Walk-Behind Converted To Power Wheelbarrow

2020 - Volume #44, Issue #6, Page #31

[ Sample Stories From This Issue | List of All Stories In This Issue | Print this story | Read this issue]

“It moves firewood around with ease and works great for a variety of other jobs,” says Mark Yax, Solon, Ohio, who converted an old 2-wheeled David Bradley walk-behind tractor into a 3-wheeled powered wheelbarrow.
He started with a 2-wheeled 1962 David Bradley Handiman tractor he bought for $50. It’s designed to accept several different attachments including a mower, rototiller, cultivator, edger, and a counterweight, which all came with the tractor Yax bought. The Briggs & Stratton engine had a stuck exhaust valve and a stuck points plunger so he repaired them, and the original solid rubber tires were worn out so he replaced them with lugged 4 by 13-in. pneumatic tires, building new wheel rims to fit the tractor’s axle.
He already had a 6 cu. ft. wheelbarrow, and used 1 by 2-in. steel tubing to make a detachable frame that’s bolted to the bottom of the wheelbarrow and also to the tractor. The frame is hinged, allowing the wheelbarrow to be flipped forward in order to dump the load. “The hinge pins can easily be taken out to remove the wheelbarrow from the tractor,” says Yax.
He fabricated a steel bracket for a 13-in. caster wheel that bolts on in front of the tractor the same way the attachments do. He also bolted a rear hinged kickstand onto the wheelbarrow handles. “The kickstand flips down to keep the wheelbarrow from falling over backward due to an unbalanced load,” says Yax.
He says his powered wheelbarrow works great for hauling firewood because he doesn’t have to bend over when lifting the wood out. “It’ll pull 400 lbs. of wood with no problem, so I can stack the wood way higher than the wheelbarrow’s rim. The wheelbarrow has a high center of gravity, but we have mostly level ground so it’s not likely to tip over even with a heavy load of wood. However, it might not be stable enough to haul something heavier, like cement. The tractor has a reverse gear, which makes it easy to maneuver in small spaces.”
He says that even the previous owner was happy how things turned out. “Before I bought the tractor the owner was offered $15 for its scrap value, but he didn’t really want it scrapped out because the tractor was his dad’s pride and joy,” says Yax. “He’s glad to know the machine will still be around for a while and still working.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Yax, 36755 Pettibone Road, Solon, Ohio 44139 (ph 440 248-1894; valmarktool@aol.com).

Click here to download page story appeared in.

Click here to read entire issue

Walk-Behind Converted To Power Wheelbarrow FARM HOME Miscellaneous “It moves firewood around with ease and works great for a variety of other jobs ” says Mark Yax Solon Ohio who converted an old 2-wheeled David Bradley walk-behind tractor into a 3-wheeled powered wheelbarrow He started with a 2-wheeled 1962 David Bradley Handiman tractor he bought for $50 It’s designed to accept several different attachments including a mower rototiller cultivator edger and a counterweight which all came with the tractor Yax bought The Briggs & Stratton engine had a stuck exhaust valve and a stuck points plunger so he repaired them and the original solid rubber tires were worn out so he replaced them with lugged 4 by 13-in pneumatic tires building new wheel rims to fit the tractor’s axle He already had a 6 cu ft wheelbarrow and used 1 by 2-in steel tubing to make a detachable frame that’s bolted to the bottom of the wheelbarrow and also to the tractor The frame is hinged allowing the wheelbarrow to be flipped forward in order to dump the load “The hinge pins can easily be taken out to remove the wheelbarrow from the tractor ” says Yax He fabricated a steel bracket for a 13-in caster wheel that bolts on in front of the tractor the same way the attachments do He also bolted a rear hinged kickstand onto the wheelbarrow handles “The kickstand flips down to keep the wheelbarrow from falling over backward due to an unbalanced load ” says Yax He says his powered wheelbarrow works great for hauling firewood because he doesn’t have to bend over when lifting the wood out “It’ll pull 400 lbs of wood with no problem so I can stack the wood way higher than the wheelbarrow’s rim The wheelbarrow has a high center of gravity but we have mostly level ground so it’s not likely to tip over even with a heavy load of wood However it might not be stable enough to haul something heavier like cement The tractor has a reverse gear which makes it easy to maneuver in small spaces ” He says that even the previous owner was happy how things turned out “Before I bought the tractor the owner was offered $15 for its scrap value but he didn’t really want it scrapped out because the tractor was his dad’s pride and joy ” says Yax “He’s glad to know the machine will still be around for a while and still working ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Mark Yax 36755 Pettibone Road Solon Ohio 44139 ph 440 248-1894; valmarktool@aol com

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.

SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW NOW