He Makes Custom, Motorized Garden Carts

He Makes Custom Motorized Garden Carts MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous Clint Evans builds motorized garden carts designed to meet customer needs whether hauling construction tools garden goods or horse manure The one constant is the basic design Aside from the paint and a few bolts they are built from repurposed materials starting with stripped-down Murray lawn tractors “The old Murray rider has one of the best hydrostatic transmissions I’ve seen ” says Evans “It’s super durable really basic with a single drive belt and the Murray has a good chassis ” The chassis four wheels and the transmission are about all that’s left of the Murray when Evans is done Power is provided by a push mower engine that he mounts above the old front end with the rope pull facing the operator “The lawn tractors have a bigger engine than the cart needs ” says Evans “The engine battery and gas tank all take up space A 5 to 7-hp engine from a push mower is big enough is compact and uses very little fuel ” Evans built the first cart for his own use around his small engine shop It satisfied his needs and soon attracted interest from customers who saw it It was narrow and versatile and the operator didn’t have to climb down from a seat to load or unload “I wanted to be able to walk alongside and control it ” says Evans “I always liked old-style tractors with hand clutches so I used similar levers to control the cart It’s like driving a forklift with the load ahead of you ” One lever is tied into the steering for tiller steering A second is connected to the hydrostatic transmission to control forward reverse and speed “With the hydrostatic you can move as slow as you want or as fast as a jog ” says Evans “One customer needed to carry hand tools across a university campus I added a seat over the engine and geared it up so you would have to run to keep up He was able to drive it into the building and right into the classroom ” Once the engine and controls are in place the rest of the design is up to the customer Evans modified the chassis frame to carry a bed one that tilts if desired Here too simplicity reigns The steering lever serves double duty Pull a pin and it becomes a lever for tilting the bed Slide it into a pipe on the side of the bed and lift The base price for a cart starts at around $700 and can run to $1 000 depending on extras “I had one guy who wanted a bed that could hold three to four wheelbarrows full of material ” recalls Evans “I set it up so he could open the end gate letting material run out a chute When enough was gone he could lift it up to dump the rest ” “Most of my customers like the narrow profile ” he says “A landscaper needed to carry root ball trees through 40-in garden fence gates to plant in backyards I added a brace at the back of the bed to help support the tree and used expanded metal for the bed ” Another customer needed to carry tools including an air compressor nail guns and saws into a multi-story building It took five employees an hour in the morning and one in the evening just hauling tools “I built a special rack for the tools and he was able to drive it off his truck and into a freight elevator with all the tools ” says Evans “At night he drove it out and back to the truck He got his return on the cost in just five days ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Clint Evans 114 State School Rd Gatesville Texas 76528 ph 505-592-2734; cnbevans@centurylink net

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