"Built From Scratch" Skid Steer Loader

"Built From Scratch" Skid Steer Loader TRACTORS Skid Steer Loaders 28-3-34 "I have enjoyed building things out of steel for years," says Mark Adams, Bristol, Vermont. "Last year I started to build a skid-steer loader as a hobby project. I don't even know how many hours I've spent on it, but it sure taught me a lot about hydraulics and hydrostatic drives. "I decided the loader would be four-wheel drive with articulated steering," says Adams. "I also wanted the loader to be hydrostatically driven. The first thing I needed was two rear ends that I could use. Two 1986 Suzuki Samurai rear-ends had what I needed, but I narrowed them up by 6 in. so the loader wouldn't be too wide," he says. "The frame is made of 2 by 4-in. box steel that's 1/4-in. thick. The tinwork around the machine is 16-ga. steel, and the bucket is 1/4-in. steel." To power the loader, Adams turned to an unusual source. "I took the hydrostatic transmission out of a small street sweeper, and it works great," he says. "I made my own transfer case in order to get the gear ratio right for the two rear ends. "The engine is a 4-cylinder Wisconsin. I put the engine on back of the loader for good traction. And a separate hydraulic pump powers the lift arms and the bucket. A joystick steers the loader and shifts it from forward to reverse. "I have been using the loader for about 4 months and it works great. The project really taught me a lot about hydraulics." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Adams, 170 Dan Sargent St., Bristol, Vermont 05443 (ph 802 453-3964; email: msadams@gmavt.net).

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