Pedal-Powered Bulldozer

Pedal-Powered Bulldozer MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Earth Movers 19-4-2 Lonnie Green does all kinds of chores with the pedal-powered bulldozer he built a few years ago for a couple hundred dollars. "I clean ditches, cut and grade paths, level driveways - just about anything a mechanized bulldozer would do," says Green, of Nevada City, Calif. "Granted, it takes a little longer because a person in average physical condition can only generate a maximum of about 1/3 hp. with their legs. But you get an excellent workout while you're doing it, and it's a lot faster than doing the work manually." Green built the dozer frame out of thin wall square tubing. It's 6 ft. long, 2 1/2 ft. wide and 6 ft. high at the highest point of its canopy. The machine is driven by a bicycle chain and sprocket and 5-speed transmission. The dozer goes from creep speed all the way up to walking speed. Gears change with a foot pedal. Green used a differential out of an old Datsun 210 car and mounted the car's 13 in. wheels on back. The front wheels, which mount on an oscillating axle for working rough terrain, came off a wheelbarrow. A lever on the left side of the dozer is used to steer. A six-way adjustable blade mounts on a parallel linkage on front of the machine. A bike chain and sprocket drive on the right side turns by hand to control height, tilt and pitch of the 3 ft. wide blade, which Green made out of a section of water heater. He also made rippers that attach to the front of the blade for digging out rocks. The operator rides in a sturdy homemade chair with lawn chair webbing and is protected by an overhead canopy. "This is the fourth one I've built and I've learned a lot. My first was fairly useless," he says. "For example, balance is critical when you're using pedal power. The front and back have to be balanced just right. This one weighs 300 pounds with an operator on it. Also, you can't have any drag whatsoever on the drivetrain or you'll get tired out fast." Green, who's working on a number of other pedal-powered machines, says he'd like to hear from manufacturers interested in producing his dozer. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lonnie Green, 15225 Hobby Way, Nevada City, Calif. 95959 (ph 916 265-8448).

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