Packer Roller Made From Culverts

Packer roller made from culverts MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 11-6-2 To get crops off to a faster, healthier start, Oregon farmer Grant Kropf, of Harrisburg, packs the seedbed with a giant 10 ton roller-packer he made by filling 24 in. dia. steel culverts with concrete. "This area grows 90% of the world's grass seed, which requires a firm seedbed to germinate. I built this 28 ft. roller-packer to fill in loose dirt and to pack and break clods," says Kropf. The 28 ft. wide rig is made in two 8 ft. wing sections which fold vertically for travel, and a 12 ft. wide middle section. Wheels (9:00 by 17.5) support all three sections for road travel, and take most of the weight off the tongue in the working position. Two lift cylinders lift the center section and there's one each to raise and lower each wing for road travel. Travel width is 12.5 ft. A 2-7/16 in. dia. shaft runs through the center of each roller, extending out about 4 in. on each end ù just enough to fit a big roller bearing, bolted to the frame, to it. To fill each culvert with concrete, Kropf used a forklift to tip it on end. Fresh concrete from a ready-mix truck was loaded onto the forklift, then lifted and poured into the upright culvert. After the concrete set, Kropf hooked a chain onto the top end and gently let it down. Plates were welded onto each of of the culverts to keep the concrete edges from crumbling. Each wing weighs 3,000 lbs. and the center roller 4,500 lbs. The frame itself weighs 10,000 lbs. Kropf uses a Deere 8650 tractor to pull the roller in tandem with a harrow. "Used by itself, the roller could be pulled with a Deere 4020 or similar horsepower tractor," he says. For more information, contact FARM SHOW Followup, Grant Kropf, 30093 Substation Drive, Harrisburg, Oregon 97446 (ph 503 995-6383).

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