Take Control of Your Auger Spout
Why I Built SpoutPilot
Like a lot of farmers, I enjoy tinkering and having a project on the go. When we started hauling more of our own grain, I found myself getting frustrated with how often the grain landed off-centre in the truck. It seemed like I was constantly climbing back in the cab to reposition the truck just to keep the load even. One day when I was walking past the auger it occurred to me that I could attach a rope to each side of the spout and force the grain where I wanted. I jerry-rigged a rope setup and we used that on the farm for several loads to prove the concept. After jumping off the truck to run and shut the slide on a hopper, and instead running head first into the c-clamp we used to tie the rope to, I decided it was time to move on to an electric actuator.
It took a surprising amount of trial and error to get to the solution I have now, but we use it far more that I thought we would. We have a ridiculous amount of 1,700 bu bins on our farm so being able to push the auger far into the bin without having to move the truck several times reduced the need for the slower grain vac and saves a significant amount of trouble and time. Some other ways we have used it include driving the auger out of the bin and emptying it into the truck without having to move the truck, and using the spout in a tight yard where the end of the auger was over the edge of the trailer but we could still load.
The spout seemed pretty useful to me, so when a couple of professional truckers saw it in use and were enthusiastic about it I decided it was time to make a small batch and try my hand at selling them.