Road Sander Converted Into ATV-Pulled "Feed Cart"

Road Sander Converted Into ATV-Pulled "Feed Cart" ATV'S ATV'S 26-4-29 Matt Roberts, Wawaka, Ind., converted an old pickup-mounted road sander into an auger cart that he pulls behind his 4-wheeler ATV. "I use it to unload silage into the bucket on my skid loader, and then dump the feed into bunks. It was cheap to build and allows me to haul feed between two farms without the need for a pickup," says Roberts. The cart measures 8 ft. long and 4 ft. wide. It was originally designed to slide into the back of a pickup and had an auger running down the middle to a spreader on back. The auger is chain-driven by an 8 1/2 hp Briggs & Stratton gas engine mounted on back. Roberts cut off the spreader and enlarged the original 1-in. dia. unloading hole to make it about 1 ft. square. He also moved the motor up higher so it's out of the way. The motor has its own battery and starter. He built a trailer for the sander, mounting it on tandem axles that he got from a local camper trailer manufacturer. Diamond plate steel was used to make fenders for each side. The control box for the auger is still in its original position, on the side of the cart at the back, An electric clutch is used to engage the chain that drives the auger, and a throttle controls auger speed. "It takes most people a while to figure out what it is, but once they do they think it's really slick," says Roberts. "I use it to feed corn silage to my dairy steers. I pull it with my Honda 400 4-wheeler between two farms that are about a half mile apart. I use a skid loader at one farm to fill the cart, and unload the feed into a skid loader at the other farm. Sometimes I haul four small square bales of straw on the cart along with the silage. "I work as an employee for a big hog farm and use the cart when I come home to feed 50 dairy steers. I want to farm someday, and to do that I have to keep my costs down. My total cost was less than $500. I paid $200 for the sander, which I bought used from a local man who does custom snow removal. I paid $150 for the wheels, rims, and axles that I used to make the trailer. I put running lights on the sides, brake lights under the fenders, and clearance lights on back. "The Honda 400 doesn't have any trouble pulling the cart, but I have to be careful when stopping so that the 4-wheeler doesn't jackknife. If I want I can remove the cart and use just the trailer to haul two round bales at a time." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Matt Roberts, 9199N 300W, Wawaka, Ind. 46794 (ph 219 761-4575).

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