Add-On Axle Pto Lets Semi Drive Farm Equipment

2010 - Volume #34, Issue #5, Page #19

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Low horsepower pto's have been available for trucks for decades, but Harry Wallace has figured out a relatively inexpensive way to add 250 to 1,000 hp pto's to semi tractors.
  "I sell the axle ready to go," says the Galva, Ill., inventor of a modified power divider axle complete with parallel shaft gearbox and pressurized oil system.
  "The secret for long life is a pressure-lube cooling system," Wallace says. "Semi tractors have huge radiators, which is great for running a pto ù lots of cooling. You can idle a large semi engine down and change gears in the transmission and use a third less fuel than a tractor."
  His truck is equipped with a vacuum switch so he can drive it where he needs to go, then flip that switch to disconnect traction drive when he wants to run the pto. He hits cruise control to set the speed he wants.
  Wallace put the axle on one of his trucks to run a bagger machine. He and his son-in-law run a self-propelled forage harvester for their custom harvesting business. A lot of time was wasted arranging to get the tractor to run the bagger. Adding a pto to a truck makes the bagging operation self-sufficient.
  "Instead of using a $200,000 tractor to run pto-driven equipment, why not look for an older semi tractor and put our axle on it?" Wallace asks, noting that his customers have put a truck and axle together for as little as $12,000. It can then be used for a variety of jobs: running grain vacuums, manure pumps, silage blowers, hay tubs and even generators. One customer picks up 250,000 bushels of seed beans from different farmers with a grain vac, and with his semi pto knows he won't have to worry about tractors not starting on cold days. Another customer plans to grind corn.
  Wallace sells his smallest horsepower axle, rated at 180 hp, for $4,800. The 250-hp rated version sells for $6,800. He has gone through design planning with gearbox engineers to achieve up to 1,000 hp.
  "You can buy a cheap truck and get quality power," Wallace says. The truck power could be used in emergency situations, such as pumping water in flooded regions, or powering generators when there is no electricity.
   He plans to sell do-it-yourself plans for $15 on www.GizmoPlans.com (by Nov. 1st).
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harry Wallace, Old School, P.O. Box 57, Galva, Ill. 61434 (ph 309 259-9092; hwallace70@gmail.com).

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Add-On Axle Pto Lets Semi Drive Farm Equipment POWER TAKE OFFS (PTO'S) Power Take Offs (PTO's) 34-5-19 Low horsepower pto's have been available for trucks for decades, but Harry Wallace has figured out a relatively inexpensive way to add 250 to 1,000 hp pto's to semi tractors. "I sell the axle ready to go," says the Galva, Ill., inventor of a modified power divider axle complete with parallel shaft gearbox and pressurized oil system. "The secret for long life is a pressure-lube cooling system," Wallace says. "Semi tractors have huge radiators, which is great for running a pto ù lots of cooling. You can idle a large semi engine down and change gears in the transmission and use a third less fuel than a tractor." His truck is equipped with a vacuum switch so he can drive it where he needs to go, then flip that switch to disconnect traction drive when he wants to run the pto. He hits cruise control to set the speed he wants. Wallace put the axle on one of his trucks to run a bagger machine. He and his son-in-law run a self-propelled forage harvester for their custom harvesting business. A lot of time was wasted arranging to get the tractor to run the bagger. Adding a pto to a truck makes the bagging operation self-sufficient. "Instead of using a $200,000 tractor to run pto-driven equipment, why not look for an older semi tractor and put our axle on it?" Wallace asks, noting that his customers have put a truck and axle together for as little as $12,000. It can then be used for a variety of jobs: running grain vacuums, manure pumps, silage blowers, hay tubs and even generators. One customer picks up 250,000 bushels of seed beans from different farmers with a grain vac, and with his semi pto knows he won't have to worry about tractors not starting on cold days. Another customer plans to grind corn. Wallace sells his smallest horsepower axle, rated at 180 hp, for $4,800. The 250-hp rated version sells for $6,800. He has gone through design planning with gearbox engineers to achieve up to 1,000 hp. "You can buy a cheap truck and get quality power," Wallace says. The truck power could be used in emergency situations, such as pumping water in flooded regions, or powering generators when there is no electricity. He plans to sell do-it-yourself plans for $15 on www.GizmoPlans.com (by Nov. 1st). Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harry Wallace, Old School, P.O. Box 57, Galva, Ill. 61434 (ph 309 259-9092; hwallace70@gmail.com).

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