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Self-Proelled Cart Goes Where Trucks Fear To Tread
If Bob Wright's combine can make it into the field, his self-propelled grain cart can too, and for good reason. The wheels, axle and engine all came off an old International combine. With the addition of 28L by 25 rice tires, it can go wherever it is needed.
"It worked great in the fields last fall, even when we couldn't get in with trucks," says Wright. "With those big lugs, it's no problem when it gets a little soft."
Wright may have started with combine parts, but the rest of the grain cart is pure innovation. He built the basic frame out of 4 by 6-in. steel tubing, then attached the front and rear axles and the engine from the combine.
"The combine had hydrostatic drive so we could put the engine and axles where we wanted and just run hoses between them," explains Wright.
The 400-bu. grain tank had previously seen service as a fertilizer spreader hopper. Wright replaced the 12-ft. long belt drive in the bottom of the flare-sided box with a 12-in. auger made by a local machine shop. It carries grain to another 12-in. upright auger at the front of the tank. The horizontal auger is hydraulic powered so it can be slowed or shut down. The upright auger is driven by clutch off the gearbox and direct from the engine. It folds in the middle to lay out of the way between the box and the cab.
The rear wheels have no springs and are mounted directly to the frame. The front wheels (smaller flotation tires) have a set of truck springs for suspension. The springs provide an easier ride for the cab, which is mounted over the front axle.
The cab itself, as well as the hood, is also homemade. "I had an old cab off a combine, but it wasn't going to fit right, so I decided to start with new metal and make my own," explains Wright.
Making his own cab allowed him to design and lay out the platform and mount the seat, steering wheel and all the controls in the open. He then constructed the cab off to one side in the shop, raised it up and over the platform, set it back down and welded it in place.
"Not counting my own labor, I have about $6,000 in it," says Wright. "We had a wet fall, and the thing really came in handy."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert Wright, 909 County Road 294, Clyde, Ohio 43410 (ph 419 547-8550).


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2004 - Volume #28, Issue #2