Steel-Wheeled Spray Rig

Steel-Wheeled Spray Rig SPRAYING Miscellaneous 16-6-36 After years of working as a crop consultant and doing custom work, Bob Alger of Dayton, Virginia, decided he needed a new machine that would let him work in solid-seeded standing crops without doing dam-age and that would reduce compaction to a minimum. "I work with a number of different farmers in a variety of crops and soils. The last thing most of these fields need is more heavy equipment with big tires to mash the air out of them. I also wanted to be able to apply plant food to alfalfa and drilled soy-beans without crushing the plants," says Alger who, as a distributor for the Aer Way soil aerator, is sensitive to the problem of compaction. "So I decided to build a self-propelled sprayer with narrow wheels that would be as light as possible yet carry enough of a load so I wouldn't have to nurse it too often. I also decided to keep it light by giving it just enough power to get the job done. "I started with a 1983 Ford Ranger 4-WD pickup (Ford's mid-size model) fitted with power steering and power brakes. I re-placed the pickup engine with a 20 hp. Onan gas engine and ran a direct drive cushioned coupler from the motor to a Sunstrand hydraulic pump and oil reservoir that mount where the radiator used to be. I removed the original transmission and mounted a hydraulic motor on both the front and rear drive axles, giving me true hydrostatic drive. "The next problem was designing the narrow wheels. At first I wanted to use wooden spoked buggy wheels but I was told that you can't power them. Then I thought about clamping a skinny steel wheel to a normal tractor wheel but that was too heavy. "Finally, what I did was cut 48-in. circles out of 11-ga. sheet metal and welded it to the outside edges of truck wheel rims to the steel circles with steel spokes to the inside edge of each wheel. Two-inch thick commercially available hard rubber buggy tires were applied to the narrow wheels at a buggy shop. "Wheels are on 60-in. centers and I can spray at up to 5.5 mph. It has a 150-gal. spray tank with double agitation. An 8-hp. Honda motor powers a centrifugal spray pump which is also used to fill the spray tank. Spray booms are 390 in. wide, letting me side dress twelve 30-in. corn rows using drop nozzles. Nozzles are set up for both 20 and 30-in. rows. I also added a foam marker, acre counter, and other gadgets. "In the last 2 years I have covered almost 2,000 acres on mostly small hilly fields doing up to 100 acres a day. It weighs about 4,300 tbs. loaded. Traction and balance are very good. On wet ground, wheels sink in 4 to 5 in. but still work fine. I haul it on a light trailer pulled from job to job behind a half-ton van." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bob Alger, Robin Roost Enterprises, Rt. 3, Box 18A, Dayton, Va. 22821 (ph 703 879-9395).

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