Garage Door Opener Powers Sliding Gate

Garage Door Opener Powers Sliding Gate FENCING Gates 31-4-40 "It looks great and works great," says Justin Herron, Constantine, Mich., who built a 24-ft. sliding metal gate that's opened by a garage door opener. The opener and other components are housed under a 2-ft. high cover made from cedar shake shingles. The entire gate is 24 ft. long, but only 15 ft. of it extends across the driveway. The gate slides back and forth on four wheelbarrow wheel rims mounted on a pair of 6 by 6-in. wood posts, which serve as the main supports for the gate. The rims are bolted to the top and bottom of each post. The opener belt-drives a small metal bracket that bolts onto the gate to move it back and forth. Electricity is supplied by underground wiring from the house. "It's an inexpensive way to keep from having to get out of the car and open our front gate," says Herron. "I came up with the idea because we breed 140-lb. bull Mastiff dogs and have a fenced-in front yard. "I looked at automatic gates on the market but the cheapest model I could find sells for $1,000 to $2,000. Also, most commercial automatic gates swing out so in deep snow I'd still have to go out and shovel the gate area, which defeats the purpose of an automatic gate." Herron can open and close the gate with a push button by the front door of his house, and from remote openers in his vehicles. He even mounted one opener with a code on the post outside the gate. "If the power ever goes out I can just pull a string to release the gate," says Herron. "Because of the opening distance I had to order a commercial grade opener designed to open and close a 24-ft. door. It came equipped with an enclosed belt drive system. One advantage of the belt is there's no chain to keep lubed," says Herron. "The opener came with a track guide that was already 80 percent enclosed to protect the belt. "I paid $300 for the opener and made the gate out of sq. tubing. I covered the bottom with a hog panel to keep my small son and dogs from getting out. I painted the gate with rubberized outdoor paint to prevent rust." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Justin Herron, 66018 M-40, Constantine, Mich. 49042 (ph 269 435-7001; Herroncon@aol. com).

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