Trenching Rig Runs Undergroud Wire

Trenching Rig Runs Undergroud Wire SWATHERS Swathers 31-2-3 "I needed to bury a lot of wire for my center pivot irrigators, so I built a 3-pt. mounted trenching plow using the beam from an old row crop cultivator and the dual wheels off a flatbed trailer. My total cost was only about $300," says Loron Skretteberg, Carson, N. Dak. The home-built trenching plow buries wire down to 36 in. deep. Skretteberg uses his Case IH 1486 145 hp, 2-WD tractor to pull it. The tractor's 3-point hitch raises and lowers the machine's tongue and a 3-in. dia., 26-in. stroke hydraulic cylinder controls the depth. The wire feeds through a tube located just behind the plow blade. "I lay the wire out on the ground first, and someone else stands on it to feed it down," says Skretteberg. The V-plow is built from 1-in. thick steel plate. He used a chop saw to cut the front edge of the plate to an angle, and a plasma cutter to sharpen the point on front. He used part of an old truck axle for the plow point, welding the axle onto the bottom edge along both sides of the plate. He welded a steel plate to the axle that supports the dual wheels. A length of 2 by 6 tubing extends diagonally from the plate up to the cylinder. "It makes a nice trench for laying in wire," says Skretteberg. "I tested it for the first time last summer and plan to lay in a half mile of wire this spring, as well as some 20-in. deep water lines for a neighbor. I already had most of the material that I used to build it. The cylinder was given to me by my son. My only expense was $300 for the steel plate, which I bought new." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Loron Skretteberg, 5880 54th Ave. S.W., Carson, N. Dak. 58529 (ph 701 622-3261; cabin@wild westriv.com).

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