I want to upgrade from my old Rubbermaid carts that tend to leave scattered hay behind. Looking for something deep, light, maneuverable. What do y’all recommend?
I’ve seen but not owned things like:
https://www.peoplepoweredmachines.co…/model-26.html
https://images.app.goo.gl/q81hHYV8srhe7bgi9
but haven’t used them to compare and don’t know which is best or if there is something better. Suggestions please?
What mess are you trying to avoid?
The first cart you link allows hay to drop out the open end when you stop and pull flakes off.
I use a large two wheeled plastic barrow, much like the Jumbo cart in your second link here. BUT, it does not have the round handles, it has two separate handles (I take it into the paddocks with hay, and don’t like something that a horse could get tangled up in). We also had to replace the tires, it came with inflatable tires, which did not hold up well. We replaced them with the solid wheelbarrow tires. It is lightly built, crappy built actually, but since I use it only for putting loose hay (unwound from round bales), it doesn’t carry a LOT of weight. I can put enough hay for two horses (I usually have two to a paddock) in it for a meal, probably 30 lbs of hay (I feed a lot of hay). If I am using small squares, I use a smaller two wheeled Rubbermaid barrow, which fits a 55 pound bale nicely, but is smaller than the ones used for stall cleaning. We have owned this barrow for 20 years, it is a tank, “indestructible”. I take it with me to shows and use it to unload my trailer of everything I bring with me… hay, tack boxes etc. It is a brilliantly strongly built barrow, but too small for loose hay.
I guess it’s hay dribbling out the sides and ends of my smaller rubbermade cart. I do need a cart that will fit through stall doors. And I guess deep enough that hay won’t easily come out the top, and a little wider and longer than a two-string bale so there is some wiggle room to get the first flakes out once you cut the string.
What I have now and haven’t loved for a long time is the smaller Runbermade wheelbarrow that isn’t really big enough for a bale of hay. I have not been in love with it for this purpose for a long time:
For whole bales, have you looked at all Farmtek has?
They have several types that a whole bale would fit in:
https://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplie…ts_wagons.html
Most are not solid, but perhaps contain hay dribbling enough for your purpose, like the expanded metal with folding sides?
We have one of those we bought a few years ago in, I think, Home Depot or some local hardware store for $118.
You could line the inside with a small tarp to keep every bit of hay in there.
Thanks, but I have some absolutely gorgeous, ridiculously expensive alfalfa and I don’t want those precious leaves dropping out of the metal openings on one of those carts as I transport to stalls. It’s like seeing money shredded before your eyes! LOL
Anyone have a Smartcart? Looks like the way the sides open up they would help channel dribbles back into the cart as I pulled a flake out. And the reviews on the company website and on SmartPak are promising:
https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/smartcart-4810#QA
https://www.smartcarts.com/store/p12/Original_Smart_Cart_12_cu_ft_(Contractor_Grade)_***Free_Shipping_US_48***.html
Thanks! Would a whole bale fit?
How big are your bales? A smaller 60-75 lb bale would fit no problem, a larger bale would fit too but would probably have to angle it a bit in the cart.
Thanks. Sounds like this is a good option for me.
I don’t have this exact cart but one like it. Sounds like it might do what you need it to do. A whole bale fits easily; I can stack two on top of each other as well. The turning radius of the front wheels is great so you can get in/out of tight spaces. They sell them at Lowe’s in a couple of different sizes. It would be worth going to look at them to decide which size works best for you.
I have the large Rubbermaid wheelbarrow and a whole bale fits in it (60-ish lbs.).
We had a JD like that black gorilla cart and a bale fit in it fine.
A friend needed to haul water to a far off pasture and borrowed it.
The idea was to cart some buckets full of water with it.
It held water very well on itself, no need of buckets.
It was easy to dump into her small tanks, so handy for that.
Friend found way more uses for it and cart never came back.
It was a tight fit for our people door in the barn, so not used that much.
Be sure what you get will fit where you have to pull it thru.
Thanks all!
Cart needs to go through a horse door every trip to pass through washrack to get to stalls, I’ll measure to be sure but it’s probably almost 4’.
Is there an advantage to the wheelbarrow style 2-wheelers that you push in front vs the 4-wheeler that you pull behind? (If the gorilla cart cuts in on a turn like a gooseneck trailer, I would be more likely to run it into the door frame. But maybe it follows more like a tagalong?) Will stop at Lowe’s for a look.
Turns like a gooseneck, but it’s very manageable. A friend of mine has one, and I really like it. If I didn’t already have the large and the small Rubbermaid wheelbarrows, I’d get a Gorilla cart, too. Alas, my little three-horse operation can’t justify yet another wheelbarrow. However…now that I think about it…I really could use it for around the house, right? Mulch, gardening stuff??? Yes, I probably could…
Have you considered one of those?
We have one, a Walmart on sale one that was half price and that one a whole bale fits fine.
Have seen stables use those at shows, as they fold and fit in a small space in the trailer:
https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/aca…E&gclsrc=aw.ds
Be sure to measure, some are bigger than others.
I have used mine to move whole loads of heavy books when redoing bookcases, heavier than bales of hay or feed sacks and it was fine with that.
Those will work for now.
They also fit thru doors and are handy for so much else if you later find a better option.
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