Riding Mower Converted To Mini Dump Truck

2015 - Volume #39, Issue #6, Page #16

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“A friend of mine gave me an old 14-hp. Sears Craftsman riding mower with a worn-out deck. I decided to put it to use in a new way,” says Tom Kalista, Longview, Wash., who converted the machine into a handy mini dump truck.
    “I use it every day. It works great,” says Kalista. “We have a 1-acre farm with chickens, so I use it to haul feed, manure, rocks, dirt, and so forth. To dump the box, I just pull a lever located on the machine’s floor.”
    He cut the mower frame behind the seat and welded in new material to lengthen it by 2 feet. He also welded a cross piece on the back to support the dump bed. The bed measures 2 1/2 ft. wide by 4 ft. long by 3 ft. high and has 3/4-in. thick plywood sides bolted to 1-in. wide metal uprights, which are set inside 1 1/4-in. stake pockets. By removing the sides, Kalista can convert the dump bed to a flatbed.
    The dump bed is built with an angle iron frame that’s welded to a subframe that fits over the mower’s frame. It pivots on a 1/2-in. dia. pipe.
    The mower’s belt-driven rear end and transmission were moved 2 ft. farther back, so Kalista had to lengthen the drive belt. He did that by welding a metal bracket underneath the mower’s frame and then bolting a pair of carrier bearings and pulleys onto it. They support a 5-ft. long belt and another shorter belt to connect the engine to the transmission.
    The front side of the dump bed is fitted with an angle iron bracket, and one of the side tailgate locks off an old Dodge pickup. “Pulling the lever back causes the box to pop right up,” says Kalista. “The dump bed trip lever replaces the gearshift lever, which I moved up to the steering column.”
    Kalista made two different sets of stake pocket sides for the dump bed, one 6 in. high and the other 1 1/2 ft. high. “I use the shorter rack to haul feed bags or rocks, and the taller rack to haul bulky stuff like chicken manure,” he says.
    He also made two different sets of hitches, one a ball hitch and the other a receiver hitch.
    Kalista says people often ask him how much he would want to build them a mini dump truck like his. “I tell them about $1,000, not counting the mower. The mower was given to me, so I spent only about $150, not counting my labor. I built a similar machine for my son, but instead of welding in channel iron to lengthen the frame, I used angle iron because that’s what I already had.”
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tom Kalista, 2107 48th Ave., Longview, Wash. 98632 (ph 360-425-3953).

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Riding Mower Converted To Mini Dump Truck FARM HOME Lawn Mowers 31h 38 “A friend of mine gave me an old 14-hp Sears Craftsman riding mower with a worn-out deck I decided to put it to use in a new way ” says Tom Kalista Longview Wash who converted the machine into a handy mini dump truck “I use it every day It works great ” says Kalista “We have a 1-acre farm with chickens so I use it to haul feed manure rocks dirt and so forth To dump the box I just pull a lever located on the machine’s floor ” He cut the mower frame behind the seat and welded in new material to lengthen it by 2 feet He also welded a cross piece on the back to support the dump bed The bed measures 2 1/2 ft wide by 4 ft long by 3 ft high and has 3/4-in thick plywood sides bolted to 1-in wide metal uprights which are set inside 1 1/4-in stake pockets By removing the sides Kalista can convert the dump bed to a flatbed The dump bed is built with an angle iron frame that’s welded to a subframe that fits over the mower’s frame It pivots on a 1/2-in dia pipe The mower’s belt-driven rear end and transmission were moved 2 ft farther back so Kalista had to lengthen the drive belt He did that by welding a metal bracket underneath the mower’s frame and then bolting a pair of carrier bearings and pulleys onto it They support a 5-ft long belt and another shorter belt to connect the engine to the transmission The front side of the dump bed is fitted with an angle iron bracket and one of the side tailgate locks off an old Dodge pickup “Pulling the lever back causes the box to pop right up ” says Kalista “The dump bed trip lever replaces the gearshift lever which I moved up to the steering column ” Kalista made two different sets of stake pocket sides for the dump bed one 6 in high and the other 1 1/2 ft high “I use the shorter rack to haul feed bags or rocks and the taller rack to haul bulky stuff like chicken manure ” he says He also made two different sets of hitches one a ball hitch and the other a receiver hitch Kalista says people often ask him how much he would want to build them a mini dump truck like his “I tell them about $1 000 not counting the mower The mower was given to me so I spent only about $150 not counting my labor I built a similar machine for my son but instead of welding in channel iron to lengthen the frame I used angle iron because that’s what I already had ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Tom Kalista 2107 48th Ave Longview Wash 98632 ph 360-425-3953

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