"It's virtually maintenance-free and can be quickly and easily moved to a new location," says Roy Batley of Big Valley, Alta., about his portable "no pit" cattle guard.

The 5-ft. wide unit adjusts to any gate opening up to 16 ft. It consists of a series of 2-in. wide polyester belts attached to two heavy duty steel pipes.

Spring-loaded chains hold the belts off the ground. As a vehicle crosses the belts, they drop to road level. After the vehicle passes, the belts spring back up to their original position. Belt ground clearance can be adjusted from 2 to 12 in.

"It's built simple with no moving parts so there's not much that can go wrong," says Batley. "You never have to worry about a heavy vehicle bending any pipes. The belts are highly resistant to abrasion and ultra-violet rays. One person can install it in only a few minutes without the use of any tools. A crank on one of the end pipes is used to stretch the belts and raise them off the ground."

If you only use high clearance tractors and trucks to cross the guard, you can leave the belts up to 15 in. off the ground. If you're worried that a trailer hitch might catch on the belts you can lower them to only 2 or 3 in. off the ground.

"You can store the entire unit in the back of your pickup. It weighs about 95 lbs."