“Adult Size” Pedal Pulling Rig Custom-Built For Fun
“Our small town has a great summertime celebration, so we added to the excitement this year by building an adult pedal pulling tractor and sled,” says Minnesotan Andy Hall. “My brother Mike’s wife is on the event committee and they said it was a good idea, so we were all-in with an authentic design.”
One of the riding contestants was heard to say “the Hall’s rig looks just like a scaled-down version of a full size tractor and sled.” And indeed it is because Andy says they modeled the tractor after a Case 1070 from their farm and the pulling sled from those built by Vaughn Bauer in Iowa.
“The pulling tractor is built to an unusual 2.6:1 scale because we already owned 26/12:00-12 tires that looked like they’d work on a small tractor.” To figure the scale they measured those tires against the rear tires on their Case 1070 farm tractor and scaled the length, width, height and frame dimensions accordingly.
“We didn’t have to go very far for dimensions, just out the main door of the shop,” says Andy. The Hall brothers, including Andy, Mike, Jeremy and Tony, built the tractor and sled in about a month. Andy says he worked on it every day around his regular job repairing and rebuilding farm machinery.
The Halls used 12-ga. steel for the frame and sheet metal that they rolled and formed for the hood. The steering wheel, made from 5/8-in. roll stock, is balanced and welded to the 1-in. solid steel steering shaft. That connects to a rack and pinion steering setup pulled from an old golf cart.
“We knew a couple of the drivers weighed over 300 lbs., so we made the wheel, shaft and steering system really strong,” Andy says. “As the riders are pedaling they’re pulling, pushing and putting a lot of torque on the wheel.”
The 400-lb. tractor moves forward as riders push on sturdy pedals mounted on 5/8-in. roll stock. Number 60 roller chain connected to the 1 1/4-in. rear axle on a 3:1 drive ratio turns both wheels simultaneously as the chain rolls across 3 sprockets.
Riders sit on a seat rescued from an old self-propelled sprayer. “We designed the seating and operator platform so people from about 5 up to 7 ft. tall can pedal the tractor,” Andy says. “We knew up front that one of the drivers was going to be a neighbor who’s 6 ft. 10 in., so that’s how those dimensions came about.”
The sled is 11 ft. long and has a 4 by 5-ft. sled pan made of 3/16-in. AR 400 steel. It doesn’t have lift wheels, but it does have a scale-size operator platform above the weight transfer box.
“We put the cab and bench on there so kids can ride and feel like they’re part of the action,” says Andy, “and I think it really added to the fun at the event.”
They debuted the rig at their local Butterfield, Minn. festival in July, 2018. They had 97 people compete in different classes that included kids aged 12 to 17, 3 different women’s powder-puff classes for various ages, and different age classes for men. “The youngest rider was a 11-year-old girl and the oldest was an 82-year-old grandpa,” Andy says. “Everyone who competed had great expectations when they jumped on the seat, but they learned real quick that it’s not as easy as it looks. Even my grandma, who’s 82, wanted to drive, but she recently had two knees replaced and decided that probably wasn’t a good idea.”
As the tractor and sled move forward, the weight transfer box moves to the front of the sled, driven by a #60 roller chain. “We put 40 to 160 lbs. in the weight box depending on which class was pulling,” Andy says. “We also added suitcase weights to the back and front of the tractor for the stronger and larger men’s class.”
Contestants generally pulled from 40 to 60 ft., although Andy says they did have a few women get close to 70 ft. when there wasn’t quite enough weight in the transfer box. The box moves to the front of the sled, then releases and stays there as the contestant continues to pedal.
“There was a lot of cheering and probably a few side bets among friends about who could pull the longest distance,” says Andy. “They’ve already asked us to do this again next year, so in the meantime we’re going to make a few refinements and get the weights and classes a little better organized.”
Andy says he and his brothers would consider hiring the tractor and sled out to other communities and may also build other tractors and sleds. They have all the plans for this tractor and sled on CAD and could easily replicate the design.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Andrew Hall, RR 1, Box 196, Butterfield, Minn. 56120 (ph 507 956-2020).
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“Adult Size” Pedal Pulling Rig Custom-Built For Fun FARM HOME Miscellaneous “Our small town has a great summertime celebration so we added to the excitement this year by building an adult pedal pulling tractor and sled ” says Minnesotan Andy Hall “My brother Mike’s wife is on the event committee and they said it was a good idea so we were all-in with an authentic design ” One of the riding contestants was heard to say “the Hall’s rig looks just like a scaled-down version of a full size tractor and sled ” And indeed it is because Andy says they modeled the tractor after a Case 1070 from their farm and the pulling sled from those built by Vaughn Bauer in Iowa “The pulling tractor is built to an unusual 2 6:1 scale because we already owned 26/12:00-12 tires that looked like they’d work on a small tractor ” To figure the scale they measured those tires against the rear tires on their Case 1070 farm tractor and scaled the length width height and frame dimensions accordingly “We didn’t have to go very far for dimensions just out the main door of the shop ” says Andy The Hall brothers including Andy Mike Jeremy and Tony built the tractor and sled in about a month Andy says he worked on it every day around his regular job repairing and rebuilding farm machinery The Halls used 12-ga steel for the frame and sheet metal that they rolled and formed for the hood The steering wheel made from 5/8-in roll stock is balanced and welded to the 1-in solid steel steering shaft That connects to a rack and pinion steering setup pulled from an old golf cart “We knew a couple of the drivers weighed over 300 lbs so we made the wheel shaft and steering system really strong ” Andy says “As the riders are pedaling they’re pulling pushing and putting a lot of torque on the wheel ” The 400-lb tractor moves forward as riders push on sturdy pedals mounted on 5/8-in roll stock Number 60 roller chain connected to the 1 1/4-in rear axle on a 3:1 drive ratio turns both wheels simultaneously as the chain rolls across 3 sprockets Riders sit on a seat rescued from an old self-propelled sprayer “We designed the seating and operator platform so people from about 5 up to 7 ft tall can pedal the tractor ” Andy says “We knew up front that one of the drivers was going to be a neighbor who’s 6 ft 10 in so that’s how those dimensions came about ” The sled is 11 ft long and has a 4 by 5-ft sled pan made of 3/16-in AR 400 steel It doesn’t have lift wheels but it does have a scale-size operator platform above the weight transfer box “We put the cab and bench on there so kids can ride and feel like they’re part of the action ” says Andy “and I think it really added to the fun at the event ” They debuted the rig at their local Butterfield Minn festival in July 2018 They had 97 people compete in different classes that included kids aged 12 to 17 3 different women’s powder-puff classes for various ages and different age classes for men “The youngest rider was a 11-year-old girl and the oldest was an 82-year-old grandpa ” Andy says “Everyone who competed had great expectations when they jumped on the seat but they learned real quick that it’s not as easy as it looks Even my grandma who’s 82 wanted to drive but she recently had two knees replaced and decided that probably wasn’t a good idea ” As the tractor and sled move forward the weight transfer box moves to the front of the sled driven by a #60 roller chain “We put 40 to 160 lbs in the weight box depending on which class was pulling ” Andy says “We also added suitcase weights to the back and front of the tractor for the stronger and larger men’s class ” Contestants generally pulled from 40 to 60 ft although Andy says they did have a few women get close to 70 ft when there wasn’t quite enough weight in the transfer box The box moves to the front of the sled then releases and stays there as the contestant continues to pedal “There was a lot of cheering and probably a few side bets among friends about who could pull the longest distance ” says Andy “They’ve already asked us to do this again next year so in the meantime we’re going to make a few refinements and get the weights and classes a little better organized ” Andy says he and his brothers would consider hiring the tractor and sled out to other communities and may also build other tractors and sleds They have all the plans for this tractor and sled on CAD and could easily replicate the design Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Andrew Hall RR 1 Box 196 Butterfield Minn 56120 ph 507 956-2020
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