Wheel Rake Converted To Handy Backhoe Trailer

Wheel Rake Converted To Handy Backhoe Trailer HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Rakes 44 Needing an easier way to transport and store his 3-pt mounted mini backhoe Glenn Ligtenberg converted the tongue wheels and axle off an old pull-type hay rake into a handy low-cost trailer He painted it orange to match the backhoe “The trailer makes the backhoe easy to hook up and store ” says Ligtenberg “Usually when you unhook a 3-pt mounted implement you don’t move it until you need it again However I don’t think twice about moving my backhoe trailer because it rolls around so easily If I need to get another machine in my shed I hook up to it with my Deere loader tractor and go I mounted the receiver hitch off an old Chevy pickup on the loader just above the bucket so I have a great view in front of me “I kept the trailer’s wheelbase as narrow as possible so I can back my tractor right up to the backhoe I first hook the backhoe up to the lower lift arms on my tractor’s 3-pt and then I connect the hydraulic hoses and move the boom to hook up to the top link ” Ligtenberg already had the Farmhand 5-wheel rake which he had bought for parts He stripped the rake down to the tongue wheels and axle However the axle was too light to support the backhoe by itself so to reinforce it he cut part of the frame off an old Glencoe 4-row cultivator and bolted it onto the axle He also welded steel hooks onto the trailer’s axle and tongue which are used to chain the backhoe down The rake’s tires were rotten so he replaced them with a pair of used 14-in tires which he bought used A small hand-cranked jack is mounted on front of the tongue “My total cost was less than $100 ” says Ligtenberg Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Glenn Ligtenberg 40882 Pleasant Valley Mitchell S Dak 57301 ph 605 996-8756; glennl@santel net

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.