Home-Built "Poor Man's" Utility Vhicle

Home-Built "Poor Man's" Utility Vhicle ATV'S ATV'S 25-1-3 "I came up with a simple design that uses ordinary shop tools and low-cost, readily available components to keep the cost down," says Alec Yeager, Hendley, Neb., about the all terrain tracked vehicle that he built from scratch. It rides on 11-in. wide, 8-ft. long rubber tracks made by cutting the tread out of a pair of 46-in. rear tractor tires. The tracks are friction-driven and ride on three sets of axles equipped with 16-in. pickup wheels. Power is supplied by an Isuzu 4-cyl. diesel engine and a manual 4-speed transmission, both of which mount on back. The transmission shaft-drives a Chevy rear end (off a 1978 3/4-ton pickup). The rear end is mounted upside down on the front of the machine. There are eight forward gears and two reverse. A 2-speed transfer case provides low-speed gears. Top speed is about 30 mph. The rig rides on an air suspension system that includes air bags off a Dodge pickup mounted over the center axle, and gas-filled coil shocks at each corner. The cab was made from sheet metal and is protected by a roll guard cage made from sq. steel tubing. The cab has an air ride seat and heater. The cab's front window and both side windows were cut out of safety glass. "It will go just about anywhere. I built it because I've always wanted an all terrain tracked vehicle," says Yeager. "My total cost was about $2,000. Most commercial 6-wheeler tracked vehicles aren't built nearly as heavy as mine and cost a lot more. "It required minimal machine work to build - I think anyone with basic metal working tools could build it. They might not use exactly the same engine and rear end, etc., but they could use the same basic design. The big advantage is that you can use components built in the mid 1970's or 1980's, which are readily available at scrap yards. This spring I plan to offer a video that will show the rig in action. If there's enough interest, I'll make another video that will describe how I built it, with tips on how others could do the same. "It works great for checking on livestock in nasty weather because it's very maneuverable and is absolutely unstoppable in mud. It can go through snow no matter how deep it is. It'll go over logs without getting hung up so it would be great for logging or fence-fixing. It weighs about 3,500 lbs. "You could use a much bigger engine û maybe one with up to 300 hp û to power it since pickup rear ends are built to handle tremendous torque. The 4-cyl. Isuzu diesel engine I used has only about 100 hp and is a little under-powered. I plan to replace it with a Ford 3.8-liter, 6-cyl. gas engine." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Alec Yeager, Box 504, Hendley, Neb. 68946 (ph 308 265-7466).

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