2021 - Volume #45, Issue #1, Page #16
[ Sample Stories From This Issue | List of All Stories In This Issue | Print this story
| Read this issue]
Boom Truck Converted To Trailer
 |
“The brakes seemed to go out on the old truck every year, and it needed a new engine,” says Cerveny. “The local scrap yard agreed to strip away the cab, engine and transmission for the parts, and I got the rest of the truck back.”
Cerveny proceeded to cut down the frame and add a hitch tongue to the front end. “I wanted a length of frame ahead of the boom for balance with the heavy load on the back,” he says. “I thought about making the boom a 3-pt. attachment, but it would have been a lot of weight.”
He also reversed the front axle so the steering could be pulled instead of pushed. “I had to build a riser for the front end to keep the frame level after I chopped the axle,” says Cerveny, who did all the welding himself. “I used 3/8-in. wall and 6 by 8-in. steel tubing for the riser. I overkill when I build something. I hate to have things break.”
The hydraulic pump was factory-mounted to the frame directly below the boom. The power for it was off the driveline.
“I extended the linkage to the front end and powered it with the tractor pto,” says Cerveny. “I have a 25 hp. Yanmar that could easily power it, but I use a 100 hp. tractor, I wouldn’t want anything lighter when pulling it down the road.”
The only other changes made involved painting the trailer frame black and giving the boom a fresh coat of orange. The trailer with its articulated boom has hauled logs, as well as other items, around Cerveny’s farm. He even has a new safety basket to use as needed.
“These old boom trucks are often cheap, as the motors are shot,” he says. “I paid only $1,000 for the truck and about $200 for paint. For that I have a trailer with a boom that can lift 1,000 lbs. 29 ft. in the air.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ron Cerveny, 2273 Co. Rd. V, DeWitt, Neb. 68341 (ph 402 683-6655 or 402 239-5580).
Click here to download page story appeared in.
Click here to read entire issue
To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.
