Sheep trailer make

[jjm]

Is there any particular make of sheep trailer with decks that is better to load than others. I have a old Graham Edwards one that is anything but easy to load the top deck?!.

 

[JP1]

Already several threads running on this.

Depends on your budget I guess.

If you do a lot of sheep work Gamic (or Houghton) would be your answer

 

[Fendt516profi]

Gamic for easy to load top deck, unless you really don't like your money then get a Houghton

 

[texelburger]

Gamic and Houghton both with hydraulic decks makes for easy for loading and less stress on the sheep.I have a Gamic and would never go back to a trailer with a ramp.

 

[neilo]

Purely for ease of loading, a hydraulic deck trailer really is a dream. Nothing will ramps will ever compare on that aspect, whatever the design.

 

[JP1]

Is there any particular make of sheep trailer with decks that is better to load than others. I have a old Graham Edwards one that is anything but easy to load the top deck?!.

Have you looked at the GE power deck ?

 

[jamesy]

I don’t have decks but bought a 14’ Graham Edwards. I was swithering between it & a nugent. The GE is ok but, having had a good look round a Nugent I kind of wish I’d gone for one of them.

 

[Filthyfarmer]

Just bought a Nugent and the top deck with the fold down front panels makes it much easier to load

 

[Nithsdale]

Purely for ease of loading, a hydraulic deck trailer really is a dream. Nothing will ramps will ever compare on that aspect, whatever the design.

I agree the hydraulic decks will be a dream.

But when you drop the ramp and the ewes or lambs just run up without much persuasion, I'm happy to keep the ££££ in my pocket
(loading the ifor top deck from a pen used to be hell, but I run lambs or ewes down the mobile race now and straight into trailer. It's been a game changer )

 

[neilo]

I agree the hydraulic decks will be a dream.

But when you drop the ramp and the ewes or lambs just run up without much persuasion, I'm happy to keep the ££££ in my pocket
(loading the ifor top deck from a pen used to be hell, but I run lambs or ewes down the mobile race now and straight into trailer. It's been a game changer )

I was answering the OP’s very specific question, re: better to load. Hydraulic decks that load on the flat really are a revelation in that regard, which you may not fully appreciate until you’ve used them. Most of my sheep used to run up (wobbly/bouncy Ifor) ramps just fine too, most of the time too, but whenever they decided not to it became a bitch of a job. Not an issue any more.?

I did notice that it was always easier with lighter, more nimble, maternal bred sheep too. Loading ‘proper’ sheep, especially when heavy in lamb, was always more of a challenge.

 

[Nithsdale]

I was answering the OP’s very specific question, re: better to load. Hydraulic decks that load on the flat really are a revelation in that regard, which you may not fully appreciate until you’ve used them. Most of my sheep used to run up (wobbly/bouncy Ifor) ramps just fine too, most of the time too, but whenever they decided not to it became a bitch of a job. Not an issue any more.?

I did notice that it was always easier with lighter, more nimble, maternal bred sheep too. Loading ‘proper’ sheep, especially when heavy in lamb, was always more of a challenge.

Ah yes I forgot - the heavier the sheep the more proper it is


I think a lot of loading problems come from not many farms have a dedicated loadbay/bank for sheep. Its all too common to just load from a pen at a gate. You see the big stations out in Oz - sheep or cattle - is all loaded up a single file ramp and they just go




I do agree, money no issue then the hydraulic deck is the one to get

 

[Jackov Altraids]

Hydraulic decks will always be the easiest but they do add quite a few £'s to the cost.
Well worth it if you are going to use them a lot.
Any trailer deck will be easier to load if you spec a fold down flap at the front and have wheels on the outside to make the trailer lower.

 

[jjm]

Thanks for the advice, hydraulic decks sound great but the budget won’t stretch that far!.

 

[beardface]

Anyone running a bateson?

 

[baabaa]

Is there any particular make of sheep trailer with decks that is better to load than others. I have a old Graham Edwards one that is anything but easy to load the top deck?!.

changed from old ge to the electric one this spring
shifting hundreds of heavy in lamb ewes a joy for both man and sheep

 

[Benr]

changed from old ge to the electric one this spring
shifting hundreds of heavy in lamb ewes a joy for both man and sheep

+1 we have a power deck and never have to chuck any up. A good improvement from normal decks without the cost of a gamic

 

[JP1]

+1 we have a power deck and never have to chuck any up. A good improvement from normal decks without the cost of a gamic

 

[michael N123]

The problem with my 14ft ifor isn’t getting the up the ramps but filling the 2 front pens up tight the divider gates are shite to use

 

[neilo]

Much as with the old GE ‘wind up’ decks that we considered (briefly) once, it looks simple when everything’s clean and shiny, which it would need to be before you could fold it away again.
Yes, I know, every one cleans and disinfects their trailers after every use these days, but out in the real world....

The ramp certainly looks easier than an Ifor to persuade sheep to run up, not only because of the longer, shallower ramp angle but it looks more solid too, so less likely to bounce when the first one runs up it.

I do have to say though, having used a Gamic for 8 years now, he looks to be doing a lot of running back and forth to put A into C, D into B, etc in order to get it ready to use. I drop the tailgate, open the partition gates, run the sheep in then close the gates. Then I stand there and hold a button in while I watch the deck going up, always with a smile on my face as I do so. Speaking to several wives & partners of Gamic trailer owners, that smile is apparently quite a common feature.? No mean feat when we are ALL miserable moaning buggers the rest of the time.?

 

[sean m]

Much as with the old GE ‘wind up’ decks that we considered (briefly) once, it looks simple when everything’s clean and shiny, which it would need to be before you could fold it away again.
Yes, I know, every one cleans and disinfects their trailers after every use these days, but out in the real world....

The ramp certainly looks easier than an Ifor to persuade sheep to run up, not only because of the longer, shallower ramp angle but it looks more solid too, so less likely to bounce when the first one runs up it.

I do have to say though, having used a Gamic for 8 years now, he looks to be doing a lot of running back and forth to put A into C, D into B, etc in order to get it ready to use. I drop the tailgate, open the partition gates, run the sheep in then close the gates. Then I stand there and hold a button in while I watch the deck going up, always with a smile on my face as I do so. Speaking to several wives & partners of Gamic trailer owners, that smile is apparently quite a common feature.? No mean feat when we are ALL miserable moaning buggers the rest of the time.?

Having watched the video I would be tempted to run home twice to save putting the decks in ?