Heavy-Built Manure Spreading Truck

Heavy-Built Manure Spreading Truck MANURE HANDLING Custom Service 22-5-8 "It's the heaviest-built manure spreading truck I've ever seen yet it causes almost no compaction because of the big flotation tires," says Cornell Van Jaarsveld, Duncan, B.C., about the articulated 4-WD mining truck he converted to haul manure. He uses it year around to spread dairy manure for 25 customers. He got the Volvo truck after it crashed and burned. "I wanted the frame because those rock-hauling trucks have real tough frames," Van Jaarsveld says. "I bought the whole thing for $1,000. I stripped it down to the bare frame, then replaced and resealed the bearings in the front axle and completely redid the disc brakes because they were so badly damaged in the fire. The transfer case and rear axle were fine." He bought a 1968 Kenworth logging truck for its rebuilt 335 hp Cummins diesel engine, which he used to repower the Volvo. He re-placed the fire damaged 6-speed automatic transmission with a 15-speed manual trans-mission out of a 1975 milk truck. He decided only a Kenworth or Peterbilt cab would handle rough spreading conditions and eventually found a 1985 Kenworth logging truck. It included cab and mounting brackets, hood and muffler system. Next came time for wheels and tires. "I was watching æMonster Trucks' on TV and saw them go through mud and water," TV. he says. "I figured that was what I needed." The 66 by 43 by 25-in. tires he bought are designed for use on log skidders. They're 5 1/2 ft. tall and 4 ft. across. Rims were made from 24-in. dia. pipe cut into 42-in. sections, with outside bead rims from off-road logging trucks welded to the pipe sections. The center discs came from Volvo truck rims. A 2,500-gal. tank, custom rolled for Van Jaarsveld at Loewen Welding and Manufacturing, mounts on back of the truck (Loewen Welding, 33655 Harris Road, Box 66, Matsqui, B.C. V4X 3R2; ph 604 826-7844). On back, he also mounted a 10-in. dia., 12 ft. long boom and Wally 750 vacuum pump, which fills the tank in just 2 1/2 minutes. One of the hardest parts of the project, Van Jaarsveld says, was repowering the Volvo truck with the Cummins diesel. "The Volvo transfer case only had mounting brackets on bottom so you had to perfectly line up the transmission so the U-joints stayed exactly in line to prevent vibration," he says. "That was very time-consuming." Plumbing air lines and hydraulics and then rewiring the truck was also difficult because it all had to be done from scratch, he adds. Once put together, the truck was painted yellow with white striping. "I spent about eight months and $55,000 in parts on the truck," he says. "It works great. The flotation tires get me through even the muddiest conditions and articulation lets me get into even the tightest spots." Van Jaarsveld estimates a comparable commercial rig would sell for $200,000. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Cornell Van Jaarsveld, 6583 Lakes Road, Duncan, B.C., Canada V9L 5V9 (ph 250 748-9187).

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