Feed Truck Built On Wrecked Pickup Chassis

Feed truck built on wrecked pickup chassis PICKUPS Modifications 11-2-4 "There's nothing quite like it on the market," says John W. Johnson, Columbia City, Ind., about his 3¢-ton feed truck built with a collection of parts salvaged from a wrecked 4-WD pickup and 3 different combines. The only part of the maneuverable feed truck that was purchased new is the feed box itself which was purchased from Grain-O-Vator. Johnson normally would have mounted it on a trailer and pulled it with a tractor. "This truck allows us to free up a tractor for other work and with the 4-WD and even weight distribution, it's actually got better traction in wet conditions than a tractor and trailer combination," Johnson told FARM SHOW. A wrecked 1976 GMC pickup was salvaged for the chassis, engine and drive train. The frame was cut off behind the cab and a new frame built from doubled up 6-in. channel iron 2 ft. longer than the original frame. The rear axle was remounted to the new frame and the driveshaft extended. The Grain-O-Vator feed box mounts directly on the new pickup frame and, except for the swing auger, is powered mechanically by an add-on pto unit driven off the truck's automatic transmission. Double roller chain powers the feed box off the pto. Johnson salvaged the feed truck cab from a Deere 55 combine. All pickup steering and transmission controls had to be rerouted and redesigned to adapt to the cab. The GMC power steering pump was replaced with a larger International combine hydraulic pump that drives not only the steering but also provides hydraulics to control the swing auger. The steering column, which controls the "slave cylinder" type remodeled steering system, came off an old New Holland combine. A wide walkway built with diamond plate metal down either side of the feedbox provides room to carry along a bale or two and makes it easy to look inside the feed box. The truck is fitted with lights for over-the-road travel, and Johnson says it'll travel down the road like a pickup. "One reason I used a combine cab is for visibility. You can always see what you're doing all around the truck. Makes it much easier to line up, the feed-out auger with small openings in bins or feeders when feeding hogs," notes Johnson, who says the total cost of the truck was about $12,000. Much of that cost was for the new feed box. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John W. Johnson, Rt. 7, Johnson Rd., Columbia City, Ind. 46725 (ph 219 693-2050).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.