3-Wheeled Show

2013 - Volume #37, Issue #5, Page #22

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3-Wheeled Show "Trike"

“It’s a handy vehicle to drive around at swap meets and tractor shows,” says. Steve Nichols, Galesburg, Ill., who recently sent FARM SHOW photos of his home-built 3-wheeled “trike”.
    “I call it my Deere 1 by 3. The inspiration for it came from a similar rig that was featured in FARM SHOW (Vol. 32, No. 5). It’s lightweight, compact, and inexpensive to build,” says Nichols.
    The rig rides on a single 20 by 10.00 by 8 tire on back and two 15 by 6.00 by 6 tires on front. The frame is made from sq. tubing. “It’s painted Deere green and yellow, but the rear wheel and tire is the only actual Deere part on it,” says Nichols.
    He started with a snowblower he got for $10 at a garage sale. It was powered by a Briggs & Stratton 5 hp engine equipped with a 6:1 gear reduction unit, which eliminated any need for a jackshaft to reduce speed. “I used belt drive with a foot pedal-controlled tensioning idler for the clutch. With a 3-in. pulley on the engine and a 12-in. rear pulley, this rig is geared perfectly for my needs. It goes about 1 mph at idle and has a maximum speed of about 8 mph,” says Nichols.
    The front axle, which he cut and widened out, is off a Husky riding mower. The tie rods had to be lengthened and made adjustable for setting toe-in. The steering column support and handgrips are from the snowblower.
    The frame was made from 2 by 2 lightwall steel tubing, which came from a large weight gym setup that Nichols hauled home from a garage sale for free. He also used the gym setup’s chromed chinning bar for the handlebar, the black plastic end plugs for the square tubing, and the seat.
    “The only parts I had to buy were the rear axle and bearings, the 12-in. pulley and V-belt, and the conduit elbows which form the seat support. Everything else was salvaged mower parts or things I fabricated from odds and ends. The headlamp is just for looks,” says Nichols.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Steve Nichols, 1248 N. Seminary St., Galesburg, Ill. 61401 (ph 309 337-7141; stevelola77@gmail.com).

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3-Wheeled Show Trike FARM HOME Novelty Items “It’s a handy vehicle to drive around at swap meets and tractor shows ” says Steve Nichols Galesburg Ill who recently sent FARM SHOW photos of his home-built 3-wheeled “trike” “I call it my Deere 1 by 3 The inspiration for it came from a similar rig that was featured in FARM SHOW Vol 32 No 5 It’s lightweight compact and inexpensive to build ” says Nichols The rig rides on a single 20 by 10 00 by 8 tire on back and two 15 by 6 00 by 6 tires on front The frame is made from sq tubing “It’s painted Deere green and yellow but the rear wheel and tire is the only actual Deere part on it ” says Nichols He started with a snowblower he got for $10 at a garage sale It was powered by a Briggs & Stratton 5 hp engine equipped with a 6:1 gear reduction unit which eliminated any need for a jackshaft to reduce speed “I used belt drive with a foot pedal-controlled tensioning idler for the clutch With a 3-in pulley on the engine and a 12-in rear pulley this rig is geared perfectly for my needs It goes about 1 mph at idle and has a maximum speed of about 8 mph ” says Nichols The front axle which he cut and widened out is off a Husky riding mower The tie rods had to be lengthened and made adjustable for setting toe-in The steering column support and handgrips are from the snowblower The frame was made from 2 by 2 lightwall steel tubing which came from a large weight gym setup that Nichols hauled home from a garage sale for free He also used the gym setup’s chromed chinning bar for the handlebar the black plastic end plugs for the square tubing and the seat “The only parts I had to buy were the rear axle and bearings the 12-in pulley and V-belt and the conduit elbows which form the seat support Everything else was salvaged mower parts or things I fabricated from odds and ends The headlamp is just for looks ” says Nichols Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Steve Nichols 1248 N Seminary St Galesburg Ill 61401 ph 309 337-7141; stevelola77@gmail com

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