Grain drill trailer

Cargo in the nature of a farm machine, such as a grain drill, is combined with transport structure in the form of a mobile carrier to improve upon over-the-road travel and other movement in a manner to permit rolling support by the ground wheels of both the carrier and the machine during the towing operation. The carrier has a normally inclined bed to facilitate loading of the machine thereupon. Power means, for example, that with which the machine is equipped to control depth, is then used to raise the lower end of the carrier off the ground prior to coupling the carrier-machine unit with a tractor or other towing vehicle.

Still in use today, in the agricultural field particularly, are machines 
which are towed behind tractors as distinguished from those which are 
either self-propelled or carried by the tractor. Oftentimes, it becomes 
necessary to travel long distances into and out of fields and/or over the 
road before and after the machines are placed in use. Towing is not always 
satisfactory and it is common practice in many instances to load and 
unload the machines on and off trailers or trucks for transport purposes. 
The costs for transport equipment, by ownership or by hire, is not always 
feasible, especially in small farm operations or instances where not many 
machines are involved. The problems are enhanced in the case of relatively 
large, heavy, bulky implements such as modern day grain drills. 
According to our present invention, therefore, there is provided a 
relatively small, light weight, inexpensive, wheeled bed that can be 
placed in an inclined position with one end resting on the ground to 
permit simple and rapid loading of the machine onto the bed in ramp-like 
fashion toward the opposite end held elevated by the wheels of the bed. 
Ground wheels forming a part of the machine are left resting on the ground 
at the lower end of the bed. 
Thereupon, through use of power mechanism, the lower end of the bed is 
raised off the ground to place it in a position supported by the machine 
in suspension therefrom. Thus, when the carrier-machine unit is placed in 
tow, support is provided by both the wheels of the carrier and of the 
machine remaining in rolling contact with the ground, inasmuch as the 
weight of the machine is partially on the bed and partially on the wheels 
of the machine. 
The grain drill to which our carrier is especially adapted is provided with 
powered mechanism used to control the depth of its furrow-opening discs, 
and we take advantage of that mechanism to raise the carrier bed as above 
explained. The press wheels of the drill rest on the bed during transport. 
Additionally, by use of an auxilliary suspension for safety purposes, the 
openers may also be lowered onto the bed before towing commences.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 2, 3 and 7 of the drawings, transport 
structure in the nature of a mobile, trailer-like carrier, broadly 
designated by the numeral 10, has a flat, rectangular bed 12 provided with 
a pair of sides 14, the front end of the bed 12 being defined by an 
elongated, transversely triangular ramp 16 spanning the distance between 
the sides 14. 
The carrier 10 has a pair of rear, laterally spaced, ground wheels 18 
rotatably mounted on elongated parallel arms 20 which are spaced inwardly 
of the sides 14 and serve as reinforcements for the bed 12 along with a 
beam 22 extending between the sides 14. A draft bar 24, releasably secured 
to the bed 12 by fasteners 26, extends forwardly beyond the ramp 16 and 
has a hitch 28 adapted for coupling with a towing vehicle. A pair of inner 
chains 30 and a pair of outer chains 32 are attached by loops 34 to the 
bed 12 adjacent the ramp 16. The rear end of the carrier 10 is provided 
with an elongated abutment 36 rising above the bed 12, spanning the 
distance between the sides 14 and provided with a front surface 38 
throughout its length that slopes downwardly and forwardly as the bed 12 
is approached. 
A grain drill 40, provided with a series of furrow-opening disks 42 and a 
series of trailing press wheels 44 thereacross, has a forwardly-extending, 
V-shaped frame portion 46, at the apex of which depends a caster spindle 
48 for a pair of front ground wheels 50. A pair of laterally spaced 
hangers 52 depend from the frame 46 and a U-shaped tongue 54, provided 
with a hitch 56, is looped around the wheels 50 and connected to the 
hangers 52 by hinges 58. 
The drill 40 has a transverse rockshaft 60 on a series of forwardly 
extending frame members 62 operably connected with the disks 42 to control 
the depth of soil penetration thereof through use of a fluid pressure 
cylinder and piston assembly 64 carried by the frame 46 and coupled with a 
center crank 66 rigid to the rockshaft 60. 
Each of a pair of additional cranks 68, extending radially from the 
rockshaft 60, is provided with a hook 70 adapted to receive a 
corresponding chain 32, and a pair of hooks 72 are mounted on a front wall 
74 of the drill 40 for receiving the chains 30. 
OPERATION 
By use of the hitch 28, the carrier 10 may be tractor-towed to the site of 
the drill 40 to be transported, whereupon the fasteners 26 are released 
and the tongue 24 is removed. The hitch 56 is then coupled with the 
tractor drawbar and the drill 40 backed toward the carrier 10. 
With the ramp 16 resting on the ground and the bed 12 inclined upwardly and 
rearwardly from the ramp 16 (FIG. 6) and with the disks 42 raised, the 
press wheels 44 roll easily up the ramp 16 and along the bed 12 until they 
come into engagement with the surface 38 of the abutment 36. At this time 
the wheels 50 remain on the ground spaced forwardly of ramp 16 (FIG. 6). 
Then the operator lowers the cranks 68 to lower the disks 42 onto the bed 
12. He then connects the chains 32 with the hooks 70 of the cranks 68, 
following which the piston rod of the assembly 64 is extended from the 
position shown in FIG. 6 to swing the crank 66 rearwardly and to raise the 
cranks 68. This raises the disks 42 off the bed 12 and raises the front 
end of the bed 12 as it swings about the axles of the wheels 18, all as is 
clearly depicted in FIG. 5. 
At this juncture, it is desirable, for safety reasons, to connect the 
chains 30 with the hooks 72 so that, in the event of loss of fluid 
pressure for supporting the front of the carrier 10 through the assembly 
64, the ramp 16 does not drop during transport. The operator may even 
retract the piston of the assembly 64 to lower the disks 42 onto the bed 
12. 
With the front end of the carrier 10 thus suspended from the drill 40, the 
latter is restrained against rearward movement on the bed 12 by the 
abutment 36 and against forward movement on the bed 12 by the chains 30 or 
by both pairs of chains 30 and 32 if desired. The drill-carrier unit may 
now be towed to and from the site of use, or otherwise, with complete 
safety as the wheels 18 and 50 roll along, with the castering of the 
wheels 50 permitting even the shortest of turning. Loading and unloading 
of the drill 40 is a one man operation and can be performed easily and 
quickly, requiring no assistance, special skills or auxiliary equipment. 
The distance between the sides 14 need be no greater than the width of the 
drill 40, permitting passage through gates and along narrow roads the same 
as if the drill were pulled directly without the aid of the carrier 10. 
However, now it is possible to travel longer distances over rough terrain 
at higher speeds without damage to the drill 40, a task not made possible 
when the drill 40 is supported under tow by the caster wheels 50 and the 
press wheels 44, all in rolling contact with the ground. 
Eliminated is the need for large, heavy and expensive hauling vehicles such 
as trucks, semi-trailers and specially made apparatus, it being understood 
that drill 40 has been selected for illustrative purposes only; the 
carrier 10 is adapted to transport many other types of wheeled cargo in 
the manner shown in FIG. 1 whether or not for agricultural use.