Power forecart conversion

[Mark Cowdrey]

I am in the head scratching phase of figuring out a way to mount a honda engine on a “standard” Pioneer fore cart with reduction gears/sheaves, clutch and PTO drive to operate a 9′ tedder. My thought is to use the seat mounting pipes and draw bar to attach a self-contained unit that could be removed. Center of gravity (inc. driver) to be as close to centered over the axle as possible. Something simple, light and inexpensive.
Has anyone else done or seen something similar? Thoughts on engine HP required/desired?
Any thoughts or comments welcome.
Thanks,
Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

test test test

[mitchmaine]

hey mark, how the heck are ya? i have an amish friend who (with a homemade forecart very similar to pioneer) did just what you are asking. he mounted the motor on the deck off to the right, with a belt drive to a tail shaft (reduced 3-1?????with shives) under the deck and a deadman clutch. you had to stand on the pedal to power the tedder. light and compact. like most amish machinery, used used used.

[Mark Cowdrey]

Well Mitch I’m doing great today looking forward to a bright future. Hope you are too.

Any chance of getting any photos of that guy’s rig? And engine HP? And/or contact info?
The dead man clutch is an interseting way to address safety, though I don’t know that I would want to stand all the time.I do stand quite alot when I’m driving in hte woods, but haying is a little different. I was just visiting w Tim Huppe today and he suggested maybe a guard for the rear to prevent falling back into the rotating shaft. Seems like that could work, too.
You guys must be getting ready for LIF. Have fun.
Mark

[Ed Thayer]

Mark,

Are you looking to just run a tedder? Or maybe some other impliment in the future? I would guess an 8hp honda would do it, though that is just a guess. I will be interested in what you come up with.

Ed

[Mark Cowdrey]

Ed,
Yes, I am thinking just a tedder although I would think (based on nothing) that if it would run a tedder than it might run a rotary rake. I don’t expect I will ever have one but you never know. I find on my hay ground a PTO tedder does quite a bit better job than the Grimm reel tedder but my ground drive NH side delivery works well enough considering what I have into it.
What makes you guess the 8HP, gut feeling or some particular experience?
Thanks,
Mark

[mitchmaine]

lif is weekend after next i think, we’ll miss you.
that deadman is a footpedal similar to a brake and you sit. not too bad. but ( the tedder) is out in ohio and we were just there, probably won’t be back out there til spring. i thought once about putting the motor on the tedder driving the imput shaft, like a baler, but the safety issue is too big with a tedder to risk it i think. the tail shaft to the tedder should be above the hitch like it would be on a tractor. 8 horse would power it for sure, i think daniel powered his with a 5 horse honda. not sure i would invest a good pioneer cart for this project. you might think of cobbling up a new cart and designing it to fit your needs for the tedder and possibly other pto equipment. good luck, mitch

[Mark Cowdrey]

Thanks Mitch. My thought is to mount the whole drive rig on a base or platform that would attach to the seat bracket mounting pipes and the drawbar that is welded to the back of the axle. I did figure on keeping the relative position of the tail shaft and hitch as it is on a tractor. I agree that the safety issue is critical and appreciate any thoughts (from anyone).
Chalk it up to my fascination of making removable modifications for the pioneer. Plus I have an “extra” Pioneer here. We’ll see.
Thanks,
Mark

[near horse]

Hi Mark,

Did you look at the pics of Donn’s power forecart? He was running a +/- 20HP Honda to power the PTO. The clutch was a hand lever that pivoted the motor to engage the drive (sort of its own idler setup). The pics are on his photo page but I can’t recall which one it is (Picasa, Photobucket or ……). BTW – that motor will run a haybine.

[Does’ Leap]

Hey Mark:

Have you considered a ground drive PTO cart to run that tedder? There was an interesting article in SFJ last winter about a guy who made one out of a truck differential to run a tedder.

George

[Billy Foster]

Mark
I think I&J makes just what you are thinking about.
http://www.farmingwithhorses.com/forecart-options
Billy

[carl ny]

I saw an article some where,some time,about using a 4WD ford ranger rear end.cant remember what year,I think it was mid 80’s.It’s suppose to have the right gear ratio for 540 pto at a good walk.Wish I could remember where I saw it.

carl ny

[Livewater Farm]

early ford fiesta rear ends were used in the teamster 2000 ground drive forecarts which are no longer made here I believe company was sold to russia for lack of sales in usa back in the late 80 early 90s at 3mph output 540pto I have one of these forecarts and it run both my 16ft kuhn tedder as well as my 10ft kuhn rotary rake 2 horses handle it fine on level ground 3better on varied ground
Bill

[Does’ Leap]

Billy, that I and J attachment seems pretty reasonable. Anyone know how many HP you need to run a baler (JD 336 in my case).

Hey Bill, any chance you can take some pictures of your cart?

Thanks.

George

[Mark Cowdrey]

Interesting info.
I have considered a ground drive forecart. The one George mentions in SFJ caught my eye, as did Donn Hewe’s mower conversion. Also interesting about the Fiesta rear ends. My thoughts are currently running like this: I have mostly rolling to side hill ground with wet spots. Tedding is often done when it is hot out. Tedding with a tractor is done (by me) at a pretty good clip. These factors slant my preference toward motorized. That said, the I&J “power adapter” (which, by the way, is exactly what I had in mind (thanks, Billy)) is $1800-$1900 for 9 & 13 hp. Their “standard duty” ground drive cart is $1990. So price is out of the equation, if going new. An 8hp Honda from Northern is $600, which leaves me $1200 for other parts and materials as well as false starts and dicking around till I have something that works well. Hmmm….
Anyone have better pictures of that I&J power adapter?
Thanks,
Mark

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