The original trailer now long gone was
a standard box trailer with a roof added to keep out rain. I forgot
to mention the delivery mechanism is coarse salt so you can imagine
the effects on the metal structure. It did last some years and many
repairs but finally the corrosion was so severe it was scrapped. The
second trailer was a little smaller for ease of movement with a
stainless steel insert to inhibit the effects of salt. Easily said
but difficult to do as the axle corroded to the point it collapsed.
Version three implemented some new
features. Any items we felt could not be made corrosion proof such as
wheels and axles became sacrificial components. The the stainless
steel tray and roof were recycled. The body was welded from heavy
duty Aluminium and the wheel assemblies including the axles were
designed to be easily cut off without major work.
The Weather is excluded from the
interior with heavy gauge vinyl curtains weighted with small pieces
of timber. The cattle don't seem phased by this barrier and easily
poke their heads through to access the contents. Even young calves
are happy with the arrangement.
The interior uses standard sized 20
litre drums cut in half to store the salt and supplement mix. Being
heavy plastic they last forever.
The only future change would be to
scrap the stainless steel tray. Even it has started to corrode
whereas the aluminium is impervious.
In the next issue we'll cover the
supplements we use and why.
The jockey wheel is key for easy attachment and movement. The standard fitting is just cut off for replacement |
A simple arrangement of chain and metal loop drops over the tow ball of the RTV |
The vinyl curtains are extremely robust |
Eight drum halves contain the salt and supplement mix. Some people keep each supplement separate in each container to allow cattle to self select. |
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