«Previous    Next»
Add-On Wheels “Self-Propel” Rototiller
Paul Watson never liked pushing his self-propelled rototiller all the way from his barn to his garden, a distance of about 600 ft. So he added a pair of big hard rubber wheels with homemade axles on front of the machine, allowing the tines to clear the ground. The wheels’ axles lock onto the rototiller axles that support the tines, allowing him to drive the machine under its own power without digging anything up.
    The original 1972 Senator rototiller came equipped with two 9-in. high rubber wheels on back. Watson installed a pair of 14-in. high hard rubber wheels on front, mounting the wheels on threaded axles that lock into the machine’s existing axles.
     “The add-on wheels propel the rototiller forward and take all the work out of driving it around,” says Watson. “The tines clear the ground by about one inch. As the tines rotate, the wheels rotate with them.
    “In the past I had to pull back on the handlebars in order to lift the tines up off the ground, and then push the machine by hand without any power. Now I just start the rototiller and let the front wheels pull the machine forward. Once I reach the garden I pull the pin out of the axles and drop the wheels and axles off to the side. When I’m done working the garden I slide the wheels and axles back on, re-insert the pins, and drive the machine home.”
    A pair of 8-in. long threaded rods serve as the wheels’ axles and slide inside the rototiller’s 2 hollow axles. Watson drilled a hole through each rototiller axle and also through each threaded rod, allowing him to pin the 2 axles together. A pair of nuts hold each threaded rod axle tight onto the wheel.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Paul W. Watson, 3124 E. Co. Rd. 250 South, Dillsboro, Ind. 47018 (ph 812 689-5432).



  Click here to download page story appeared in.



  Click here to read entire issue




To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.
Order the Issue Containing This Story
2015 - Volume #39, Issue #3