Pig carrier & trailer improvements

Pig carrier, version 1

Pig carrier, version 2
This is the new, improved pig carrier. The corners are 2" square stock, the rails are 1.5" square stock. There's 12" of expanded metal at the bottom to contain piglets if needed, and the first few bars are spaced 6" apart.

The top of the cage is 48", which means no more problems with pigs jumping out


The pins for the 3 point hitch have been lowered about 8" (you can see the old hole in this pic) -- sorry about the blurry pic. The iphone doesn't stabilize images very well.

The gate is wider, and the hinges will allow it to be lifted off if it needs to be removed. This plate at the top of the gate has a cutout so that there's only one position that the gate can be lifted off its hinges -- when it's fully closed or fully open it cannot be removed. This prevents animals from lifting it off during transport.

The floor is the original floor. It worked pretty well so I kept it. The expanded metal is capped with angle iron, so that all of the metal on the inside and top of this carrier is smooth. No rough edges to cut anyone.


The latch is piece of flat stock with a notch cut into it. It spins on a bolt, and should be easier to use than the previous barrel bolt.

The side rails on the trailer got cut off, and replaced with a length of 3" C channel, with the open side facing in. At intervals along this C channel there's D rings welded on.

There are 4 large D rings (working load 12,000lbs) on the four corners to function as equipment tiedown points, and 8 medium d rings (working load 6,000lbs) arranged at even intervals along each side.

The C channel provides a continuous grip for nylon strap hooks down both sides. The D rings are mainly for chains. I don't trust a chain not to slip off if it gets loose; looped through a d ring and attached to itself, a chain won't come loose as often, even if there is some slack.

My brother Bryan did the fabrication on the trailer and pig carrier, and if you'd like him to build you something, I'm sure he'd be happy to do it.