“Half-Track” Garden Tractor
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Mike Hodgson, Fruitport, Mich., wanted a small “go-anywhere, do-anything” tractor so he built his own “half-track” tractor by mounting steel tracks on the back of a Sears 16-hp. garden tractor. A manually-operated boom can be bolted on between the tracks.
“It’s a real workhorse. I built it for both work and play,” says Hodgson. “With the boom, I can use it like a wrecker tow truck to do everything from lifting engines and riding mowers to skidding logs. The machine is also fun to drive in the mud - I’ve purposely tried to get it stuck but so far have been unsuccessful.”
The tractor is equipped with steel tracks. They ride over the tractor’s rear tires and over two heavy-duty 10-ply tires connected by an axle that Hodgson mounted on the back.
The tracks were made by modifying the tracks off an old Bobcat skid loader that he bought at an auction. “The half-bars on the tracks were spaced too far apart to provide good traction, so I made a homemade jig and mounted it on my log splitter to make more bars. I welded them on between the existing ones,” says Hodgson.
A home-built steel frame connects the add-on rear axle to a steel plate Hodgson bolted vertically on the back of the tractor. A pair of 3-pt. top links are bolted to the plate, and a pair of big turnbuckles are connected to them and the axle. “The turnbuckles work as track slack adjusters and provide a pivot point for the frame, which allows the tracks to move up and down freely,” says Hodgson.
The base of the boom slides into a subframe that bolts onto the main frame and is fastened with one pin. “When lifting heavy loads with the boom, I hook up a 3-pt. top link to the boom and connect it to the plate on the back of the tractor. It makes the entire tractor serve as a counterweight, and prevents the load from lifting the back of the tractor off the ground,” says Hodgson. “By removing the pin, I can quickly remove the boom and install a ball hitch or 3-pt hitch.”
A pair of vertically-mounted spindles mounted behind the boom provide suspension when lifting big loads.
Hodgson also mounted barbell weights on the front of the tractor. “The extra weight provides more traction to the front wheels, which makes it easier to steer when turning. The tracks turn great on pavement and gravel, but not as good on grass,” notes Hodgson.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Hodgson, 4606 East Fruitport Rd., Fruitport, Mich. 49415 (ph 231-571-7497; hossfones4@gmail.com).
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“Half Track” Garden Tractor TRACTORS Made-It-Myself Mike Hodgson Fruitport Mich wanted a small “go-anywhere do-anything” tractor so he built his own “half-track” tractor by mounting steel tracks on back of a Sears 16 hp garden tractor A manually-operated boom can be bolted on between the tracks “It’s a real work horse I built it for both work and play ” says Hodgson “With the boom I can use it like a wrecker tow truck to do everything from lifting engines and riding mowers to skidding logs The machine is also fun to drive in the mud - I’ve purposely tried to get it stuck but so far have been unsuccessful ” The tractor is equipped with steel tracks that measure 10 1/2 wide They ride over the tractor’s rear tires and also over 2 heavy-duty 10-ply tires connected by an axle that Hodgson mounted on back The tracks were made by modifying the tracks off an old Bobcat skid loader that he bought at an auction “The half-bars on the tracks were spaced too far apart to provide good traction so I made a homemade jig and mounted it on my log splitter to make more bars I welded them on between the existing ones ” says Hodgson A home-built steel frame connects the add-on rear axle to a steel plate that Hodgson bolted vertically on back of the tractor A pair of 3-pt top links are bolted to the plate and a pair of big turnbuckles is connected to them and to the axle “The turnbuckles work as track slack adjusters and also provide a pivot point for the frame which allows the tracks to move up and down freely ” says Hodgson The base of the boom slides into a subframe that bolts onto the main frame and is fastened with one pin “When lifting heavy loads with the boom I hook up a 3-pt top link to the boom and connect it to the plate on back of the tractor It makes the entire tractor serve as a counter weight and prevents the load from lifting the back of the tractor off the ground ” says Hodgson “By removing the pin I can quickly remove the boom and install a ball hitch or 3-pt hitch ” A pair of vertically-mounted spindles mounted behind the boom provide suspension when lifting big loads Hodgson also mounted barbell weights on front of the tractor “The extra weight provides more traction to the front wheels which makes it easier to steer when turning The tracks turn great on pavement and gravel but not as good on grass ” notes Hodgson Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Mike Hodgson 4606 East Fruitport Rd Fruitport Mich 49415 ph 231 571-7497; hossfones4@gmail com
