2000 - Volume #24, Issue #6, Page #35

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Fire Engine Truck Converted Into 4-WD Self-Propelled Field Sprayer

Fire Engine Truck Converted Into 4-WD Self-Propelled Field Sprayer SPRAYING New Sprayers 24-6-35 I converted a salvaged fire engine truck into a 4-WD self-propelled field sprayer. It looks a little odd going through the field, but it works. The truck is powered by a 6-cyl. Caterpillar engine that's mounted at the rear and has a 4-speed automatic transmission. It originally had a big, clumsy 6-passenger cab which I replaced with the cab off a Massey Ferguson tractor. I also removed the truck's original 400-gal. tank and replaced it with a 500-gal. stainless steel tank. The tank is pressurized by an air compressor that's belt-driven off the engine. There's also a 30-gal. foam marker tank. A local manufacturer custom built a 44-ft. boom which I bolted onto the back of the rig. It has a lot of power and will keep going in soft ground where a pickup sprayer would bog down. My brother Jim and I built a loader-mounted cherry picker for use around our farm. Safety was the first consideration in building it. The main arm that supports the picker is made from 4 by 4 box steel and has a T-shaped base at the bottom end that fits across the width of the loader bucket. Chains with tighteners hold the arm absolutely solid against the bucket. We used scrap iron to build the picker cage, which is about 4 ft. wide and deep and 3 1/2 ft. high. The cage fits inside a steel frame and is self leveling. Once the working height is reached, the person inside the bucket uses a notched bar to lock the cage in place so it can't swing. We use the picker to cut tree limbs and paint buildings. It's handier and safer than working from a ladder. (Jake Klein, RR 1, Box 326, Flora, Ill. 62839 ph 618 662-4144)