Tractor-Mounted String Trimmer

Tractor-Mounted String Trimmer CROPS Weed Control Robert Koch’s home-built 12-volt string trimmer on back of his Deere riding mower is free to move forward or backward out of the way of trees and rocks By pulling on a cord he can lift the trimmer up out of the way when it’s not needed “I have a 1 1/2-acre yard with a lot of trees and sprinkler heads sticking up out of the ground so trimming around trees gets to be a problem I’m 89 years young and at my age I can’t use a string trimmer due to back problems ” says Koch The 10-in dia trimmer head is equipped with a pair of 5/8-in wide serrated plastic blades and powered by a 12-volt motor that operates off the tractor’s battery The blades bolt onto a home-built hub that attaches with set screws to the motor shaft Koch used a 1-in wide 1/8-in thick steel strap to form the trimmer’s round head which is attached to one end of a 3-ft long spring-loaded steel arm and and supported by a 3-in caster wheel The other end of the arm is attached to a U-shaped bracket that’s connected to the mower’s hitch plate and to another plate above it by a pair of loose-fitting 1/2-in bolts The trimmer arm is hinged and by pulling on a cord with an attached ring Koch can lift the trimmer out of the way and hook the ring onto a bolt extending from a fender-mounted electrical box “It works great ” says Koch “I use a switch on the electrical box to start the motor The bracket that supports the trimmer’s arm is free to swing back and forth so if the trimmer head hits a tree the arm will swing back out of the way The blades are serrated on both sides so when one side wears out I flip the blade over and use the other side “The electrical box is equipped with a circuit breaker and a cigarette lighter socket that the motor’s wiring hooks into The only limitation is that I can’t back up with the trimmer head in the down position because if the caster wheel gets stuck the trimmer arm might get run over ” Koch paid $7 for the 12-volt motor at Surplus Center in Lincoln Neb “That motor is no longer in stock but you could probably use an 18-volt motor off an old string trimmer if your tractor has an 18-volt battery ” he says He bought the plastic blades at a hardware store He had previously installed the upper plate on back of his tractor to attach a Whirlwind Cyclone leaf vac but says others could use the same idea by improvising Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Robert Koch 14468 Arabian Ct Montrose Colo 81403 ph 970 240-8445

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