Pedal Tractor Used To Raise Funds At School

Pedal Tractor Used To Raise Funds At School AG WORLD Tom Klatt a tech ed teacher at Hudson High School in Hudson Wis built an adult-sized pedal tractor to use as a fundraising tool for the school’s VICA Skills USA club Vocational Industrial Clubs of America While the size of the tractor isn’t much bigger than a child’s pedal tractor it has heavy-duty components that’ll hold up to 500 lbs including 1/8-in thick 4 by 4-in tubing and No 40 drive chain New tires provide good traction and the seat from a scrapped Cub Cadet adjusts for adults and kids Klatt’s neighbor donated a pulling sled Last March Career and Tech Ed month members held pedal pulls during lunch hours charging $1/pull Money raised went to the VICA club and winners received plaques made by the wood shop and sandwiches from the local Subway restaurant At first students were hesitant but after a few tried it the word spread About 70 students including a dozen females participated Up to 300 lbs was put in the sled for the senior competitors Klatt plans to hold a pedal pull again next March “We had about 12 different students working on the project ” he says “The hardest thing was not letting them test it out until it was complete So we built it on a tall table and strapped it down ” The class does a variety of welding repair projects for the school and community but the pedal tractor was a good lesson in craftsmanship and the students came up with the design themselves Klatt emphasized safety and students made sure it was strong and didn’t have any sharp edges Total cost to build it was about $250 “My next step is to have them make attachments: corn chopper chopper box manure spreader and so on ” Klatt says Contact FARM SHOW Followup Tom Klatt Hudson High School 1501 Vine St Hudson Wis 54016

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