Home Built 4-WD Sprayer Cost Under $1,000

Home Built 4-WD Sprayer Cost Under $1,000 COMBINES Conversions 21-2-18 "I needed a commercial high boy sprayer but I couldn't justify the $130,000 price tag. I told the dealer I could build my own sprayer for $1,000, but he said there was no way. Well, that's the wrong thing to tell me," says John Roy, Bagot, Manitoba, who went on to build his own 4-WD self-propelled sprayer for less than $1,000. He used the frame, axles, engine, and transmission from a 1983 Dodge 1-ton truck, the cab from a New Holland 980 combine, and big 13.00 by 28 flotation tires from a 1952 Massey Ferguson combine. The sprayer is equipped with a 500 gal. tank and 72-ft. boom. Roy bolted the cab onto the front of the truck frame, using 4-in. sq. steel tubing to raise it up. He bolted the tank onto the back end. He used sheet metal from one of the combines to make the hood, mounting the cut-down grille from an old Freightliner semi tractor on front. He used 1-in. sq. steel tubing to make the boom. The truck engine belt-drives a hydraulic pump that's used to power the spray pump and to raise or lower the boom and fold it for transport. The boom can be adjusted from 18 to 56 in. high. "I paid $500 for the truck, $200 for the tank, which was slightly damaged, and $100 for steel tubing. I already had the combines," says Roy. "It'll go through just about anything without getting stuck. There's no mud hole I can't go through. Last spring I used it to custom spray a field that had ponds at least 2 ft. deep in places. There were ducks swimming in them. The farmer advised me to go around the pond, but I went right through it. The rig is very light and with the big flotation tires it hardly sinks into the ground at all. I had been using a pull-type sprayer but I got stuck all the time and left deep ruts in the field. It works better than commercial hydrostatic-driven sprayers because when they get stuck, all the oil rushes to one wheel which just spins until it blows a seal. "The 318 cu. in. V-8 gas engine has a lot of power, and the 4-speed transmission and 2-speed transfer case give me eight for-ward gears. I go 10 to 12 mph in the field which lets me cover at least 60 acres per hour. I can go 50 mph in fourth gear on the road while pulling a service truck at the same time. I mounted a pair of shocks designed for a 1-ton truck on each wheel to reduce bouncing. "It takes only about 3 1/2 minutes to fill the 500-gal. tank. I use a gas engine-driven pump mounted under the cab to suck water into the tank. While I'm filling the tank I pump chemicals into another container at the same time. I use a steel ladder on front to get into the cab. The ladder is hinged so I can pull it up out of the way when spraying tall crops." For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John P. Roy, Box 60, Bagot, Manitoba, Canada R0H 0E0 (ph 204 252-2294).

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