Motorized Dump Cart Made From Old Riding Mower

Motorized Dump Cart Made From Old Riding Mower FARM HOME Lawn Mowers (31h,38) 30-1-10 Lester Rose, Yellville, Ariz., found new life for an old 8 hp rear engine Sears riding mower by converting it into a motorized dump cart. "It looks a lot like the ones sold commercially but those cost $1,500 or more. Because these old riding mowers are everywhere and cheap, a lot of people could build their own," he says. Although the mower parts didn't work, the electric start engine, 5-speed transmission and gearbox were fine. "The front section simply unbolted from the rear section," says Rose. "I mounted a swivel wheel at the back to ride on." He made handlebars of 1 1/4-in. thin-walled tubing. Rose constructed a 32 by 40-in. wood dump box and bolted it to a frame over the engine. A piece of angle iron helps make dumping easier. The right handle grip serves as the clutch and a long handle connects to the gear shift. The brake is on the left handlebar. The on/off switch and gas feed are mounted on the mower's original panel that's welded to the crossbar of the handlebars. "I have a trip lever that holds the box down till I need to dump it." With the pivot point ahead of the axle when dumping, the whole thing wants to tip over so he created a "kickstand" that activates from a lever attached to the left handlebar. He added a straight handlebar to the right side of the box that extends past the handlebars so he can grab hold of it with both hands to dump the entire box. "It works just great for hauling rocks off our Arkansas rocky hillside." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lester Rose, 2126 MC 8050, Yellville, Arkansas. 72687 (ph 870 449-2125; lester_rose @hotmail.com).

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