Custom Mini Lowboy Built For Shows

2024 - Volume #48, Issue #5, Page #22

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David Guthrie and his son-in-law Justin Gunn sized their home-built semi-tractor and lowboy to fit on a 34-ft. car trailer. They didn’t worry about scale; they just wanted it to fit so they could take it to shows and fundraisers.
“We started with a bare golf cart chassis with steering axle, steering column and the floor pan and started adding things,” says Guthrie. “We wanted things to look and function like the real thing.”
Those things included a 44-hp. Yanmar diesel, the twin-axle driveline from a Deere five-wheel gator, lights, horns and everything needed to actually drive it off the trailer and around shows. Then there were the features needed for the right look, like a chrome fuel tank with straight pipes up the backside of the cab and mirrors and grab bars on the sides, all in chrome. For their comfort at shows, Guthrie and Gunn added air conditioning.
Guthrie notes that the biggest challenge was reversing the direction of the diesel flywheel, which turned opposite the gator’s original gas engine.
“We put a 90-degree gearbox on the back of the diesel and ran it down to a jackshaft and back across to the driver’s side with a variable speed pulley,” says Guthrie. “It gives us forward and reverse, and the variable speed pulley lets us change speed. The chain drive is noisy, and we plan to develop a belt drive.”
The building team wrapped the chassis in plywood to resemble a cab-over tractor. A buddy, Rod Satterthwaite, covered it in fiberglass, and Tony Stanley, another friend, painted it.
Because the cab doesn’t actually tip, Guthrie and Gunn designed the seating area and sleeper floor to slide out the passenger door. From start to finish, the truck cab took them 1 year and 4 mos. Completed, it measured 11 ft., bumper to bumper and 44 in. wide.
The next step was building a lowboy to match. That took them only a few months. The truck gave them the width, and the car trailer gave them the total length the truck and trailer could be.
“We started by going to a steel shop and getting the pieces, laying them out on the shop floor and squaring them up,” says Guthrie. “We decided to build the gooseneck and the tail end first and then decide how long to make the lower deck.”
Their first big challenge was designing the electric over hydraulic gooseneck disconnect. The second was calculating the clearance needed when turning to clear the chassis with the gooseneck.
“To fabricate the fifth wheel, we laid the tubing out and clamped it tight,” says Guthrie. “We calculated everything, including needing to raise it 33 degrees to make it work. Then we started welding.”
Guthrie and Gunn attached the rear end similarly, laying out the steel for a 7-ft. long, triple-axle upper deck. They had wheels with hub axle stubs and steel tubing cut to length to match the deck.
“We figured we needed 3 in. between the tires and positioned the steel tubing based on half the width of the rims,” says Guthrie. “We bored holes in the tubing and attached them to the upper deck frame. When we slid the axles in, everything matched up fine.”
With the front and back ends in place, figuring out the lower deck that connected the two was simple. The lower deck was 14 ft. long and 13 1/2 in. off the ground. Both decks have alternating strips of polished wood and steel with tie-down rings.
“We added electric brakes on the center axle of the trailer just for safety’s sake,” says Guthrie. “We didn’t want a child to run out into the street and be unable to stop. We also added safety-lock pins to the hitch.”
The final touch for both truck and trailer was adding under lights, 12 under the truck and 24 under the trailer.
“The lights dress it up, and people enjoy seeing it,” says Guthrie. “I know I couldn’t have done it without my dad, Bobby Guthrie Sr., and friends and mentors Neil R. Glass and Phil Newberry. They may all be gone to heaven, but they left behind knowledge and skills that help me daily.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, David Guthrie, 40329 US Hwy. 264 E., Belhaven, N.C. 27810 (ph 252-943-7725; david143gina@gmail.com).

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Custom Mini Lowboy Built For Shows TRUCKS Miscellaneous David Guthrie and his son-in-law Justin Gunn sized their home-built semi-tractor and lowboy to fit on a 34-ft car trailer They didn’t worry about scale; they just wanted it to fit so they could take it to shows and fundraisers “We started with a bare golf cart chassis with steering axle steering column and the floor pan and started adding things ” says Guthrie “We wanted things to look and function like the real thing ” Those things included a 44-hp Yanmar diesel the twin-axle driveline from a Deere five-wheel gator lights horns and everything needed to actually drive it off the trailer and around shows Then there were the features needed for the right look like a chrome fuel tank with straight pipes up the backside of the cab and mirrors and grab bars on the sides all in chrome For their comfort at shows Guthrie and Gunn added air conditioning Guthrie notes that the biggest challenge was reversing the direction of the diesel flywheel which turned opposite the gator’s original gas engine “We put a 90-degree gearbox on the back of the diesel and ran it down to a jackshaft and back across to the driver’s side with a variable speed pulley ” says Guthrie “It gives us forward and reverse and the variable speed pulley lets us change speed The chain drive is noisy and we plan to develop a belt drive ” The building team wrapped the chassis in plywood to resemble a cab-over tractor A buddy Rod Satterthwaite covered it in fiberglass and Tony Stanley another friend painted it Because the cab doesn’t actually tip Guthrie and Gunn designed the seating area and sleeper floor to slide out the passenger door From start to finish the truck cab took them 1 year and 4 mos Completed it measured 11 ft bumper to bumper and 44 in wide The next step was building a lowboy to match That took them only a few months The truck gave them the width and the car trailer gave them the total length the truck and trailer could be “We started by going to a steel shop and getting the pieces laying them out on the shop floor and squaring them up ” says Guthrie “We decided to build the gooseneck and the tail end first and then decide how long to make the lower deck ” Their first big challenge was designing the electric over hydraulic gooseneck disconnect The second was calculating the clearance needed when turning to clear the chassis with the gooseneck “To fabricate the fifth wheel we laid the tubing out and clamped it tight ” says Guthrie “We calculated everything including needing to raise it 33 degrees to make it work Then we started welding ” Guthrie and Gunn attached the rear end similarly laying out the steel for a 7-ft long triple-axle upper deck They had wheels with hub axle stubs and steel tubing cut to length to match the deck “We figured we needed 3 in between the tires and positioned the steel tubing based on half the width of the rims ” says Guthrie “We bored holes in the tubing and attached them to the upper deck frame When we slid the axles in everything matched up fine ” With the front and back ends in place figuring out the lower deck that connected the two was simple The lower deck was 14 ft long and 13 1/2 in off the ground Both decks have alternating strips of polished wood and steel with tie-down rings “We added electric brakes on the center axle of the trailer just for safety’s sake ” says Guthrie “We didn’t want a child to run out into the street and be unable to stop We also added safety-lock pins to the hitch ” The final touch for both truck and trailer was adding under lights 12 under the truck and 24 under the trailer “The lights dress it up and people enjoy seeing it ” says Guthrie “I know I couldn’t have done it without my dad Bobby Guthrie Sr and friends and mentors Neil R Glass and Phil Newberry They may all be gone to heaven but they left behind knowledge and skills that help me daily ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup David Guthrie 40329 US Hwy 264 E Belhaven N C 27810 ph 252-943-7725; david143gina@gmail com

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