About Grain Carts
Grain carts, sometimes referred to as “grain auger wagons,” are tractor-towed carts designed to work side-by-side with a combine, carrying away as many as 2,000 or more bushels of harvested grain (most commonly corn) at a time so the combine doesn’t need to stop harvesting in order to unload. They may be equipped with tires for general use or flotation tires or tracks that are better-suited for operating in soft field conditions with minimal ground disturbance.
Kinze 1305 Dual Auger Grain Cart
Although they serve the same basic purpose as a gravity wagon, which is to transport the crop, grain carts have auger systems that enable them to unload grain directly into a grain truck, whereas gravity wagons have an unloading door on their undersides and, as their name implies, use gravity to aid in offloading their cargo.
Key Benefits
The key advantage of using one or more grain carts during the harvesting process is that the tractor and cart can stay right alongside the combine and take on grain directly from the combine’s grain tank. Then, once the grain cart is full, the tractor can head over to a truck, trailer, or storage unit, unload the grain from the cart, and then head back over to the combine before its grain tank fills up again.
For larger operations, using multiple grain carts with the proper team synchronization allows a combine to stay in almost constant motion, considerably improving harvest efficiency and saving growers both time and money.
Features & Capacity
Aside from the basic features all grain carts share, including hoppers, augers, and wheels or tracks, mechanical and electronic technological advancements in the market tend to set these units apart. Examples include computer balancing, directional downspouts, dual augers, electronic tarp systems, front-located and adjustable augers, hydraulic doors, integrated weighing systems, remote downspout control, and even cameras and sensors to monitor the unloading process.
Capacity is also a big differentiator, as some grain carts may only be able to hold around 200 or 250 bushels. Compare that to the 2,500-bushel capacity of the Brent Avalanche Model 2596, a massive track-equipped grain cart with an empty weight of 37,680 pounds (17,100 kilograms) that requires a four-wheel-drive tractor rated for 500 or more horsepower (373 kilowatts) to pull it.
One example of a popular wheel grain cart is the J&M 875-18, which is part of the manufacturer’s larger 875 lineup. It weighs 9,200 lbs (4,173 kg) and has a steel, 875-bushel hopper with and one vertical auger that’s 18 inches (46 centimeters) in diameter. According J&M, it has an unload time of roughly two minutes, depending on crop moisture content.
The Kinze 1305 is a dual-auger grain cart with a maximum capacity of 1,450 or 1,500 bushels, depending on whether it’s equipped with tires or tracks. It also has a 750-bushel-per-minute unload speed, thanks to its 24-in. (61-cm) vertical auger and 22-in. (56-cm) horizontal auger.
Find The Right Grain Cart
You will find thousands of new and used grain carts for sale on TractorHouse.com from such popular brands as Brent, Demco, E-Z Trail, J&M, Killbros, Kinze, Parker, and Unverferth, to name a name a few.
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