Antique Gravity Wagon?

[midget-farmer]

I picked up a Hotchkiss gravity wagon at the auction a few weeks ago. Got it pretty cheap I think, but I don't know anything about it. It is in excellent condition, made of wood (flare side) with rubber tires & steel running gear under it. I can pull it around by hand. It rolls real nice. No paint, but the original lettering is still visible.

I need to take some pics. maybe tomorrow.

I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of hotchkiss wagons. I think they are out of Bradford IL. I need to take another look.

Anyway - if anyone knows anything about these, or what they are worth, let me know.

I planned to use it as a wagon to pull the kids. I cut some boards that fit across the flare section for seats & I can put a huge pile of kids in it.

[midget-farmer]

pics

[Bigdog]

I don't know anything about Hotchkiss but that is in excellent condition! You might try running a google search on the name Hotchkiss, Bradford Ill. and see what hits. If there is any information out there google will find it.
Thechnically, that is not a gravity bed. Around here it would be called a flare side or grain bed. There are probably different names in different areas as I have found with most farm equipment.

[midget-farmer]

Thanks BigDog. I have done the google thing & it didn't turn up anything. Well, to be honest I stopped looking after the first 6 or 7 pages. There were some 250k pages & I didn't want to look through them all.

Any idea what a wagon like this would be worth? $100, $500, $50,000?

[VinceD]

I did a little research and no patent was ever issued to a "Hotchkiss" for any type of farm implement or wagon.

Could be the wagons were sold by "Hotchkiss" and manufactured by someone else. Just a thought.

In either case, you ended up with a great looking wagon. Enjoy.

[Bigdog]

I have seen the metal versions of this sell for anywhere from $100 to $300. With a wood bed in that condition I would say you would be looking at $300 to $500 value.

[midget-farmer]

Thanks Guys- $300 to $500 is cool. I wanted to use it for rides but it takes up an entire stall in my garage & we only 'ride' about 4 or 5 times a year.

Anyone interested in it? I'll sell it to a cubber for $400 even.

On the road it will be $500.

[Eugene]

Family had several of these style wagons. The flair side and straight side which were originally horse drawn wagons. The running gear was wood and the wheels steel.

What I'm pointing out is that the running gear may not be original to the wagon box. One way to tell is to look at the underside of the wagon bed for indications of the original running gear.

[VinceD]

Midget-Farmer, I found this wagon today at a local junk shop/antique store/flea market/ in Southfork, MO.

As you can see, this one has the wooden running gear Eugene talked about. The asking price for this one is (are you ready for this?) $800.00.

[midget-farmer]

Yup - just like mine only I have a steel gear. The working lift gate at the back is what sold me at the auction. - It's for sale if anyone is interested. $400 for cubbers

[flhx61071]

Hotchkiss was manufactured in Bradford Il, later became Bradford industries which manufactured Bradford gravity wagons and auger wagons. Don't believe they are in business any longer. We also had an early hotchkiss wagon, possibly even a manure spreader.

[Barnyard]

midget farmer:

Because this has a lot of good information which we would like to keep - pics etc., I won't move this thread. However, I am sure you know the rules. If you wish to post this for sale to Cubbers or anyone, please post your intentions in the correct forum which would be the For Sale Other. Should anymore discussion on the sale of this item be posted here the topic will have to be locked. Thanks for understanding

Since this thread is over three years old I doubt he still has this for sale.

[Eugene]

Since this thread is over three years old I doubt he still has this for sale.

3 years. I've been told I was a bit slow. I have an explanation on how to empty the flair sided wagon.

If the family only had one or two wagon loads to empty, shovel it out and into the elevator or bin. For corn picking we would set up an overhead framed mechanical hoist powered through a speed jack from a tractor pto. Drive the wagon front wheels into two metal pipes that formed a sling for the wagon front wheels. Lower the elevator hopper, open or remove the wagon end gate. Use the hoist to raise the wagon front wheels.

Angle of repose and several other conditions dictated if the grain would drain out of the wagon. Small grain would self empty from the wagon. Usually have to use a corn rake or rod/prod to pry lose ear corn.

[Rudi]

Yup, I most assuredly posted that, however after being reminded that the post was 2 years old, I deleted my post as it did nothing to add to the topic.