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Tractor Mower Converted For ATV
Inspired by a FARM SHOW article about a fellow who had built a sicklebar mower onto his ATV, Robert Herron of Barrys Bay, Ontario, built his own unit but took a different approach.
"The other guy (Dale Depee - Vol. 28, No. 4) mounted the sicklebar on one side of the ATV's foot rest and put the engine to power it
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Tractor Mower Converted For ATV ATV'S ATV'S 31-1-28 Inspired by a FARM SHOW article about a fellow who had built a sicklebar mower onto his ATV, Robert Herron of Barrys Bay, Ontario, built his own unit but took a different approach.
"The other guy (Dale Depee - Vol. 28, No. 4) mounted the sicklebar on one side of the ATV's foot rest and put the engine to power it on the other side," Herron says. "I thought, why couldn't I build a pull-type mower? I do quite a bit of weed cutting along the road and some haying on small fields."
He bought an old International pull-type tractor mower with a 7 1/2-ft. sickle bar and set about modifying it in his spare time.
"I made my own hitch and mounted a 9 hp Honda engine on it. Since I wasn't sure how well it would work, I didn't want to spend too much money so I didn't put a clutch on it. I mounted a direct drive belt instead. Once I saw how well it worked I put on a centrifugal force clutch," Herron explains.
To lift the mower, Herron bought a 12-volt self-contained hydraulic power pack that runs off the ATV battery. The only mower control he has on the ATV is a push button to raise and lower the sickle bar. For safety reasons, Herron also hooked up a throttle cable to the height adjustment mechanism, so that when he lifts the cutting bar up, the clutch disengages, but the engine stays running. This works well when he needs to avoid obstacles as he's mowing.
Herron says the sickle bar lifts just as high as if a tractor was pulling it - 2 1/2 ft.
The final touches were guards over the belts and pulleys, and a paint job.
"It works really well and I've never seen another one like it," he says. "In all, it cost me about $1,600 because I bought everything new, except for the used mower, which was in good shape."
He built the unit in 2005 and has used it extensively since then.
Herron points out that a small two-wheel drive ATV wouldn't be able to pull it. He drives a Honda 350 Fourtrax, which pulls the mower with no problem, even on hills.
Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Robert Herron, P.O. Box 424, Barrys Bay, Ontario, Canada K0J 1B0 (ph/fax 613 756-3698).
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