Home-Built Bean Buggy

Home-Built Bean Buggy SPRAYING Bean Buggies 2-3-14 "Cost per acre, compared to hiring help to walk bean fields, is so much cheaper it's not even comparable," says Rollin Barnett, Iowa farmer and inventor of a home-built "bean buggy" that mounts on the front of his tractor loader. Riders stand up on the carrier platform and "shoot" weeds and volunteer corn with spray guns loaded with 2,4-D. "The sprayer guns, purchased at a local hardware store, are made from parts from Hudson hand sprayers. I operate them at 201bs0 or less pressure. The 2,4-D mixture is about the same as if you were spraying corn with a regular sprayer," explains Rollin. He made the carrier from angle iron salvaged from an old windmill. The carrier measures 8 ft. across, 1 ft. wide at the bottom and slightly wider at the top for the comfort of the passengers. Two brace arms run from the top of the carrier to the main loader frame. The entire carrier mounts with only two bolts. "Under the bottom of the carrier, I welded two strap irons that loop under the loader bucket," explains Rollin. "When I was finished with it last summer, I drove it into the machine shed, raised it up to the ceiling trusses, tied it up and backed away. When I want to use it again, I can just drive into it." If you'd like to build one and need a few construction tips, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rollin Barnett, Earlham, Iowa 50072.

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