4-WD 4-Wheel Steer Riding Mower

4-WD 4-Wheel Steer Riding Mower FARM HOME Lawn Mowers (31h,38) 18-6-25 "I built it six years ago and it still works great," says Larry Munro, Tiverton, Ontario, about his 4-WD, 4-wheel steer lawn mower that's equipped with a 6-ft. wide, 3-pt. mounted deck in front. Munro also uses the tractor with a 4-ft. wide snowblower and 6-ft. wide garden tiller. He used 2-in. sq. steel tubing to build the tractor's frame. Power is supplied by a 26 hp Wisconsin 4-cyl. gas engine off a New Holland skidsteer loader. The engine belt-drives a pto shaft that powers a gearbox which in turn belt-drives the 3-section deck. The mower has three transmissions. A Volkswagen transaxle is used as the main drive with a Honda transaxle mounted on each end to provide 4-WD. The Volkswagen transmission chain-drives each Honda drive via a jackshaft. A forward-reverse "shuttle shift" off an old Owatonna swather mounts between the engine and the Volkswagen transaxle's input shaft. Four-wheel steering is provided by a hydrostatic steering unit off an old combine. A hydraulic cylinder mounted on the front axle moves a tie rod on the axle back and forth. The front axle is mechanically linked to the rear axle so that when it turns in one direction, the rear axle turns in the opposite direction. The 22-in. high, 1-ft. wide soft rubber wheels are off an ATV. The 4-WD and 4-wheel steering really comes in handy because I have a lot of hills and trees," says Munro. "My turning radius is only about 12 ft. The deck is 6 ft. wide, but the rest of the unit is only 4 ft. wide so I can mow right around a tree. The deck is built in three sections and supported by eight caster wheels so it mows evenly over rough ground. It doesn't scalp the ground or leave uncut grass. "I spent $700 to $800 to build it. A new comparable size riding mower would sell for $5,000 to $6,000 and wouldn't have 4-WD and 4-wheel steer. Also, I can use it year around. It has plenty of power to handle a snowblower and with 4-WD I don't have to worry about spinning out. I can hook the pto shaft up to one of two pto stub shafts that run side by side. One stub shaft runs at 1,000 rpm's and the other at 540 rpm's. I use 1,000 rpm's for the lawn mower and 540 rpm's for the snowblower and garden tiller. The shuttle shift clutch lets me go from forward to reverse without stopping and without grinding gears." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Larry Munro, Rt. 1, Tiverton, Ontario, Canada NOG 2T0 (ph 519 368-7622).

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