«Previous    Next»
"Airplane Tug" Snow-Clearing Machine
"I call it my snowplow tractor," says Bud Scott, Brighton, Colo., who bought a used Ford "airplane tug" at a government surplus sale and added a 6-ft. sweeper broom on front and a 6-ft. blade on back.
    "I can raise, lower and change the angle of the blade hydraulically. I can also control the broom hydraulically thanks to modifications I made to the tractor," says Scott.
    The 1964 tractor was built by Ford for the military. It was built with a heated cab, lights, wiper, and rear view mirrors but no pto, hydraulics, or 3-pt. hitch. It did have a big heavy bumper on back that was used to pull planes around. Scott mounted a homemade 3-pt. hitch on the bumper and also mounted a hydraulic pump on front of the engine to provide live power.
    To mount the sweeper broom, he bolted a steel frame onto both sides of the tractor. The broom, which rides on a pair of small gauge wheels, is rotated by a hydraulic motor. A hydraulic cylinder is used to raise and lower it.
    He mounted a pair of 2-way hydraulic control valves on both sides of the seat. "I use the valves on one side of the seat to raise and lower the broom and to turn it on or off. I use the valves on the other side of the seat to raise and lower the blade and to change its angle.
    "It works like a charm and is really comfortable to operate," says Scott.""We use it on a big, circular blacktop driveway that's 30 to 40 ft. wide. When it snows it's nice to be able to clean the driveway early in the morning in the dark in a nice, warm cab. There's room for a passenger, so sometimes I take my grand kids with me.
    "Sometimes people who see me using it will stop and ask questions about it. Many of them want to know where I bought the tractor.
    "I paid $1,000 for the tractor. I bought the sweeper broom and the blade at a farm auction and I paid $400 for the hydraulic pump."        He can use the broom and blade together or independently. "If we have just a real light snow, I leave the blade up in the air and just use the broom. If we have a real heavy snow, I leave the broom in the air and just use the blade. The broom is permanently set to angle snow toward the right. Generally I angle the blade in the same direction as the broom."
    Sometimes Scott uses the broom during the summer to sweep light gravel off the asphalt driveway.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, S.H. Bud Scott, 13185 Brighton Road, Brighton, Colo. 80601 (ph 303 659-8076; shbudscott@aol.com).


  Click here to download page story appeared in.



  Click here to read entire issue




To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.
Order the Issue Containing This Story
2006 - Volume #30, Issue #6