He Makes His Own ATV Attachments

2003 - Volume #27, Issue #4, Page #40

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Alberta farmer Brian Dickinson made a number of inventions for his Honda 300 4-wheeler that make it more useful around his farm.
    Dozer Blade: Blade was formed from a 20-in. dia., 1/4-in. thick pipe. It measures 16 in. high and 54 in. long and mounts on a subframe that goes under the full length of the ATV. It installs with two pins - one on front and the other on the drawbar. The blade is raised or lowered by a manually-operated winch. The front part of the blade is supported by a caster wheel, which is attached to a bracket ahead of the blade. The bracket fits onto a pipe that's welded to the back side of the blade. Dickinson can adjust blade depth by simply changing the position of a bolt that goes through the pipe.
    Boomless Sprayer: His two-wheeled, boomless sprayer is equipped with a 100-liter tank and five nozzles that can spray at three different widths - 3 1/2 ft. for lawns, 8 ft. for pastures or crops, and 20 ft. for fence lines and brush. Two of the nozzles point straight down. There's a nozzle at each end and the fifth nozzle mounts on top of a vertical pipe and sprays in a 20-ft. pattern. To change the spray pattern, Dickinson simply puts plugs in the end nozzles and uses shut-off valves on the other ones.
    The sprayer's electric-operated pump operates off the ATV battery. He uses a switch on the ATV handlebars to start and stop.
    "It works great on fence lines and will spray about 8 ft. on the other side of the fence. I also use a hand wand for spot spraying," says Dickinson.
    Dump-Style Rock Wagon: His end-dump rock wagon rides on a pair of 16-in. wheels and carries up to about 1/4 yard of gravel. It dumps via a spring-loaded lever on front.
    "The big tires keep the wagon up high enough for dumping and also ride over rough spots with ease," says Dickinson. "The wagon is made from 20-in. dia., 1/4-in. thick steel pipe so it won't get dented when I drop big rocks into it. I can move a lot of rocks in a day. The wagon is well balanced so it tips backward easily. The wheels and axle are off an old grain drill. I welded lengths of angle iron together to make the hitch. My total cost was about $50."
    Mower & Sweeper: To mow his yard, Dickinson pulls a 42-in. Hobart mower deck behind his ATV and a ground-driven Case sweeper behind it to vacuum up the lawn clippings. The deck, originally designed to be pulled by a garden tractor, is powered by an 8 hp Briggs & Stratton gas engine.
    "It has a lot of power and doesn't clog up, even on wet grass," says Dickinson. "I added gauge wheels on back to keep the deck from gouging into the ground. The sweeper does a good job of cleaning up the lawn clippings. Both the deck and sweeper attach with ball hitches, so I can pull either implement separately."
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Brian Dickinson, Box 36, Site 3, Rt. 2, Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Canada T4T 2A2 (ph 403 845-5259; fax 403 845-5171; email: sheriffl@telusplanet.net).

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He Makes His Own ATV Attachments ATV S ATV S Alberta farmer Brian Dickinson made a number of inventions for his Honda 300 4-wheeler that make it more useful around his farm Dozer Blade: Blade was formed from a 20-in dia 1/4-in thick pipe It measures 16 in high and 54 in long and mounts on a subframe that goes under the full length of the ATV It installs with two pins - one on front and the other on the drawbar The blade is raised or lowered by a manually-operated winch The front part of the blade is supported by a caster wheel which is attached to a bracket ahead of the blade The bracket fits onto a pipe that s welded to the back side of the blade Dickinson can adjust blade depth by simply changing the position of a bolt that goes through the pipe Boomless Sprayer: His two-wheeled boomless sprayer is equipped with a 100-liter tank and five nozzles that can spray at three different widths - 3 1/2 ft for lawns 8 ft for pastures or crops and 20 ft for fence lines and brush Two of the nozzles point straight down There s a nozzle at each end and the fifth nozzle mounts on top of a vertical pipe and sprays in a 20-ft pattern To change the spray pattern Dickinson simply puts plugs in the end nozzles and uses shut-off valves on the other ones The sprayer s electric-operated pump operates off the ATV battery He uses a switch on the ATV handlebars to start and stop It works great on fence lines and will spray about 8 ft on the other side of the fence I also use a hand wand for spot spraying says Dickinson Dump-Style Rock Wagon: His end-dump rock wagon rides on a pair of 16-in wheels and carries up to about 1/4 yard of gravel It dumps via a spring-loaded lever on front The big tires keep the wagon up high enough for dumping and also ride over rough spots with ease says Dickinson The wagon is made from 20-in dia 1/4-in thick steel pipe so it won t get dented when I drop big rocks into it I can move a lot of rocks in a day The wagon is well balanced so it tips backward easily The wheels and axle are off an old grain drill I welded lengths of angle iron together to make the hitch My total cost was about $50 Mower & Sweeper: To mow his yard Dickinson pulls a 42-in Hobart mower deck behind his ATV and a ground-driven Case sweeper behind it to vacuum up the lawn clippings The deck originally designed to be pulled by a garden tractor is powered by an 8 hp Briggs & Stratton gas engine It has a lot of power and doesn t clog up even on wet grass says Dickinson I added gauge wheels on back to keep the deck from gouging into the ground The sweeper does a good job of cleaning up the lawn clippings Both the deck and sweeper attach with ball hitches so I can pull either implement separately Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Brian Dickinson Box 36 Site 3 Rt 2 Rocky Mountain House Alberta Canada T4T 2A2 ph 403 845-5259; fax 403 845-5171; email: sheriffl@telusplanet net

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