Kid Invents: Bottom Dump Wheelbarrow

Kid Invents: Bottom Dump Wheelbarrow FARM HOME Miscellaneous I like invention contests for kids because they’re often able to look at adult chores in a new way I was reminded of that recently when talking with Paxton Engelhard a 19-year-old from Bottineau N Dak He told us about an idea for a “bottom dump” wheelbarrow he had back when he was 12 years old He entered it in a young inventors contest and it made quite an impression on a lot of adults including an aide to the governor of North Dakota “He kept saying he would help me get it patented ” Engelhard recalls While that never happened Engelhard thinks his customized wheelbarrow still has potential “I got the idea because when I was younger if the wheelbarrow was full of sand or dirt I wasn’t strong enough to tip it up to dump ” he says So Engelhard cut a square out of the bottom of his dad’s wheelbarrow with a plasma cutter and made a door that slides like a trap on a hopper-bottom trailer To dump a heavy load he’d just open the slide and shake the wheelbarrow until it was light enough to dump whatever was left If he were to make another one Engelhard says he would make the sliding door bigger Paxton Engelhard; ph 701 263-5665; paxtonlee17@gmail com

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