Advice and suggestions please on "Garden Cart" or Farm Cart . .

[Foxglove]

To clarify --I need to move bales of hay, one at a time, from the barn to the pastures. Currently I am using a sled, which seemed to work well when snow was more common. This year, very little snow!

Since in the past, feeding hay, and having snow were two events that were closely related, the sled was a good choice. But not right now and possibly not in the future.

The cart should be sturdy enough to hold a 50 pound bale of hay. Secondly, it needs to be able to go through uneven ground think gravel, mud, dirt --the wheelbarrows are not able to go through mud at all. I am not sure if push or pull is the ideal --what works for you??

And no, I am not getting the tractor out to hook up to anything. I have no ATV or mule or anything else mechanical. I used to have a Mastiff who pulled hay in a wagon for me, but he died and I sold the dog cart and harness. I don’t want to do that again --it was fun, but 200 pounds of dog is a lot of dog.

If you have one you love, please tell me the brand --if you tried one and it didn’t work --or you hate it, I’d like to know that too.

Thank you!!!

[clanter]

suggest a polly Gorilla Cart, the one I have is rated to 1200 pounds, easily would hold a 50 pound bale of hay. The one I have has been in daily use for over twelve years

It is used to take hay out the back paddock, move bales of shavings from the stock pile the barns (six bales easily fit) , haul bags of feed in from when picked up by car, putting muck baskets in then pulling through the paddocks to pick the manure

years ago daughter hooked her 150 pound German Shepherd Dog in a made up harness for him to pull her through the farm

[Simkie]

I use my Rubbermaid farm cart for this and it works very well. I can haul 3-4 bales pretty easily; a single one is cake.

Home Depot always has the best price.

[Jarpur]

We’ve had one of these for decades, and use it daily, for all kinds of tasks:

Original Smart Cart 7 cu ft (Contractor Grade) ***Free Shipping US 48***

We eventually changed the wheels to the flat-free ones due to the fact that we occasionally encounter thorns (cacti and mesquite) – if those are not a concern for you, I suggest staying with the original wheels, as I loved how very easily they rolled over various terrain. (Not that the flat-free are not easy rolling, just not as totally effortless as I found the air-filled tires.)

I’ve also used the Rubbermaid cart mentioned above quite a bit, at other farms, and it would likely be my second choice, if impossible to swing the cost of the Smart Cart. But the SC has been absolutely worth the money for us (and my next door neighbor bought her own after using ours), and can be found for less than the company website shows. I highly recommend one.

[NancyM]

I have 2. I have a Rubbermaid one, we have owned it for over 20 years. It hasn’t aged a day. It’s a fairly small one, fits one bale perfectly. Two wheels. Solid tires. I don’t know if you can still find them available to buy. Quality is so hard to find these days.
The second one is bigger, hard plastic. IDK the make. Again, two wheels. It’s junkier than the Rubbermaid, but I haven’t killed it yet. I pile it high with loose hay off our round bales, enough for two horses, one meal. I can wheel BOTH these barrows at once, one in front of me, and the other one coming along behind. In each case, the hay goes into a big rubber skidder tire feeder.

[LCDR]

I prefer pulling a four wheeled wagon type cart to pushing anything. And for pulling, look for larger, wider tires, a tongue that is long enough for your height, and a front axle that swivels rather than being fixed straight ahead. Also, easily removable sides are a plus, to save lifting the hay bale in and out. Sides as an option are desirable if you are hauling tools though, so things don’t fall over the edge when you hit bumps.

[Jarpur]

I often pull a cart behind me (possible because of loop handle and two wheels, I couldn’t do this with a two-handled, one wheel wheelbarrow), instead of pushing the cart.

I’ve also had a couple of quite small carts, which I didn’t mention because they’re not really the size for bales of hay, even though the weight capacity is there. I’m able to push a small cart forward with my thighs against the loop handle, using leg strength, which I find relatively easy on my body.

[candyappy]

When my regular wheelbarrow finally bit the dust I got a 2 wheel one. It is 8cu feet and I love how you can’t tip it over and it has big wheels and rolls through pretty much everything.

The only thing I don’t like is how it bounces side to side when I am on uneven ground ( grass clumps) and that throws my stuff to dump on the ground because I heap that sucker as tall as I can get it when cleaning every morning.

It works great for square bales that are still tied.

[Bluey]

For just one or two bales, a regular dolly from Home Depot or Lowes works for us fine.
You can get them with pneumatic tires or solid tires, or add yourself solid tires
Use a bungie or two if you are going to get wild dragging it wherever you need to go:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HARPER-600-lbs-Capacity-Loop-Handle-Hand-Truck-BKTAK19/202259413?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D28I-028_011_TOOLS-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-PMAX&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D28I-028_011_TOOLS-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-71700000112731967--&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAuYuvBhApEiwAzq_YiW9jvTS31KwcmaEtKHdSoIw4D1x9-2pcANgko_16eHcbI02EsAPj3hoCghYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[clanter]

Bluey that two wheel hand truck cart is what we use to move the three string 130/140 pound bales with

[Bluey]

@clanter

Bluey that two wheel hand truck cart is what we use to move the three string 130/140 pound bales with

It drags fine over rough footing between barns.

We also used our dollies, one on each end, stall panels laying flat, to move them from where we were fabricating them to where we stood them up.
One of those dollies is over 75 years old and has been to many race tracks.

[sami-joe]

I’ll second the Gorilla Cart vote.
Its pneumatic tires work well except under two extremes: mud up over the axle or the variety of goat head thorn in the New Mexico borderlands.

[tobruk]

We’ve been using the Smart cart for well over 40 years. Get large tires on whatever you decide so it will push/pull over rough terrain. Those small tires will make life miserable on anything but smooth ground.

[clanter]

@Bluey

One of those dollies is over 75 years old

we must have its mate, the pneumatic tires have never gone flat, unlike most of the tires on things from China

[Bluey]

@clanter

we must have its mate, the pneumatic tires have never gone flat, unlike most of the tires on things from China

Our old one has solid tires, one has a cut from something sharp and still going fine around and around.
Yours not losing air in so long merits a Guinness world record!

[luvmyhackney]

I use a gorilla cart and rolls easy over regular grass, gravel, etc. Mud is fine as long as not super deep.

I’m saving up for this cart to move hay bags and would easily fit a bale of hay. I used it at a pumpkin picking patch and it rolls beautifully through all kind of muck.
https://www.farmtek.com/prod/ft-carts-wagons/pg110487.html

[2DogsFarm]

I’ll vote for the handcart

I paid around $20 for mine from Harbor Freight probably 15yrs ago, so it’s not a high-end model.
I can stack 3 40-50# small squares on it easily & it hauls over my muddy, rutted drylot w/o a problem.
It lets me get 50# bags of feed into the barn by sliding the loaded cart under my fencing (coated tensile) so I don’t have to open a gate.

I have a 2-wheel wheelbarrow & could use that, but it can tip forward if weighted at the front.
And… Can’t go under the fencing

[Foxglove]

What brand of hand cart @2DogsFarm?

[LCDR]

Well, I am over 75 years old myself. That is why I prefer a 4 wheeled cart or wagon to pull. There is less risk to me. Something with two wheels can get out of my control in a hurry. If I cramp up or get tired pulling a 4 wheel cart I can just stop and drop the tongue. Even sit on it to rest if I need a break.

[Jarpur]

Please give all your tips on handling barn and land chores in the older years. Maybe even make a new thread?

We need all the help we can get, because we can see (and feel) the not-too-distant future coming.