High Clearance Row Crop Sprayer
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Here's a prototype high clearance row crop sprayer, which I built out of a pickup. It's an alternative to hi-boys, which I think are too limited to be of much use to the average farmer. For example, most postemergence herbicides can't be applied above 2 ft., yet hi-boys have 4-ft. and more of ground clearance.
I started with a 1975 1/2-ton Ford F150 4-WD pickup and replaced its rear end with one out of a junked 1-ton Ford pickup. I beefed up the rear suspension by adding extra coil springs. I installed a Ford 4-speed manual transmission behind the pickup's original 3-speed automatic with high and low range. This offers me at least 32 gears so I can travel from a crawl up to 15 mph.
I replaced the pickup's original tires with a Polish brand of narrow 36 by 9-in. tires mounted on 10-in. rims I got from my local tire supply store. I made wheels out of 5/8-in. plate, cut out the 6-bolt lug pattern, and welded them into 10-in. rims I got from the local tire dealer. Wheels are on 60-in. centers so the pickup's suitable for spraying in 30, 32, or 34-in. rows. The big, narrow tires limit turning radius somewhat but also allow you turn a lot easier than with smaller tires.
I built my own heavy-duty self-leveling 60-ft. boom for the sprayer out of 2-in. oil field pipe. It features my own pivoting pendulum bat-wing design with 4-ft. break aways on each end. The spray system is powered by a hydraulic pump off an old Massey Harris combine. I'm using a 300-gal tank but the rig will handle up to a 500-gal. tank.
I built a step to get into the cab, which I raised 8-in.
If I had it do over I'd do a few things differently, such as starting with a 3/4 or 1-ton pickup and using 2-in. tubular steel pipe for the spray boom. It didn't cost that much to build since I used scrap parts. (Ken Waddel, 712 E. 2nd, McCook, Neb. 69001; ph 308 345-6663).
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High Clearance Row Crop Sprayer PICKUPS Modifications 21-2-37 Here's a prototype high clearance row crop sprayer, which I built out of a pickup. It's an alternative to hi-boys, which I think are too limited to be of much use to the average farmer. For example, most postemergence herbicides can't be applied above 2 ft., yet hi-boys have 4-ft. and more of ground clearance.
I started with a 1975 1/2-ton Ford F150 4-WD pickup and replaced its rear end with one out of a junked 1-ton Ford pickup. I beefed up the rear suspension by adding extra coil springs. I installed a Ford 4-speed manual transmission behind the pickup's original 3-speed automatic with high and low range. This offers me at least 32 gears so I can travel from a crawl up to 15 mph.
I replaced the pickup's original tires with a Polish brand of narrow 36 by 9-in. tires mounted on 10-in. rims I got from my local tire supply store. I made wheels out of 5/8-in. plate, cut out the 6-bolt lug pattern, and welded them into 10-in. rims I got from the local tire dealer. Wheels are on 60-in. centers so the pickup's suitable for spraying in 30, 32, or 34-in. rows. The big, narrow tires limit turning radius somewhat but also allow you turn a lot easier than with smaller tires.
I built my own heavy-duty self-leveling 60-ft. boom for the sprayer out of 2-in. oil field pipe. It features my own pivoting pendulum bat-wing design with 4-ft. break aways on each end. The spray system is powered by a hydraulic pump off an old Massey Harris combine. I'm using a 300-gal tank but the rig will handle up to a 500-gal. tank.
I built a step to get into the cab, which I raised 8-in.
If I had it do over I'd do a few things differently, such as starting with a 3/4 or 1-ton pickup and using 2-in. tubular steel pipe for the spray boom. It didn't cost that much to build since I used scrap parts. (Ken Waddel, 712 E. 2nd, McCook, Neb. 69001; ph 308 345-6663).
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