Drive-Through Gate Simplest Yet

Drive-Through Gate Simplest Yet FENCING Gates 30-3-28 Derald Brown built a freestanding gate that livestock won't touch, and his ATV can pass through without a problem. "I wanted a gate that I could drive through without getting off the ATV and that would close behind me automatically," says Brown. His gate is almost there, though it still needs a little work. At this point he can drive up and through, but he needs to give a slight tug on a rope to begin the gate's return to position. Weights connected to the gate panel then pull it back into full upright position. The gate consists of a 5 by 6-ft. panel of welded angle iron hinged to the bottom of the welded pipe framework. The framework consists of two 8-ft. uprights and a 7-ft. top crosspiece all made from 2-in. pipe. The base and hinge pipe is a 9-ft. length of 3-in. pipe extending a foot to either side of the uprights. At either end, a 3-ft. length of 2-in. pipe is cross-welded as stand feet for the upright frame. "Quarter inch cables attach to tabs welded on the top of the gate panel and run up and through 2-in. pulleys at the upper corners of the frame," explains Brown. "The cables are anchored at the sides of the frame by 20-lb. weights I melted down and cast from lead wheel weights." Brown hinged the gate panel in the framework by welding two pairs of steel tabs on the base pipe. The hinges are completed by 6 by 3/8-in. flaps of steel welded to the bottom of the gate panel to fit inside the tabs. Holes in the tabs allow for bolts to hold the flaps in place, yet allow them to move inside the tabs. "The base pipe is buried deep enough in the dirt that the gate panel lays flat on the ground when I drive through," says Brown. He continues to try different spring systems and is considering trying a lighter gate panel that might eliminate the need for ropes. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Derald Brown, 60237 Kansas Rd., Montrose, Colo. 81401 (ph 970 249-5234).

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