First load of corn to the elevator... and a yikes!

Partial load to see what I had. Was accepted, no mold. 54.8 TW-21.8 moisture 150 bushels. I am very pleases as I combines less than one acre. Planted 4/24--92 day

Only down fall was coming home empty the clip that holds the pin in for the hitch ro my reciever broke or some thing and allowed the pin to come out. Was lucky, I had just stopped and was accelerating when it popped and hitch pulled out of reciever. Looked back to see my wagon free wheeling towards the ditch very slowly, but to fast for me to react and stop it with the truck. Didnt flip or anything, just had a couple nearby good people come help me steer it out of the ditch as I pulled it back with a chain. Wow, never trust what comes factory. I will definatly be making a much more fail safe clip to hold that hitch in the reciever. Could of been a lot worse--- loaded and into incoming lane....shudder just thinking about it. Wanted to haul a box or three from different feilds to make sure it was good to go before I fill semi's.
And to think some people pull from their bumpers and dont even use clips in the hitch pin. I'm even gonna make a tether chain now. Have a safe harvest gang.

Had that happen on a Minnesota 250 wagon.Modified it to better than new.

Been hearing of lower test weights.We checked some last night; 24.3% and 58 TW. 105 day.

Cornstalks can pull those clips right off the pin. If the pin has a handle I use a heavy piece of wire thropugh the handle and around the hitch and back through the handle.

I don't use spring clips on the pins on my bale wagons in the field because I may just as well throw them away. But I keep two on the tilt lever in the P/U so that I have them for on the road.

Just took a test load in 50.1 tw and 31.5 moisture. docked .62 for moisture not sure on weight only 70 bu. guess i"ll wait a few more weeks. S.E. MI 110 day corn planted 4-15-09. Frank

You are EXTREMELY lucky with that wagon situation. A pin came out of a hitch like that here last week going down the road full speed. The trailer flew up over the car behind and the tongue went right through the windshield of the car behind that one,killing the driver. Somebody is looking at some serious trouble over that one.

I use a light chain in each of the hitch pins- attach to the lift ring with a cow ring, slip the hairpin keeper on the other end of the chain. I either stick the keeper in when out of the field, or double check after leaving the cornstalks. Stalks will pull them out, but I don"t lose the keeper. On my stalk chopper and disc chisel, I use a hinged plate that flops over the hitch pin, (made like a large hasp) and hold it in place with a snap over center keeper like what is used to attach a plow to the lift arms. Lynch pin, they are called?

I don't trust any of those hairclip type retainers for the pin of the reciever. I use a hard threaded bolt with a lock washer and a lock nut on mine. Have never had a surprise yet.

Shelled 25 acres of 92 day today. It ran 49 TW 26% moisture. It was planted 5/2. There was some mold in it but the dryer will burn that off. Rest of my corn is 100 day, not looking forward to dipping into that stuff.

Ron's right. Those stalks are just waiting to pull the pin out for you. Any kind hair pin that's easy to use will not be in the hitch pin when you leave the field if you drive through corn stalks. Jim

If you're pulling a wagon or trailer on the road you should (must) use safety chains with a truck or tractor pulling. You're right and lucky that it didn't happen at speed with a full load and it came out or broke. and You're right you can't trust the factory (chinese junk) to make it right and that's why the make safety chains (which are probably made in china too). You (we) can't afford to get sued and loose your farm if something went wrong. Seems like when I was a kid everyone used grain trucks (which don't have that problem) and have moved to pulling gravity boxes with pickups. Of course with farms getting bigger everyone is getting semi-trucks (hopefully their maintained properly). No such thing as being too safe. I must say I've noticed alot more farmers with lights/turn signals on the rear of tractors and hay wagons.

Dave from MN:

Perhaps the good lord is looking over you. I believe it is in return for the first aid that you and your kin had applied to help my friend. He's the one that hurt himself on a cycle in your folks' front yard.

God bless,

D.