Big A Sprayer Kit Mounted On Tracks

Big A Sprayer Kit Mounted On Tracks FERTILIZER APPLICATION Fertilizer Application (58f) 19-3-11 "It reduces soil compaction and allows me to cover a lot of acres without worrying about tracking," says Duane King, Tiffin, Ohio, who mounted a 1,600-gal. stainless steel spray tank and 60-ft. boom on a Caterpillar VFS 50 undercarriage equipped with 24-in. wide rubber tracks. When he's done spraying King uses the tracked undercarriage on his Kinze 800-bu. grain cart. He bought a spray tank kit that was designed to fit a "Big A" self-propelled floater. The kit included the tank, boom, and Scott hydraulic pump. He used 12-in. channel iron to build a frame for the tank, then made brackets to mount the 4-section boom on the rear of the under-carriage. A home-built pto shaft drives the pump. Tractor hydraulics are used to raise or lower the boom as well as to fold it against the tank for transport. Foam markers at each end of the boom are activated by an air compressor. "The tracks provide a lot of flotation on soft ground without packingûit. I can get across fields where Big A's can't go," says King. "I use a Deere 4560 MFWD tractor equipped with duals (18.4 by 46's, at 6 lbs. pressure) to top dress wheat. However, I have to make broad turns at the end of the field to keep the tracks from damaging the crop. I don't use the tracks on corn that's already up because they'd tear up too much of the crop on headlands. I use a Deere 4020 tractor to pull the sprayer while applying preemergence corn and soybean herbicides. "I made the sprayer three years ago and used the tracks for the first time last year. For the first two years I mounted the sprayer on conventional tires. I had two different sets of axles available - one with single or dual 30-in. wheels for pre-emergence applications, and the other with 45 by 60 floater tires for top dressing wheat. However, the tracks do a much better job because they don't sink into the ground nearly as much, even better than dual 30 in. tires. I widened a 4020 tractor to straddle four rows and have an 18.4 by 42 on a 4-row straddle, 120-in. axle to post spray corn and soybeans. "To change axles I unbolt the sprayer from frame and use a forklift to raise it, then put a stand under it. It makes changing axles easier than changing tires." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Duane King, 3191 West St. Rt. 18, Tiffin, Ohio 44883 (ph 419 447-8946).

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