Half-Track Garden Tractor
“I needed a small tractor to build trails in our woods so I could haul out firewood without making wheel ruts or having to build a wider trail. So I converted an old Gilson lawn tractor into a half track garden tractor. It works even better than I expected,” says Harry Dykstra, Carp, Ontario.
He says that at first he tried using an ordinary garden tractor. “But even after installing ATV ag tires loaded with calcium, the tractor still got stuck too easily.”
He started with a 1974 Gilson tractor equipped with a 14 hp. Briggs and Stratton engine and 4-speed transmission. The tractor had been sitting outside unused for about 5 years. “I had to rebuild the carburetor but was able to get the tractor running with a bit of encouragement. This tractor is built really strong. They don’t build them like this anymore,” says Dykstra.
To make the tracks, Dykstra cut 1-in. wide channel iron into 14-in. long bars, then cut slits 2 in. from each end and bent the bars around the tractor’s rear tires to keep the tracks from slipping off. He then got some 5/16-in. chain and welded one bar to every third link, making sure the chain wasn’t twisted and was in line with the chain on the other side.
He installed four 8-in. tires behind the tractor tires to serve as “dolly wheels”, and mounted both sets of tires on a 3/4-in. dia. axle. The axle is connected to a steel frame made from 1 3/4-in. tubing which slips inside 2-in. tubing and is attached to the back of the tractor. The frame is free to pivot up or down and to move back and forth in order to keep the tracks tight. A pair of shocks, removed from the back door of a mini van, keep down pressure on the dolly wheels to keep the tracks tight.
Dykstra also mounted a small car muffler on one side of the tractor “just to make it look cool.”
He needed something to haul firewood so he built an 8-ft. long by 4-ft. wide dump trailer equipped with a scissors lift and a 1,200-lb. hand-operated winch. “The cable attaches to the middle part of the scissors lift and runs up to the winch, which mounts on a 3-ft. high post just in front of the box,” says Dykstra. “The design causes the first part of the pull to go straight up, which makes the box easy to lift. By the time the front of the box is raised above the winch, the scissors lift is already half way up and continues to raise the box. Because of the design the box can easily dump a 1,000-lb. load, and it raises high enough that it will always empty completely out.”
The trailer is equipped with a 2-in. ball hitch which allows Dykstra to also use the trailer behind a truck or car. “I mounted a homemade hitch on the tractor that’s about 18 in. off the ground, which allows the trailer’s tongue to clear the tracks when turning,” notes Dystra.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harry Dykstra, 312 David Manchester Rd., Carp, Ontario Canada K0A 1L0 (harrydykstra@gmail.com).
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Half-Track Garden Tractor TRACTORS Made-It-Myself “I needed a small tractor to build trails in our woods so I could haul out firewood without making wheel ruts or having to build a wider trail So I converted an old Gilson lawn tractor into a half track garden tractor It works even better than I expected ” says Harry Dykstra Carp Ontario He says that at first he tried using an ordinary garden tractor “But even after installing ATV ag tires loaded with calcium the tractor still got stuck too easily ” He started with a 1974 Gilson tractor equipped with a 14 hp Briggs and Stratton engine and 4-speed transmission The tractor had been sitting outside unused for about 5 years “I had to rebuild the carburetor but was able to get the tractor running with a bit of encouragement This tractor is built really strong They don’t build them like this anymore ” says Dykstra To make the tracks Dykstra cut 1-in wide channel iron into 14-in long bars then cut slits 2 in from each end and bent the bars around the tractor’s rear tires to keep the tracks from slipping off He then got some 5/16-in chain and welded one bar to every third link making sure the chain wasn’t twisted and was in line with the chain on the other side He installed four 8-in tires behind the tractor tires to serve as “dolly wheels” and mounted both sets of tires on a 3/4-in dia axle The axle is connected to a steel frame made from 1 3/4-in tubing which slips inside 2-in tubing and is attached to the back of the tractor The frame is free to pivot up or down and to move back and forth in order to keep the tracks tight A pair of shocks removed from the back door of a mini van keep down pressure on the dolly wheels to keep the tracks tight Dykstra also mounted a small car muffler on one side of the tractor “just to make it look cool ” He needed something to haul firewood so he built an 8-ft long by 4-ft wide dump trailer equipped with a scissors lift and a 1 200-lb hand-operated winch “The cable attaches to the middle part of the scissors lift and runs up to the winch which mounts on a 3-ft high post just in front of the box ” says Dykstra “The design causes the first part of the pull to go straight up which makes the box easy to lift By the time the front of the box is raised above the winch the scissors lift is already half way up and continues to raise the box Because of the design the box can easily dump a 1 000-lb load and it raises high enough that it will always empty completely out ” The trailer is equipped with a 2-in ball hitch which allows Dykstra to also use the trailer behind a truck or car “I mounted a homemade hitch on the tractor that’s about 18 in off the ground which allows the trailer’s tongue to clear the tracks when turning ” notes Dystra Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Harry Dykstra 312 David Manchester Rd Carp Ontario Canada K0A 1L0 harrydykstra@gmail com
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