Choosing Your Next Grain Cart: 1,100, 1,300, or 1,500 Bushels

The right grain cart size keeps the combine moving without making the trucks or bin site the next bottleneck. More capacity earns its place when it takes another combine dump, covers a longer cart cycle, or reduces trips across the field. The cart still has to match the tractor and fit the route from the field entrance to storage.

The 1,100-bushel class remains a natural match for many semi loads and established harvest crews. Moving to roughly 1,300 or 1,500 bushels can add time between trips to the trucks. That reserve becomes more valuable as combine capacity grows, fields get longer, and fewer people are available to keep grain moving.

Size the cart around the full cart cycle

Time the cart from the moment it leaves the combine until it is ready to take grain again. Include travel, truck loading, and the return trip. Then compare that cycle with the combined harvest rate.

Bushels produced during the cart cycle = combined harvest rate in bushels per minute × minutes away

At 4,500 bushels per hour, the combines are producing 75 bushels per minute. The 175-bushel difference between a J&M 1112 and 1312 equals about 2.3 minutes of combine time. An additional 350 bushels equals about 4.7 minutes.

That extra capacity matters only if the cart returns before the combine waits. If the cart is already parked at the trucks, a larger cart may only move the bottleneck to truck turnaround or the bin site.

Iowa State University's grain-harvest machinery sizing analysis follows the same principle: combine capacity, cart travel, trucks, and receiving capacity all affect where waiting occurs.

How the three size classes fit

Model numbers do not always equal exact capacity. Ratings may also be stated as level, heaped, or by undercarriage, so use the manufacturer's figure for the exact model being compared.

• About 1,100 bushels: J&M 1112, Demco 1100, and Brandt 1120XT. This class often fits semi-sized loads, established truck cycles, and tighter access around gates or buildings. A cart cycle that leaves the combine waiting can move the decision toward more capacity.
• About 1,300 bushels: J&M 1312, Demco 1300, and Brandt 1320XT. The additional reserve can cover another combine dump or a few more minutes away from the combine. Tractor requirements, loaded weight, tire package, access, and truck fit still shape the decision.
• About 1,500 bushels: J&M 1522, Demco 1500, and Brandt 1520XT. This class fits longer cart cycles, more combine capacity, or a crew covering the same work with fewer people. Tractor size, undercarriage, loaded weight, height, width, storage, and purchase price become more important.

When 1,100 bushels fits the trucks and the farm

A cart near 1,100 bushels often lines up well with the amount placed on a grain trailer. It can finish a truck load without carrying a large balance back toward the combine. Actual truck payload still depends on the trailer, truck, crop, test weight, and route limits; a grain cart's bushel rating is not a legal truck-load figure.

The smaller cart may also fit existing access better. Gate and field-entrance width, bridge width and capacity, overhead lines, barn doors, storage height, and combine unloading-auger clearance can all set a hard limit. Compare the exact dimensions with the installed tires or tracks rather than assuming every cart in a capacity class is the same size.

When the 1,300-bushel class changes the cycle

The jump to roughly 1,300 bushels is most useful when another 175 to 200 bushels covers a repeat part of the cart cycle. It may let the operator take another combine dump before leaving, finish loading a truck, or return before the combine tank fills again.

If the cart spends most of the day waiting beside the trucks, the next improvement may be truck turnaround or receiving capacity instead of a larger cart.

When to compare the 1,500-bushel class

Longer fields, more combine capacity, fewer operators, or a hard-to-shorten truck cycle can all support a move to 1,500 bushels. The larger cart still needs to add enough reserve to change the cycle.

The added capacity also brings more grain weight and may require more tractor, a different undercarriage, and more room at field entrances and buildings. Confirm those points in the first quote, not after the cart is ordered.

Match cart capacity to the trucks

Compare the cart's usable load with the weight your trucks normally leave the field carrying, then note how much grain remains in the cart after the truck is full.

If a 1,100-bushel cart already fills the truck cleanly, moving to 1,300 may leave a larger balance in the cart unless that reserve prevents a combine-side wait. If the truck takes more, or the cart often needs to hold another combine dump while a truck returns, the larger class may improve the cycle.

Check the cart's path from field to storage

Capacity classes do not grow in equal dimensions. J&M lists the wheeled 1112 at 30 feet 8 inches overall, while the 1312 and 1522 are 34 feet 7 inches. Brandt lists the 1120XT at 31 feet 9 inches, and both the 1320XT and 1520XT at 32 feet 4 inches.

Height can change even when length does not. Brandt lists an 11-foot-1-inch loading-side height for the 1320XT and 11 feet 8 inches for the 1520XT. Tires and tracks can also change overall width, empty weight, and ground contact.

Record the narrowest gate, bridge, road, and building opening; the lowest overhead clearance; the usable storage space; and the combine unloading-auger clearance. We can check those measurements against the current factory dimensions for the exact cart and undercarriage.

Confirm the tractor match

A larger cart can cross a tractor-horsepower threshold even when auger diameter and unload rate stay the same. Brandt lists minimum tractor horsepower of 200 for the 1120XT, 250 for the 1320XT, and 300 for the 1520XT.

Horsepower is only one part of the match. PTO, hydraulic remotes and flow, drawbar limits, ballast, tires, and the cart's installed equipment also matter. We use the current manufacturer manual and build sheet for the exact tractor and cart being quoted.

Account for loaded weight and undercarriage

Using 56 pounds per bushel as a planning figure, each 200-bushel increase adds about 11,200 pounds of grain when that extra capacity is used. The difference between 1,100 and 1,500 bushels is about 22,400 pounds of grain before the empty cart is included.

That puts axle load, tires or tracks, inflation pressure, soil moisture, and traffic pattern into the capacity discussion. University of Minnesota Extension distinguishes axle load from pressure at the soil surface: total axle load affects deeper compaction risk, while tire footprint and inflation pressure have more influence near the surface.

This comparison centers on wheeled carts, but our grain cart collection also includes tracked models for customers comparing undercarriages.

J&M, Demco, and Brandt in these capacity classes

We sell J&M, Demco, and Brandt grain carts at Keast Enterprises. All three build high-quality carts. The useful differences are found in the exact auger design, controls, undercarriage, access features, dimensions, and standard or optional equipment.

J&M 1112, 1312, and 1522

J&M's 12 Series uses a straight, front-fold auger and an adjustable Side-Shooter spout. J&M rates the 1112, 1312, and 1522 at 600 bushels per minute through a 20-inch vertical auger. Since the published unload rate is the same, the size comparison comes back to carrying capacity, cart-cycle time, dimensions, tractor fit, and undercarriage.

The wheeled J&M 1112 is rated at 1,150 bushels, and the J&M 1312 at 1,325. J&M rates the 1522 at 1,475 bushels on single wheels and 1,500 on tracks.

Demco 1100, 1300, and 1500 Single Auger

Demco's single-auger carts use a forward-reach auger, sloped box, and automatic overrunning cut-out clutch. The Demco 1100 is rated at 1,100 bushels level and 1,200 heaped. Demco's current single-auger line continues through the Demco 1300 and 1500.

Brandt 1120XT, 1320XT, and 1520XT

Brandt's XT carts include a rear ground-level access door and four-direction discharge spout. Brandt rates the 1120XT, 1320XT, and 1520XT at 1,100, 1,300, and 1,500 bushels. All three use a 20-inch auger rated at 600 bushels per minute.

Our current Brandt 1120XT and Brandt 1320XT listings use IF1250/50R32 tires. Brandt also offers tires and tracks across the XT line.

Bring the cart cycle and access measurements to the quote

Bring these numbers to the quote:

• combined bushels per hour during a strong part of the day;
• minutes the cart is normally away from the combine;
• the amount each truck normally carries from the field;
• the tractor model planned for the cart;
• the narrowest gate, road, bridge, or building opening; and
• the lowest overhead or combine unloading-auger clearance.

Send those details to sales@keastenterprises.com. We can compare current 1,100-, 1,300-, and 1,500-bushel carts, confirm factory dimensions and tractor requirements, and prepare pricing, financing, delivery, and trade-in options for the exact cart being considered.