Hay Wagon Steering Question

[kenojoe]

My hay wagon wags like a dogs tail, going down the road. My neighbor says there is an adjustment that can be made to take most of it out but was unsure of how to do it. I am getting ready to put a new bed and refurbish it and wondered if any of you could give me some advice on how to fix the "wag". Thanks for any help.

 

[Angus Cowman]

check and make sure the pins and holes where the front axle swivels is not wore out

also on some of them this point can be tightened if it has a bolt instead of a pin in it

 

[john250]

The bolt (pin) which couples the tongue to the steering links is usually the first to wear.
On level ground, pick up the tongue and check how far it moves before a tire moves. Start with that.
Grease the wagon, and check the links as you grease.

 

[crats]

is the wagon a tie rod or a fifth wheel type steering? a tie rod steering wagon often waggles bad and is hard to correct due to length of the tongue and slop in the pull pin and such factors.

 

[TREY-L]

My hay wagon wags like a dogs tail, going down the road. My neighbor says there is an adjustment that can be made to take most of it out but was unsure of how to do it. I am getting ready to put a new bed and refurbish it and wondered if any of you could give me some advice on how to fix the "wag". Thanks for any help.

The best "adjustment" you can make is to sell it and buy a fifth wheel type. The fifth wheel type is the only way to go if you are going to pull it very far or over 20 MPH.

 

[hayray]

As John 250 wrote, the connection of the tounge is the first place to start, usually you can tighten that up a bit and often that will get loose again. Check the toe on the tie rods, you can toe it in more than you are supposed to on a worn out gear and that will make them track better. If you have a really worn out gear and have to travel very far and it is necessary to put new tie rods and tires on it, you might want to consider just buying a new gear, they really are not that much. I had several old ones that really just finally not worth putting anymore money into, but I do travel on roads a lot and the older ones were not worth the liability and buying new parts for. Heck just to re-bearing and re-tire an old wagon you can easily be into $400. A new gear is about $1200 with wheels and tires and that is one that will go as fast as you want. Sorry about so lengthy, just giving you some info. so you can make a informed decision, I have just seen a lot of my buddies put way too much money into old gears that still don't work good.

 

[kenojoe]

Thanks for all the advice. Its an old tie-rod type thats been around awhile. I will look over the things mentioned when I tear off the bed. Thanks again.