"Lazy Man's" Self-Propelled Fencing Rig

Lazy Man s Self-Propelled Fencing Rig FENCING Miscellaneous Wayne Rodocker has more than 100 miles of fence to maintain on his ranch near Halsey Neb To make the job easier he built his own self-propelled fencing rig using the chassis off an International Harvester 4-WD school bus and the hydrostatic transmission from an IH 915 combine     The one-of-a-kind rig which Rodocker calls the International Fencer can be used to:     • Dig posts A hydraulic-operated lift arm equipped with an orbit motor is used to operate either a 6 or 12-in dia auger Rodocker welded a pair of U-joints together on top of the motor and also welded female pto shaft adapters onto each auger so that he can quickly snap them on or off The U-joints swivel and allow the auger to remain straight up and down even on side hills The lift arm can be hydraulically raised or lowered and also swings 200 degrees     • Supply wire A turntable on one side of the machine supports three spools of wire The bottom two spools are protected from the weather by a circular metal plate with one spool holding up to 100 lbs of no 9 wire and the other up to 100 lbs of no 12 wire The third spool mounts on top of the plate and holds barbless barbed wire A length of conduit extends from each spool to the side of the machine just in front of the driver Rodocker pulls wire out from each conduit as needed     • Roll up wire A pair of wire-winding reels can be snapped onto a shaft that mounts on front of the machine The lift arm is rotated to the front and the orbit motor on it is hooked up to a short driveline that rotates the shaft     • Store steel T-posts and railroad ties Up to 100 T-posts and five railroad ties can be stored on the sides of the machine The lift arm is used to lift the ties into place     • Pound posts At the present time Rodocker pounds posts in by hand However he plans to install a lightweight hand-held hydraulic-operated post pounder that will mount just behind the driver s seat     • Dump off old posts Old posts can be thrown into a 8 1/2-ft long 4-ft wide hydraulic dump box on back of the machine     A unique feature is that the seat and platform lower hydraulically all the way to the ground making it easy to get on and off the rig The platform also serves as a downrigger to help stabilize the auger      A lot of people say I must have been bored to dream up a rig like this but it s very useful I call it the lazy man s way of fencing says Rodocker who has a cow-calf operation and also runs a 140-acre center pivot irrigation system It took me seven years to build it A lot of people have asked me to do custom fence work for them      The bus s 6-cyl gas engine is used to belt-drive the hydrostatatic transmission which is connected to a transfer case that has a hi-lo range and also a 4-WD range     The machine can creep along so slow I can walk alongside it or I can drive at speeds up to 60 mph on the highway I mounted tow hitches on the rig s front bumper so that I can use my pickup to tow it I even mounted a tractor radio ahead of the steering wheel      Everything I operate is within a 4-ft reach including the auger which is directly on my left side I got the chair out of a Peterbuilt semi It swivels 360 degrees so I can look at the fence without having to turn      The controls mount on a 4-ft long console in front of my right arm When I lower the seat to the ground a cable connected to it automatically engages the parking brake to keep the rig from moving At the same time the control console swings out about 1 1/2 ft beyond the side of the machine which makes it easier to reach     A rectangular tank with a baffle inside mounts on the right side of the machine About 3/4 of the tank holds gas and the rest holds hydraulic oil The lift arm rests on a saddle on the dump box during transport     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Wayne Rodocker HC 76 Box 1 Halsey Neb 69142 ph 308 834-3341

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.