Schoolbus Forklift

Schoolbus Forklift MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Forklifts 18-2-6 "It works beautifully and cost just $2,200 to build," says Dennis Peterson, Ham Lake, Minn., about the forklift he built out of an old 40-passenger school bus. Peterson got the 1954 Chevrolet bus free from a body shop, minus the engine but with new tires on it. He stripped it down to the frame and shortened the wheelbase to 7 ft. He turned the rear axle upside down so it would run in the opposite direction. Power is supplied by a 455 cu. in. Oldsmobile engine. The automatic transmission also came out of the Oldsmobile. He used sheet metal to make the hood, fenders, and running boards. The steering wheel, seat, and 7,000-lb. mast are from a junked forklift. "It works as well as comparable commercial forklifts that cost up to $30,000," says Peterson, who operates a sod farm. "It has plenty of power and will go up to 20 mph. I use it to haul pallets of sod to the end of the field. I go out in third gear to get the load and come back in second gear. The mast will lift 7 ft. high. I paid $270 for the mast and $300 for an electric thermostat-operated fan that's used to cool the radiator. "I use a hydraulic pump from an old sod harvester to power the cylinders that operate the mast. The pump is chain-driven off the engine crankshaft. The mast has four cylinders - one to raise it up or down, two to tip it forward or back-ward, and one to shift it from side to side. I use the bus's original power steering pump to provide hydraulic steering. The pump powers a hydraulic cylinder that's connected to a pair of tie rods that I welded onto the bus frame. A hydraulic cylinder is used to operate the brakes." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dennis C. Peterson, 15939 Naples St. N.E., Ham Lake, Minn. 55304 (ph 612 434-5171).

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