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Machine Shop's "Tool Caddy" Build To Last
When a local farmer asked Andy Wille, Wille Welding, Garnavillo, Iowa, if he would build him a really heavy duty tool caddy, Wille was happy to help.
"He has a Caterpillar Challenger with no 3-point, and he wanted to pull a mounted DMI ripper with it," Wille says. "He'd tried a couple of commercial-built caddie
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Machine Shop's "Tool Caddy" Build To Last PLANTERS Planters 26-2-26 When a local farmer asked Andy Wille, Wille Welding, Garnavillo, Iowa, if he would build him a really heavy duty tool caddy, Wille was happy to help.
"He has a Caterpillar Challenger with no 3-point, and he wanted to pull a mounted DMI ripper with it," Wille says. "He'd tried a couple of commercial-built caddies. He tore one up and could tell the other one wasn't going to last long, so he wanted me to make him one that would."
Wille's first caddy worked so well he got orders for several more from other farmers in his area. The caddies are being used for drills, planters, anhydrous bars and subsoilers.
Wille builds his caddy around semi-truck trailer axles which he gets from a local salvage yard and then rebuilds. "I remove the brakes and put in new bearings if they're needed. The hubs on these are designed to run in oil, but I drain out the oil and pack them with grease, since they won't be running at highway speeds," he says. He leaves the dual wheels in place and is using the semi trailer tires that come on the axle.
He makes the axle beam for the caddy from 1/2-in. thick, 6 by 10-in. steel tubing. He uses 4 by 8-in. by 1/2-in. steel tubing for the main frame and the 3-pt. hitch arms are made from 4 by 6 by 1/2-in. tubing.
He purchases hydraulic components for the caddy from Force America, Ft. Dodge, Iowa. "It's a rephasing hydraulic system, with a 4-in. bore, 10-in. stroke master cylinder and a slave cylinder with a 3 3/4-in. bore and 10-in. stroke," he says. The caddy requires only one hydraulic outlet.
He says the caddy should easily lift a 30,000-lb. load. "On the Challenger, it pops a 7-shank ripper out of the ground in seconds," he says. "I charge the hydraulics system in my shop with my 955 John Deere. That 33 hp tractor has enough hydraulic capacity to operate it, so most larger tractors will have no problems with it." Wille sells the caddy for $7,000, plus delivery. It's designed to fit any Cat. III implement, but Wille says he can make caddies for any size hitch.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Andy Wille, Wille Welding, 25569 Hwy. 52, Garnavillo, Iowa 52049 (ph 563 964-9151).
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