Self-Propelled Bale Elevator Built Out Of Pickup, Army Truck
"It looks strange and is kind of a conversation piece in our neighborhood. However, it really comes in handy on our farm," says Nicholas Skok, Valley, Wash., who built his own self-propelled small square bale elevator out of a Dodge pickup and the rear axle and tires from a 2 1/2-ton Army truck.
Skok removed the pickup's cab and bed and replaced the rear end with the rear axle off the Army truck which had a 2-speed gearbox attached directly to it. The gearbox is connected to the pickup transmission with a short driveline. He mounted a right angle gearbox û off an old IH grain binder - above the driveshaft. The right angle gearbox is belt-driven off a pulley that's welded to the driveshaft and is used to chain-drive the elevator via a sprocket welded onto the output shaft of the gearbox. He mounted another sprocket onto the driveshaft which is used to chain-drive a hydraulic pump. The pump operates an orbit motor that drives a worm gear winch that's used to raise and lower the elevator.
Skok built the wooden elevator from scratch and bolted it onto the pickup frame. The pickup's steering wheel was in the way so he moved it over to one side. He also welded a steel seat (off the same IH grain binder) onto one side of the machine.
To drive, both transmissions are engaged. To operate the elevator, the rear 2-speed transmission is put in neutral and the pickup's 3-speed transmission is put in first gear to power the conveyor. The operator on the hay wagon uses a lever attached to the right angle gearbox to put the elevator in gear.
"I hire teenage boys to do much of our hay loading work and they're fascinated by it. I can drive into a barn and fill one section of it, then back up and move over to fill the next section. The elevator can reach 16 ft. high. Over the years I had to rebuild the elevator's wooden deck several times.
"The Army truck's big 10.00 by 20 rear tires provide a lot of traction. I also replaced the pickup's original front tires with bigger 7.00 by 16s. The pickup still has the original flathead 6-cyl., 218 cu. in. gas engine and has enough power that the boys double stack bales on the elevator without any problems."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Nicholas S. Skok, 3174 Skok Rd., Valley, Wash. 99181 (ph 509 937-2343).
Click here to download page story appeared in.
Click here to read entire issue
Self-Propelled Bale Elevator Built Out Of Pickup, Army Truck BALE HANDLING Bale Handling (31B) 24-1-3 "It looks strange and is kind of a conversation piece in our neighborhood. However, it really comes in handy on our farm," says Nicholas Skok, Valley, Wash., who built his own self-propelled small square bale elevator out of a Dodge pickup and the rear axle and tires from a 2 1/2-ton Army truck.
Skok removed the pickup's cab and bed and replaced the rear end with the rear axle off the Army truck which had a 2-speed gearbox attached directly to it. The gearbox is connected to the pickup transmission with a short driveline. He mounted a right angle gearbox û off an old IH grain binder - above the driveshaft. The right angle gearbox is belt-driven off a pulley that's welded to the driveshaft and is used to chain-drive the elevator via a sprocket welded onto the output shaft of the gearbox. He mounted another sprocket onto the driveshaft which is used to chain-drive a hydraulic pump. The pump operates an orbit motor that drives a worm gear winch that's used to raise and lower the elevator.
Skok built the wooden elevator from scratch and bolted it onto the pickup frame. The pickup's steering wheel was in the way so he moved it over to one side. He also welded a steel seat (off the same IH grain binder) onto one side of the machine.
To drive, both transmissions are engaged. To operate the elevator, the rear 2-speed transmission is put in neutral and the pickup's 3-speed transmission is put in first gear to power the conveyor. The operator on the hay wagon uses a lever attached to the right angle gearbox to put the elevator in gear.
"I hire teenage boys to do much of our hay loading work and they're fascinated by it. I can drive into a barn and fill one section of it, then back up and move over to fill the next section. The elevator can reach 16 ft. high. Over the years I had to rebuild the elevator's wooden deck several times.
"The Army truck's big 10.00 by 20 rear tires provide a lot of traction. I also replaced the pickup's original front tires with bigger 7.00 by 16s. The pickup still has the original flathead 6-cyl., 218 cu. in. gas engine and has enough power that the boys double stack bales on the elevator without any problems."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Nicholas S. Skok, 3174 Skok Rd., Valley, Wash. 99181 (ph 509 937-2343).
To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click
here to register with your account number.
