Stretched Deere Makes Handy "Grandkid Hauler"

Stretched Deere Makes Handy "Grandkid Hauler" TRACTORS Miscellaneous 34-5-40 "I turned a Deere 116 garden tractor into what I call my grandkid hauler," says Dave Neises of Dubuque, Iowa. "It has a box on back for kids to ride in, and a second seat. It also has dual rear wheels." He started out with an old Deere 116 garden tractor that was given to him. The mower deck was shot, but the engine and hydrostatic transmission still worked good. He "stretched" the tractor by cutting it in half, behind the steering wheel, and then welding in a 2-ft. section of frame that he cut off another identical tractor. A length of welded-on angle iron under the frame provides reinforcement. He also lengthened the rods so they extend back to the transmission. Then he moved the tractor's original seat to one side and added a second seat off another garden tractor. To make a seat belt for the add-on rider, he simply bolted an ordinary pants belt to the tractor frame. The homemade wooden box on back measures 42 in. wide, 24 in. long, and 8 in. high. Two kids can sit in it facing backward while dangling their legs under a 1-in. dia. pipe that runs across the back of the box. "The box is painted Deere green and has rounded corners so it really looks nice," says Neises. The hydrostatic transmission, relocated 2 ft. behind its original position, is belt-driven off a jackshaft that Neises installed 2 ft. behind the tractor's engine. Another belt runs from the engine to the jackshaft. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dave Neises, 20987 Mud Lake Road, Dubuque, Iowa 52001 (ph 563 552-2716; dfneises@gmail.com).

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