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2014 - Volume #38, Issue #1, Page #43

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"Manure Spreader" Leaf Vac

We’ve seen a lot of leaf vacs over the years, but this one built by Larry Straight of Jamestown, N.Y., is one of the biggest and easiest to unload.
    He bought an old 14-ft. New Holland manure spreader at an auction and hooked it up to a stripped down commercial leaf vac. He fabricated a mounting frame for the vac that clips into the 3-pt. quick hitch. He then welded a drawbar onto the leaf vac’s mounting frame so he could pull the spreader behind it.
    He uses his Deere 755 compact utility tractor, equipped with a 60-in. mower deck, to operate the unit. The spreader’s pto shaft was too short to reach the tractor, so once the spreader is full of leaves Straight hooks it up to another tractor that’s equipped with a pto. Then he goes to a field and spreads the leaves out the back.
    To increase the spreader’s capacity, he added 2-ft. high screens all the way around it.
    “It works great–so well, in fact, that my neighbors want me to do their yards, too,” says Straight. “I paid $300 for the spreader and put a new wood floor in it. I also paid about $50 for a pair of discharge hoses and the screens.
    “The spreader is wider than the tractor so I offset the drawbar and manure spreader to the right, which allows me to pick up leaves close to a tree or house. For any areas that I can’t reach, I use a garden tractor equipped with a commercial leaf vac and then empty the full bags into the spreader.”
    A 7-in. dia. commercial vacuum hose leads from the mower deck to the fan, and a 10-ft. length of 6-in. dia. corrugated drain tile goes from the fan to the spreader.”
    An adjustable hose mount lets him change the angle of the discharge hose, allowing him to direct leaves to the front, middle or rear of the spreader. The hose is bungee strapped to a metal bracket that’s bolted to the spreader. A piano-type hinge beneath the bracket can be adjusted to move the hose up or down.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Larry Straight, 2414 Horton Rd., Jamestown, N.Y. 14701 (ph 716 499-4481; lstraight@stny.rr.com).

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Manure Spreader Leaf Vac FARM HOME Miscellaneous We’ve seen a lot of leaf vacs over the years but this one built by Larry Straight of Jamestown N Y is one of the biggest and easiest to unload He bought an old 14-ft New Holland manure spreader at an auction and hooked it up to a stripped down commercial leaf vac He fabricated a mounting frame for the vac that clips into the 3-pt quick hitch He then welded a drawbar onto the leaf vac’s mounting frame so he could pull the spreader behind it He uses his Deere 755 compact utility tractor equipped with a 60-in mower deck to operate the unit The spreader’s pto shaft was too short to reach the tractor so once the spreader is full of leaves Straight hooks it up to another tractor that’s equipped with a pto Then he goes to a field and spreads the leaves out the back To increase the spreader’s capacity he added 2-ft high screens all the way around it “It works great–so well in fact that my neighbors want me to do their yards too ” says Straight “I paid $300 for the spreader and put a new wood floor in it I also paid about $50 for a pair of discharge hoses and the screens “The spreader is wider than the tractor so I offset the drawbar and manure spreader to the right which allows me to pick up leaves close to a tree or house For any areas that I can’t reach I use a garden tractor equipped with a commercial leaf vac and then empty the full bags into the spreader ” A 7-in dia commercial vacuum hose leads from the mower deck to the fan and a 10-ft length of 6-in dia corrugated drain tile goes from the fan to the spreader ” An adjustable hose mount lets him change the angle of the discharge hose allowing him to direct leaves to the front middle or rear of the spreader The hose is bungee strapped to a metal bracket that’s bolted to the spreader A piano-type hinge beneath the bracket can be adjusted to move the hose up or down Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Larry Straight 2414 Horton Rd Jamestown N Y 14701 ph 716 499-4481; lstraight@stny rr com

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