Easy to build drive over gate

Easy to build drive over gate FENCING Gates 13-1-8 A simple "drive-over" gate made out of a piece of plywood and miscellaneous parts eliminates the tedious chore of opening and closing gates by hand. Bill Zahaiko, Newdale, Manitoba, simply pushes the 8-ft. wide by 31/2-ft. high gate down with his car or pickup bumper and drives over it. After the vehicle has crossed the gate, the gate automatically flips back up into place. A 3/4-in. dia. steel rod runs along the ground just under the bottom edge of the gate. The rod is anchored to the ground by holders sunk 18-in. deep. Two metal straps on the gate hinge on the rod where the gate drops down to the ground. Zahaiko bolted 40-in. lengths of flat iron along each side of the gate about 8-in. from the ends. The lengths of flat iron run up to the gate's top corners. The corners are tied to counterweights - old chemical jugs filled with gravel - by ropes that run through pulleys. To support the pulleys and counterweights, Zahaiko set two 5-ft. high wood posts 10 ft. apart, one on each side of the gate. "The key is to set the weights and ropes at the right length so that when the counterweights reach the tops of the posts, the gate lies flat on the ground. When the gate springs back up, the weights should just touch the ground," says Zahaiko. Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Bill Zahaiko, Box 71, Newdale, Manitoba, Canada ROJ 110 (ph 204 849-2273).

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