Paint your wagons!

[JohnnyEgo]

My wife is much beloved amongst her friends, because she will take in junk that people have too much emotional attachment to throw away, but nonetheless no longer want in their homes. Mostly, I find this to be pretty annoying, and I certainly felt that way when this wagon made it's way into our garage:


It was mostly a combination of rusting steel, faded paint, dirt, scratches, and bird crap. It was also pretty big, and my son already had a wagon taking up space in the garage. His modern Radio Flyer was made out of injection molded plastic, which had the twin advantages of not rusting when left in the back yard, and not heating to a molten skin-welding furnace in the afternoon son.


I asked if I could give it to someone else, and/or throw it out, but of course the answer was 'no'. So I shoved it up in the loft I built in my garage, and forgot about it for four years. Except at Christmas, when I swore at it while trying to get to the boxes of decorations in the loft.
ain.
Fast forward to 2017. My son is going to Cub Scout day camp, and my wife has volunteered me to be the pack leader for the week. I've got to cart a sun shade, a cooler, several folding chairs, food, and sundry crafting supplies about a quarter mile through a rutted field. My son's little plastic wagon was not going to be able to carry all the stuff, and wouldn't make the unpaved terrain. I was going to try to strap it all to a dolly, when I remembered the wagon in my loft the day before camp.

I did a quick Ritchie Brothers Refurb, which means I sprayed it with a garden hose and then hit it with a lot of paint. In this case, farm implement spray paint. Two fairly thick coats of red for the body, and gloss black for the wheels.




I sanded a lot of rust off a lot of bolts while the paint was drying.



My wife made me a canvas cover that came out pretty well.


I was able to strap down all the gear pretty tight with some ratchet straps, and it proved very stable over the rough terrain. I chained a team of Cub Scouts to it and they were able to pull it to the site without much problem. The tractor paint has held up surprisingly well. I am not too thrilled with having to hoist it back into the loft until it is needed next year, but I certainly don't resent it as much. As pleased as I am that it worked out well and only cost me $10 worth of tractor paint and canvas, I am saddened by the fact that my wife will use it forever as justification for bringing home the neighbor's trash.

[sniper7]

If you are calling that wagon trash I'd be happy to come over and clean out some similar stuff from ya! We have one of those same wagons and our two boys love it. From hauling the dog to picking up rocks it has been a fun thing for them!

[roberth]

Sweet wagon!!

[bczandm]

Nicely done!

[Hummer]

Nice work! Air filled tires on a wagon make them very handy in the yard and garden for planting, transplanting, weeding, etc. I've long thought about buying one because it would be easier for my wife to use than a wheelbarrow.

[00tec]

Nice work! Air filled tires on a wagon make them very handy in the yard and garden for planting, transplanting, weeding, etc. I've long thought about buying one because it would be easier for my wife to use than a wheelbarrow.

We bought one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0081...GORMP-12&psc=1

Have moved tons of gravel and landscape bricks. A wheelbarrow would be terrible in my situation. I did replace the plastic bedliner with a piece of galvanized sheet. We pull it around with the mower instead of by hand, but it can be used either way.

[hurley842002]

Very nice looking wagon! We have the same one, and my boys love when I take them "off roading" in it lol.

[Hummer]

That's the style we were looking at, very useful. Now that we're in the mountains and don't tend acres of gardens we don't have as much need for it. What I would like to have is a similar wheeled cart with a tailgate height shelf and a lower shelf for unloading supplies from the truck and wheeling to the house. Something with a hand brake would be ideal. I need to limit my lifting and carrying of heavy items.

We bought one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0081...GORMP-12&psc=1

Have moved tons of gravel and landscape bricks. A wheelbarrow would be terrible in my situation. I did replace the plastic bedliner with a piece of galvanized sheet. We pull it around with the mower instead of by hand, but it can be used either way.

[Great-Kazoo]

I'll take everyone's word for how it looks. Nothing is showing up. BUT......... that's ok, no need to find it chained to our fence tomorrow morning either.

[Seamonkey]

I chained a team of Cub Scouts to it and they were able to pull it to the site without much problem.

Looks awesome! Is that child labor or character building? Team building exercise?

We bought one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0081...GORMP-12&psc=1

I went with an Aerocart - https://www.worx.com/