AT & T Service Truck Box Makes Great Field Service Trailer

1997 - Volume #21, Issue #3, Page #31

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An old AT & T service truck box makes a handy field service trailer for Nebraska farmer Charles Myers. He mounted the box onto a 3/4-ton pickup chassis and welded a homemade tongue on front.
"It allows me to make most repairs right in the field and cost less than $2,000 to build," says Myers.
Myers bolted the fiberglass box to the pickup frame. The box has compartments for a variety of power tools, a 110-volt air compressor, an oxyacetylene welding torch, containers of oil and grease, drawers filled with bolts, nuts, fasteners, screws, and other parts. A gas engine-driven generator mounts on top of the box. It powers 110-volt electrical outlets at both ends of the trailer as well as a 220-volt outlet on the generator. A homemade 100-gal. diesel fuel tank that's centered over the axle - positioned between fuel compartments - lets him refuel tractors and combines right in the field. A home-made steel bumper on back doubles as an air tank, allowing him to use the air compressor to clean air filters and fill tires.
"At night I mount a pair of Halogen lights on top of the box to work on equipment," says Myers. "I mounted a small vise on the tongue.
"I paid $200 for the pickup frame, $400 for a used generator, and $150 for the fuel pump. I already had the fuel tank. I like my trailer-mounted unit better than truck-mounted ones because I farm 1,300 acres by myself and don't want to be tied to a single vehicle. I can unhook the trailer in the field and use it while my wife goes to town for parts in the pickup. The fuel pump is wired into my pickup's electric circuit, but I have a second hookup for it so that I can use a spare battery in one of the compartments to power it. Another advantage is that I can lock the trailer inside a shed and go somewhere without worrying that it'll get broken into. Also, I avoid having to pay taxes and insurance on another vehicle."
Myers used thick wall 4 by 6-in. steel tubing to make the bumper-air tank and welded a quick tach fill valve, shutoff valve, and pressure gauge onto it.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Charles L. Myers, RR 2, Box 153, Lyons, Neb. 68038 (ph 402 687-4166).

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AT & T Service Truck Box Makes Great Field Service Trailer FARM SHOP Maintenance 21-3-31 An old AT & T service truck box makes a handy field service trailer for Nebraska farmer Charles Myers. He mounted the box onto a 3/4-ton pickup chassis and welded a homemade tongue on front. "It allows me to make most repairs right in the field and cost less than $2,000 to build," says Myers. Myers bolted the fiberglass box to the pickup frame. The box has compartments for a variety of power tools, a 110-volt air compressor, an oxyacetylene welding torch, containers of oil and grease, drawers filled with bolts, nuts, fasteners, screws, and other parts. A gas engine-driven generator mounts on top of the box. It powers 110-volt electrical outlets at both ends of the trailer as well as a 220-volt outlet on the generator. A homemade 100-gal. diesel fuel tank that's centered over the axle - positioned between fuel compartments - lets him refuel tractors and combines right in the field. A home-made steel bumper on back doubles as an air tank, allowing him to use the air compressor to clean air filters and fill tires. "At night I mount a pair of Halogen lights on top of the box to work on equipment," says Myers. "I mounted a small vise on the tongue. "I paid $200 for the pickup frame, $400 for a used generator, and $150 for the fuel pump. I already had the fuel tank. I like my trailer-mounted unit better than truck-mounted ones because I farm 1,300 acres by myself and don't want to be tied to a single vehicle. I can unhook the trailer in the field and use it while my wife goes to town for parts in the pickup. The fuel pump is wired into my pickup's electric circuit, but I have a second hookup for it so that I can use a spare battery in one of the compartments to power it. Another advantage is that I can lock the trailer inside a shed and go somewhere without worrying that it'll get broken into. Also, I avoid having to pay taxes and insurance on another vehicle." Myers used thick wall 4 by 6-in. steel tubing to make the bumper-air tank and welded a quick tach fill valve, shutoff valve, and pressure gauge onto it. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Charles L. Myers, RR 2, Box 153, Lyons, Neb. 68038 (ph 402 687-4166).

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