Bus Turned Into First-Rate Sprayer

2004 - Volume #28, Issue #4, Page #35

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Although he only completed work on his new home-built sprayer in late April, Shaune Switzer of Sibbald, Alberta, has already done a couple thousand acres of custom work with his new machine.
    Built from a schoolbus frame and power train, Switzer used the sprayer on his own cropland, before tapping into the local market for his custom work.
     To build the unit, he moved the engine and transmission back on the school bus frame to make room for a cab on front, which came from a White 9700 combine.
    Switzer bought a Brandt 1,000-gal. tank and a 5 hp Honda engine to power the sprayer pump.
    "The steering axle is off a New Holland TR97 combine and the back driving axle is off an N5 Gleaner," he says. "I used the differential off a GMC pickup which drives into the final drives on the axle."
    He built an 82 1/2-ft. boom that covers 10 acres for each mile traveled. The booms themselves are on air cushions to take out all the shock loads when spraying. To do this, he used small airbags called Load Busters from a pickup.
    "The whole chassis rides on airbags, too. Those came out of a semi at a salvage yard," Switzer says. "The bus had hydraulic brakes, so I used that hydraulic pump to run the hydraulics for the boom, and also for my steering. I also got a Raven Autorate Controller to automatically vary the output of the pump, depending on speed, and this maintains whatever rate you've set it for."
    He installed an Outback GPS Guidance system and has triple swivel nozzle bodies on the boom so he can change nozzles quickly. New surplus signal light switches control the boom and tip height.
    "I had the sprayer commercially sand blasted before I painted it," he says.
    Switzer's rig has a top speed of about 22 mph on the road and he says 18 mph in the field is pretty comfortable if it's fairly flat and open.
    The whole sprayer (including paint) cost him $20,000 (Can.).
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Shaune Switzer, Box 37, Sibbald, Alberta, Canada T0J 3E0 (ph 403 676-2265; email: rv8r@telusplanet.net).

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Bus Turned Into First-Rate Sprayer SCHOOLBUS CONVERSIONS Schoolbus Conversions 28-4-35 Although he only completed work on his new home-built sprayer in late April, Shaune Switzer of Sibbald, Alberta, has already done a couple thousand acres of custom work with his new machine. Built from a schoolbus frame and power train, Switzer used the sprayer on his own cropland, before tapping into the local market for his custom work. To build the unit, he moved the engine and transmission back on the school bus frame to make room for a cab on front, which came from a White 9700 combine. Switzer bought a Brandt 1,000-gal. tank and a 5 hp Honda engine to power the sprayer pump. "The steering axle is off a New Holland TR97 combine and the back driving axle is off an N5 Gleaner," he says. "I used the differential off a GMC pickup which drives into the final drives on the axle." He built an 82 1/2-ft. boom that covers 10 acres for each mile traveled. The booms themselves are on air cushions to take out all the shock loads when spraying. To do this, he used small airbags called Load Busters from a pickup. "The whole chassis rides on airbags, too. Those came out of a semi at a salvage yard," Switzer says. "The bus had hydraulic brakes, so I used that hydraulic pump to run the hydraulics for the boom, and also for my steering. I also got a Raven Autorate Controller to automatically vary the output of the pump, depending on speed, and this maintains whatever rate you've set it for." He installed an Outback GPS Guidance system and has triple swivel nozzle bodies on the boom so he can change nozzles quickly. New surplus signal light switches control the boom and tip height. "I had the sprayer commercially sand blasted before I painted it," he says. Switzer's rig has a top speed of about 22 mph on the road and he says 18 mph in the field is pretty comfortable if it's fairly flat and open. The whole sprayer (including paint) cost him $20,000 (Can.). Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Shaune Switzer, Box 37, Sibbald, Alberta, Canada T0J 3E0 (ph 403 676-2265; email: rv8r@telusplanet.net).

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