Widened-Out Axles On Pickup Sprayer Work Great On 22-In. Rows
Royal Rivard plants all his crops on 22-in. rows. He has an automatic guidance system on his planter that digs a trench. He had been using single-ribbed front wheels on his tractor sprayer, but the tractor often left deep tracks. He wanted to use a pickup instead, so he bought a 1990 Ford 3/4-ton F-250 pickup.
The problem he faced was that the wheels on the pickup only straddled three rows. He wanted to follow in the same tracks made by the tractor at planting so he extended the pickup axles out 11 in. to 88 in., which allows the pickup to straddle four rows like the tractor. He mounted single rib tires on front of the pickup and lugged tires on back. He removed the pickup box and mounted a 300-gal. tank and 66-ft. sprayer boom.
"Widening the axles keeps the number of tracks made across the field to a minimum, which results in less damage to my beets," says Rivard. "The pickup is equipped with a floating rear axle so it really rides nice. It's almost like having a mini commercial self-propelled sprayer. We use it to spray two days after weeds emerge, which is about 10 days after planting. We spray two or three times every five to seven days. I don't use the automatic guidance marker with soybeans so when I spray them I replace the single ribbed tires with grip tires."
To widen out the axles, Rivard made four 11-in. long steel extension plates and welded them onto the ends of the axles. The wheels bolt onto these plates. He cut a 5-in. dia. hole into each plate so he can use an extension socket to mount the plates. He also cut off 3 in. from each of the front wheel wells in order to keep the tires from rubbing against the pickup. And he riveted a plastic deflector onto each wheel well.
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Royal or Roger Rivard, Rt. 1, Box 170, Argyle, Minn. 56713 (ph 218 437-6479 or 6638).
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Widened-Out Axles On Pickup Sprayer Work Great On 22-In. Rows PICKUPS Modifications 23-6-10 Royal Rivard plants all his crops on 22-in. rows. He has an automatic guidance system on his planter that digs a trench. He had been using single-ribbed front wheels on his tractor sprayer, but the tractor often left deep tracks. He wanted to use a pickup instead, so he bought a 1990 Ford 3/4-ton F-250 pickup.
The problem he faced was that the wheels on the pickup only straddled three rows. He wanted to follow in the same tracks made by the tractor at planting so he extended the pickup axles out 11 in. to 88 in., which allows the pickup to straddle four rows like the tractor. He mounted single rib tires on front of the pickup and lugged tires on back. He removed the pickup box and mounted a 300-gal. tank and 66-ft. sprayer boom.
"Widening the axles keeps the number of tracks made across the field to a minimum, which results in less damage to my beets," says Rivard. "The pickup is equipped with a floating rear axle so it really rides nice. It's almost like having a mini commercial self-propelled sprayer. We use it to spray two days after weeds emerge, which is about 10 days after planting. We spray two or three times every five to seven days. I don't use the automatic guidance marker with soybeans so when I spray them I replace the single ribbed tires with grip tires."
To widen out the axles, Rivard made four 11-in. long steel extension plates and welded them onto the ends of the axles. The wheels bolt onto these plates. He cut a 5-in. dia. hole into each plate so he can use an extension socket to mount the plates. He also cut off 3 in. from each of the front wheel wells in order to keep the tires from rubbing against the pickup. And he riveted a plastic deflector onto each wheel well.
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Royal or Roger Rivard, Rt. 1, Box 170, Argyle, Minn. 56713 (ph 218 437-6479 or 6638).
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