Farm-Built Skid Steer Good As Factory-Built

1994 - Volume #18, Issue #5, Page #26

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When John Thiessen put up a new farrow to finish barn five years ago, he started looking at new skid steer loaders to use for cleaning it out. Problem was, he couldn't justify the price of anything on the market.
"If I could have justified the price of a Bobcat or Case, I would have bought one," says Thiessen, Glenville, Manitoba. "But I didn't want to pay $20,000 for one"
So Thiessen built his own 4-WD skid steer with hydrostatic transmission for a fraction of what commercial loaders cost. He built the unit for about $3,000.
"We used mostly new materials - engine, wheels, sprockets, chains, etc. - and hydrostatic drives out of 400 Versatile swathers. We put a new 18 hp Briggs & Stratton motor in the rear to drive it," says Thiessen. "I started with the wheels and built it from the ground up"
He used new 14 in.-diameter by 4-in. wide wheel rims on 4 ft. axles he made himself. The axles are 1318-in. diameter steel shafts with 5/8-in. metal plates on each end for wheel hubs.
The loader is 4 ft. wide by 6 ft. long by about 5 ft. high at the highest point of its rollover bar, which is made out of 2 by 3-in. steel tubing. The skid steer's main frame is made of 3 by 5-in. steel tubing. The loader frame itself is made out of 2 by 3 in.-tubing, as are the loader arms.
Hydraulics for the arms are supplied by the same cylinders used on Allied tractor front end loaders, Thiessen says.
Thiessen elected to use infinitely variable hydrostatic transmission to eliminate the need to shift gears, a feature he didn't like on some of the commercial models he looked at.
The hydraulic pump is driven by two V belts off the engine. There's a clutch on the belts so the pump can be disengaged for easier cold weather starts. Maximum speed of the loader is 8 mph, and one of Thiessen's neighbors who drove it told him it "drives better than a Bobcat," he says.
"We use it nearly every day," says Thiessen.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Thiessen, Box 41, Glenella, Manitoba, Canada, R0J 0V0 (ph 204 352 4413 or 4437).

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Farm-Built Skid Steer Good As Factory-Built TRACTORS Skid Steer Loaders 18-5-26 When John Thiessen put up a new farrowto-finish barn five years ago, he started looking at new skid steer loaders to use for cleaning it out. Problem was, he couldn't justify the price of anything on the market. "If I could have justified the price of a Bobcat or Case, I would have bought one," says Thiessen, Glenville, Manitoba. "But I didn't want to pay $20,000 for one" So Thiessen built his own 4-WD skid steer with hydrostatic transmission for a fraction of what commercial loaders cost. He built the unit for about $3,000. "We used mostly new materials - engine, wheels, sprockets, chains, etc. - and hydrostatic drives out of 400 Versatile swathers. We put a new 18 hp Briggs & Stratton motor in the rear to drive it," says Thiessen. "I started with the wheels and built it from the ground up" He used new 14 in.-diameter by 4-in. wide wheel rims on 4 ft. axles he made himself. The axles are 1318-in. diameter steel shafts with 5/8-in. metal plates on each end for wheel hubs. The loader is 4 ft. wide by 6 ft. long by about 5 ft. high at the highest point of its rollover bar, which is made out of 2 by 3-in. steel tubing. The skid steer's main frame is made of 3 by 5-in. steel tubing. The loader frame itself is made out of 2 by 3 in.-tubing, as are the loader arms. Hydraulics for the arms are supplied by the same cylinders used on Allied tractor front end loaders, Thiessen says. Thiessen elected to use infinitely variable hydrostatic transmission to eliminate the need to shift gears, a feature he didn't like on some of the commercial models he looked at. The hydraulic pump is driven by two V belts off the engine. There's a clutch on the belts so the pump can be disengaged for easier cold weather starts. Maximum speed of the loader is 8 mph, and one of Thiessen's neighbors who drove it told him it "drives better than a Bobcat," he says. "We use it nearly every day," says Thiessen. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Thiessen, Box 41, Glenella, Manitoba, Canada, ROJ OVO (ph 204 352 4413 or 4437).

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