2010 - Volume #34, Issue #6, Page #44
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Giant Trike Powered By Lawn Mower Engine
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He had a stockpile of parts, including an old riding lawn mower he got from a neighbor.
"I made the frame out of square tubing from an old cultivator and a discarded bed frame," Melcher says. "The spoked wheels are off a 1940's Gleaner combine."
He had to rework the transmission with chain drives to match the lawn mower transmission to the big wheels. Purchasing those parts for about $200 was his main cost on the project.
"The most challenging thing was to get the control levers to hook up. I ran them inside a square tube, and it was tricky to get everything in there," Melcher says.
He cut the lawn mower pedal in two to make gas and brake pedals for his big trike. He bent pipe to make the handlebars.
Instead of metal, Melcher used cedar and willow wood to cover the motor and build a two-person seat, which is about 4-ft. from the ground.
"I'm 6 ft. 4 in. tall and the handlebars are above my head. I put a step to get on it," he explains.
He completed the trike over the summer and took it to one parade. Before he takes it to future parades he wants to add an old 1941 Ford truck teardrop headlight.
The trike has a tongue from a Deere grain drill so he can pull a chore wagon around the yard, but Melcher admits he built it mostly for fun.
He looks forward to giving his grandchildren rides on Grandpa's Tricycle.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Warren Melcher, 26299 235th St., Murdo, S. Dak. 57559 (ph 605 669-2562).
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