Bulk Feed Trailer Repair in Iowa — Augers, Compartments, Welds | Ames Hydraulics

A bulk feed trailer that won’t offload — broken auger, dead hydraulic drive, cracked boot box — is a load of feed that won’t get to the animals. Ames Hydraulics does bulk feed trailer repair in central Iowa for feed haulers, farm operators, and feed mills. Augers, hydraulic drives, boot boxes, compartment steel, and the running gear underneath. Free pickup within 60 miles of Ames.

What Fails on a Bulk Feed Trailer

Most bulk feed trailer repair we see is one of a few things. The offload augers wear out or bend from foreign objects. Auger flighting gets worn or torn. The boot box — the transition where the vertical auger meets the discharge — cracks or wears through. The hydraulic drive to the auger loses pressure or leaks. Compartment steel cracks at the discharge slides. And the running gear underneath sees hard mileage on gravel roads.

What We Repair

• Discharge augers — flighting welded up, shafts straightened, or complete auger replaced
• Boot boxes — welded, patched, or rebuilt from new steel
• Hydraulic drives to the auger — pumps, motors, and lines
• Compartment slides, hoppers, and cracked walls
• Manways, sight ports, and lids
• Running gear — axles, brakes, springs, and frame welds
• Trailer wiring and air-brake plumbing

Auger Repair — the Bread and Butter

Auger flighting wears from every ton of feed it moves. Once it gets thin, the auger stops moving feed as efficiently and eventually starts leaving product behind. We weld up worn flighting, replace whole auger sections when they’re past repair, and check the auger drive at the same time. This is the piece of bulk feed trailer repair that pays for itself in offload time.

Boot Box Rebuilding

The boot box is where the vertical auger transitions to horizontal discharge, and it takes constant abrasion. Eventually the steel wears through, cracks, or dents from something the auger tried to eat. We weld and patch these when they can be saved and fabricate new boot boxes when they can’t. A rebuilt boot box on a trailer that’s otherwise sound gives you years more service.

Hydraulic Drives

Newer feed trailers use hydraulic motors to drive the augers, which brings hydraulic-pump-and-motor work into bulk feed trailer repair. We rebuild the hydraulic pump and motor in-house and pressure-test both. If the trailer runs an older PTO drive from the tractor, we service the driveline, U-joints, and shaft supports.

Feed Mills and Ag Fleets

Iowa feed mills running bulk delivery, farm operators hauling their own feed, and ag contractors hauling for hog and poultry operations are our customer. When your feed trailer is down, dispatch is scrambling. We prioritize down trailers, quote same-day, and turn work fast. Free pickup within 60 miles of Ames.

Get the Trailer Back on Route

See our full hydraulic repair, welding & fabrication, and trailer repair services. Call or text 515-292-2599 or bring the trailer to 210 Freel Dr in Ames. Open Monday through Friday, 7AM to 5PM.

Off-Season Overhauls for Feed Fleets

Bulk feed trailers run hard year-round in Iowa, but there are usually short windows — between contracts, during a plant shutdown, or on a slow week — when a trailer can come off the road for major bulk feed trailer repair. Auger replacement, boot-box rebuild, and hydraulic-drive overhaul done during scheduled downtime are cheaper than the same work as an emergency.

Custom Fabrication on Older Trailers

A lot of Iowa feed trailers are older than the current parts channels support, and OEM parts for augers, boot boxes, and hoppers aren’t always available on a real timeline. Ames Hydraulics can fabricate replacements when needed, so bulk feed trailer repair on an old but sound trailer is still a real option rather than a full trailer replacement.