Homemade Running Gear Built For $150

Homemade Running Gear Built For $150 WAGONS/TRAILERS Miscellaneous 6-5-8 Pennsylvania dairy farmer Ray Morgan, of Beaver, built his own heavy-duty running gear for his 10-ton forage box for only $150, about one-fifth the cost of a commercial carriage. The front ends of two 1-ton Ford trucks furnished the two sets of wheels and axles. Morgan used them complete with the 7.50 by 18 tires. He widened the axles 9 in., lengthened the tie rods on the front, and removed the tie rods on the rear axle. Braces are of 3 in. channel iron and bolsters of 4 in. by 4 in. angle iron. To prevent some of the twisting and turning when driving over rough terrain, Morgan built the coupling pole of a 2 in. pipe that slips inside of a 2 1/2 in. pipe. This forms a swivel joint so the front and rear ends can ride up and down independently of each other. Another feature is a telescoping drawbar, a 2? in. pipe that slides inside a 3 in. pipe. It telescopes 17 in. "It saves a lot of backing when you hitch up to a tractor," Morgan says. Shop work is Morgan's hobby, and he is now working on adapting a car engine to a forage blower, and perfecting an applicator for silage preservatives. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ray Morgan, 1060 Brady's Ridge Rd., Beaver, Penn. 15009 (ph 412 775-1091).

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