1-Ton Truck Turned Into Loaker-Backhoe

1-Ton Truck Turned Into Loaker-Backhoe TRACTORS Conversions 18-3-11 George Beck, Woodhull, Ill., turned a 1948 Dodge 1-ton truck into a combination loader-backhoe rig that's equipped with a front-end loader on one end and a small backhoe on the other end. "It lets me do two different jobs with one machine," says Beck, who built the loader-backhoe 5 years ago. "I use it to plant trees, excavate, dig ditches, back-fill, etc." Beck stripped the truck to the frame, keeping only the flathead 6-cyl. gas engine, 4-speed transmission, rear end, wheels, and axles. He welded lengths of channel iron to the sides of the frame to reinforce it and bolted on a diamond steel plate floor. He salvaged an after-market cab from an old Deere tractor and bolted it to the front end, and bolted a skid steer loader cab onto the back end. He mounted an extra 4-speed transmission behind the truck's existing 4-speed transmission. He built his own front-end loader and backhoe. The hydraulic cylinders that operate both attachments are powered by a hydraulic pump that's driven off the engine crankshaft. The backhoe has six cylinders - one to swing the bucket left or right, one to tilt it, one to raise or lower the boom, one to swing the boom out while digging, and two to raise or lower the outrigger legs. The loader has three cylinders - two to raise or lower the bucket and one to tip it. "It works perfect," says Beck. "I use a double valve in the cab to operate the loader. To operate the backhoe I just walk to the back end of the machine where the hydraulic controls are located. The two transmissions give me 16 for-ward speeds and four reverse. By putting both transmissions in reverse I can go forward. If I want I can just creep along. If I ever get stuck I can use the backhoe to push myself out. I removed the springs from the truck's rear axle to give the backhoe a more solid base." Beck used lengths of 1-ft. wide, 1/4-in. thick steel plate to make the running boards and fenders. An old refrigerator door was used as the engine hood. The power steering was salvaged from a Chevrolet truck, and the "buddy seat" in the cab was taken from a semi-truck. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, George Beck, 340 S.E. 3rd Ave., Woodhull, Ill. 61490 (ph 309 334-2933).

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