Home-Built Dump Bed Trailer Raised And Lowered By Boat Winch

Home-Built Dump Bed Trailer Raised And Lowered By Boat Wench WAGONS/TRAILERS Miscellaneous 34-1-41 My home-built dump bed trailer is raised and lowered by a boat winch that mounts on the tongue. Works great for hauling yard trash and dirt. The trailer measures 6 ft. long by 3 ft. wide by 1 ft. high and rides on the wheels and rear axle off an old Deere riding mower. The bed was made from an unused fuel tank that I got free from a local company. I used a Skil saw to cut the tank open, then tach-welded it to an angle iron subframe that's welded to the axle. The tongue is made from 2-in. sq. tubing. Cable goes under a pulley on the underside of the axle and then to the back of the dump bed. The bed pivots on two pieces of flat iron, one on each side of the axle. My only cost was $15 for the winch. Another idea I had was mounting my 40-year-old Lincoln 150 combination welder-generator, and an air compressor, on a small 2-wheeled trailer that I pull behind my ATV. It provides me with air, power, and welding all in one package. I keep welding rods and a helmet inside a plastic storage box on top of the welder-generator. The rubber top on Yamaha golf carts makes a good, low-cost roof for tractors and lawn mowers. I mounted one top on my zero turn riding mower and another on my IH 354 35 hp tractor. The top attaches to a frame made from 1 by 2 and 2 by 4 steel tubing. I find it's easier to change oil on a pressure washer by placing it up high on an old wheelchair. I removed the plastic covering from the wheelchair seat and back, then installed a length of angle iron on front of the wheelchair to contain the pressure washer. The wheelchair is easy to roll around and the brakes can be used to lock it in place. I can store up to 100 ft. of 12-ga. extension cord on a plastic hose reel that I mounted on the deck of an old push mower. The reel is free to rotate on a round metal plate that's supported by a stub pipe welded onto the deck. A 10-ft. long "pigtail" can be wrapped on top of the reel where broom hanger clamps keep it in place. I recycled industrial fan blades and scrap angle iron to make this 8-ft. high ornamental lawn windmill, painting the 22-in. blades red, white and blue. My neighbor got the blades from a local company where he works, and I mounted them on a -in. dia. spindle. I used metal pallet racks and angle iron to make the windmill's tower. (Robert A. Walker, 2064 Davie Academy Rd., Mocksville, N.C. 27028 ph 336 918-3193)

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