Customized Deere Gator
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Lonnie Bechel and his son, Brandon, of Ellsworth, Wis., wanted to build something unique to take to antique tractor shows. So, they bought an old Deere Trail Gator and customized it by adding a cab and then painting it yellow and white – the same colors found on Deere construction equipment.
“It really looks nice and was fun to build,” says Lonnie.
They started with a 2002 Deere Trail Gator that they bought used for $4,000 from a local Deere implement dealer. The Gator was painted dark Army green with black wheels. It had fewer than 200 hrs. on it. They used plywood and fiberglass to build a cab and steel tubing to build a frame for the windshield. They cut 2 in. off the front end of the Trail Gator’s box to make room for the cab.
“We didn’t install any glass in the windshield in order to reduce wind resistance when we tow the Gator down the road,” says Lonnie.
They cut the aluminum tread plate fenders off a trailer to make new rear fenders. The box manually tilts back as originally designed. To dress up the box they added stained oak wood sides and a wood strip on back. They also added a pair of 3 1/2-in. dia. chrome exhaust stacks.
The trailer is equipped with pusher and tag axles on the front and rear and walking beam axles in the middle. They used 2 by 4 in. channel iron to build the trailer’s frame. The rear wheels are off a riding mower, but all the other wheels were purchased from Northern Tool.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lonnie Bechel, N4077 County Rd. K, Ellsworth, Wis. 54011 (ph 715 792-5155).
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Customized Deere Gator ATVÆS Lonnie Bechel and his son Brandon of Ellsworth Wis wanted to build something unique to take to antique tractor shows So they bought an old Deere Trail Gator and customized it by adding a cab and then painting it yellow and white – the same colors found on Deere construction equipment “It really looks nice and was fun to build ” says Lonnie They started with a 2002 Deere Trail Gator that they bought used for $4 000 from a local Deere implement dealer The Gator was painted dark Army green with black wheels It had fewer than 200 hrs on it They used plywood and fiberglass to build a cab and steel tubing to build a frame for the windshield They cut 2 in off the front end of the Trail Gator’s box to make room for the cab “We didn’t install any glass in the windshield in order to reduce wind resistance when we tow the Gator down the road ” says Lonnie They cut the aluminum tread plate fenders off a trailer to make new rear fenders The box manually tilts back as originally designed To dress up the box they added stained oak wood sides and a wood strip on back They also added a pair of 3 1/2-in dia chrome exhaust stacks The trailer is equipped with pusher and tag axles on the front and rear and walking beam axles in the middle They used 2 by 4 in channel iron to build the trailer’s frame The rear wheels are off a riding mower but all the other wheels were purchased from Northern Tool Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Lonnie Bechel N4077 County Rd K Ellsworth Wis 54011 ph 715 792-5155
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