagon is loaded, it becomes more difficult
especially if the load blocks your view of the barn door!
 
Running a chopper into field corners was typical, then backing up to make the turn. Quite a few times I hooked three loaded wagons together behind the chopper to head home. They had extended hitches, so it was easier than hooking the bale wagons behind the baler. Those hitches were fixed length. Years of practice makes it easier. Key is never let the hitch get too far out of line before correcting.
 
If the chuck wagon was big enough that he couldn't see around it from the tractor seat it would have been a real challenge.

I had a hair raising experience that turned me into a good backer real quick. I had pulled a barge wagon to the gravel pit with my 79 Dodge 4X4 to get a load of gravel. After weighing empty I took the low road back to the pit where the payloader loaded me. When the payloader was done he took a steep shortcut back to the scale. This shortcut was graded up with steep sides. I followed him with the full wagon behind the pickup and when I got the front wheels over the top I spun out, then the wagon started dragging me backwards. I was going backwards down the hill and there were no other choices. Had a topper on the pickup so I had no choice but to use the mirrors to back it down the narrow path. I made it OK but I've never forgotten it. If I would have gone a little crooked the wagon would have rolled over the side and pulled the pickup with it and there was NO chance for a mistake. Just plain got lucky that time. So much for that Dodge being a POWER wagon. The wagon had more power than the Dodge LOL. Jim
 
Gary I used to be in those events when I was in 4H. Kept my skills up I went on to drive semi for a freight line for 38 years. In my spare time I collected some old farm tractors.
 
When I'm chopping I gotta back up from time to time, but not too often. Can back a 4 wheel wagon pretty good though. For one of our silos, we go between the barn & shed, and if we need to go the back way out to the field again, you gotta back up between the barn & shed, and not hit the grain bin behind the shed. It's not a straight shot either, and the wagon naturally wants to head right toward the grain bin when backing.

P1000428.jpg


Donovan from Wisconsin
 
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