Bare Bones Tractor Backhoe

Bare Bones Tractor Backhoe MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 12-6-7 One exhibit stood out from all the rest at the recent International Plowing Match near Woodstock, Ontario. Duane Wharram of Gowanstown, Out., had a one-of¡a-kind home built tractor on display along with an exhibit of the field cultivators he manufactures. "It's a bare bones machine but it gets the job done. It took me less than four days to build it and cost less than $1,000. I wanted to show farmers that it's not that difficult to build your own tractor. Most farmers have more than enough skill to do what I did," says Wharram who also farms. He uses the tractor primarily for backhoe work. He mounted a home-built backhoe on the rear, complete with stabilizer legs to provide a firm digging base. The tractor is fitted with two seats. One faces forward and the other faces the rear-mounted backhoe controls. The tractor is built low and long on a frame that consists of two 6 by 6-in. steel beams with a 1956 Ford 4 1f 2-ton truck rear-end on back (along with a 5-speed transmission) and the front-end from the same Ford truck up front. The 350 cu. in. engine was salvaged from a junked Oldsmobile, as was the automatic transmission (using an automatic eliminated the need for an engine governor, notes Wharram). He installed an air cooler ahead of the up front truck radiator for the transmission. The engine, automatic transmission and drive shaft mountin line with the rear end. Three hydraulic motors mount on the chassis side rails and are sprocket driven directly off the driveshaft. They supply power to the backhoe, which is controlled by hydraulic motors that drive chains and sprockets. To mount the tractor wheels on the rear end, Wharram welded an adaptor plate to each of the truck hubs. About the only tractor component used on the home-built rig is a salvaged fuel tank from a Cockshutt 40 that mounts at the middle of the machine. "Everything's out in the open so it's easy to work on. If any parts do break down it's easy to find more old parts to replace them. .1 don't use the tractor for field work but, if I did, I'd probably use a heavier rear end," says Wharram who has another home-built tractor on his farm which he uses for field work. Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Duane Wharram, Wharram Mfg., Rt. 1, Gowanstown , Ontario Canada NOG 1Y 0 (ph 519 343-5361).

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