Pickup Converted A Sprayer

Pickup Converted A Sprayer PICKUPS Modifications 23-1-34 Two years ago, my Dad and I spent over $8,000 to have chemicals commercially applied to our 2,000 acres of corn and soybeans. That's when we decided there had to be a cheaper way to go. So last spring I converted a pickup into a sprayer. I started with a 1986 Toyota 4-WD pickup equipped with a 22R fuel injected engine and 5-speed transmission that had about 200,000 miles on it. I bought the truck especially for the project. The only modification the truck required was adding air bag suspension, the kind used on RV's, to the rear axle for extra support. I mounted a new 250-gal. saddle tank on it along with AgChem manual-fold, 40-ft. booms, foam marker, Raven monitor, 5.5 hp Honda motor with hydro pump and a drive shaft speed sensor to track acreage. I sprayed approximately 2,000 acres with the rig last year at speeds up to 16 mph. I ran around 50 to 65 psi and 10 gal. to the acre with excellent coverage. One of the things I particularly like about the sprayer is being able to maintain a road speed of 55 mph with no problems. Best of all, cost of the sprayer was about $6,500, including the cost of the pickup, substantially less than we paid for commercial application in one year alone. (Mike Immel, 3387 Thrush Avenue, Anita, Iowa 50020; ph 515 742-5002)

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