Power Wagon Easy To Build

2012 - Volume #36, Issue #2, Page #27

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Building a self-propelled cart was easy and cheap, says Ron Forster. With less than $25 in parts and a couple of old lawn mowers, he has a go-anywhere load hauler.
  “I put a 3 by 3-ft. box with 6-in. sides on it, and I’ve never been able to fill it enough that it couldn’t go,” says Forster.
  Forster gives a lot of credit to the 5-speed transmission. It was on an old Craftsman riding lawn mower with a blown engine. The 3 hp Briggs and Stratton motor he used for a replacement came off an old push mower.
  Forster literally picked the Craftsman up on the side of the road and salvaged the frame, engine platform, rear end, wheels and transmission. The only change he made was to reverse the transmission before mounting the Briggs and Stratton in place.
  The dump box bed was fabricated out of bed frames with the box angled forward and latched in place. To dump, all he has to do is pull a release cord attached to the latch.
  He mounted the new rear end of the Craftsman on a swivel wheel. He steers it with the handlebars from the push mower.
  “I used the shift and the tensioner off the old Craftsman,” says Forster. “I made a lever to disengage the power and mounted the shift lever on the side. All I had to buy was the drive belt, pulley and rear wheel.”
  He even has a place for weights. After spinning out on a wet hillside, Forster discovered he could make it with an 80-lb. bag of cement placed in an open space over the transmission. He even built a small surrey to stand on out of a piece of plywood, a couple of pieces of bed frame and two walk behind, lawn mower wheels.
  “It’s amazing how much power that little 3 hp has,” says Forster. “With it and the 5-speed, anytime I put it above third gear, I have to run to keep up. The throttle is on the lawn mower handle, but I don’t usually run faster than idle.”
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ron Forster, 3508 Union Rd., Texarkana, Ark. 71854 (ph 901 361-4751; dc9apu@yahoo.com).

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Power Wagon Easy To Build WAGONS/TRAILERS Miscellaneous Building a self-propelled cart was easy and cheap says Ron Forster With less than $25 in parts and a couple of old lawn mowers he has a go-anywhere load hauler “I put a 3 by 3-ft box with 6-in sides on it and I’ve never been able to fill it enough that it couldn’t go ” says Forster Forster gives a lot of credit to the 5-speed transmission It was on an old Craftsman riding lawn mower with a blown engine The 3 hp Briggs and Stratton motor he used for a replacement came off an old push mower Forster literally picked the Craftsman up on the side of the road and salvaged the frame engine platform rear end wheels and transmission The only change he made was to reverse the transmission before mounting the Briggs and Stratton in place The dump box bed was fabricated out of bed frames with the box angled forward and latched in place To dump all he has to do is pull a release cord attached to the latch He mounted the new rear end of the Craftsman on a swivel wheel He steers it with the handlebars from the push mower “I used the shift and the tensioner off the old Craftsman ” says Forster “I made a lever to disengage the power and mounted the shift lever on the side All I had to buy was the drive belt pulley and rear wheel ” He even has a place for weights After spinning out on a wet hillside Forster discovered he could make it with an 80-lb bag of cement placed in an open space over the transmission He even built a small surrey to stand on out of a piece of plywood a couple of pieces of bed frame and two walk behind lawn mower wheels “It’s amazing how much power that little 3 hp has ” says Forster “With it and the 5-speed anytime I put it above third gear I have to run to keep up The throttle is on the lawn mower handle but I don’t usually run faster than idle ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ron Forster 3508 Union Rd Texarkana Ark 71854 ph 901 361-4751; dc9apu@yahoo com

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