Trailer with small diesel driving multiple things and a PTO

[Baby Grand]

Tie those shoelaces but good!

 

[Jason14j]

Judging by your profile picture I assume you mean to not let anything get caught in the turning shaft. I'm the type that over engineers everything, safety is first. I plan to have the shaft below the trailer bed and covers over the pulleys and belts, and a cap over the PTO output.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Cool plan! I want to see it happen. I'm sure you have the talent and ability to figure it all out for yourself, but here are a few suggestions to consider...

Put your heaviest stuff in the middle of the trailer and the lighter stuff on the front and back. I'm guessing the heaviest stuff will be the water tank and the engine. Putting the engine in the middle gives you another option... You can run two different speeds of shaft at the same time... I.e. you could have a higher speed going forward and a lower speed shaft going backward.

Also, putting your water tank in the middle helps balance your load. An empty or full tank will have less of an effect on your tongue weight and trailer balance.

Another thing to consider is that some things you will want running for nearly every project like a generator and/or air compressor. Consider running these with a serpentine belt off the front of your inline 6. Also consider alternative power sources for traditional stuff. Air powered drills and grinders can be used instead of electric to minimize the need for a generator. Some things may only be needed momentarily making the need to engage a pulley system cumbersome. These things might be better powered by electricity, air, or hydraulics as appropriate for quicker on/off options.

Many of these decisions will come down to what you have on hand or what you can find for cheap. If it were me I'd have a minimum of a generator, air compressor, and hydraulic system. Then I'd be able to adapt just about any tool out there for use in the Wonderous Workshop on Wheels.

 

[DAY]

Be aware that you might be infringing on a patent held by Rube Goldberg. . .

Down here (Eastern PA) Amish woodworkers run shop tools powered by compressed air. Which is supplied by their windmill.

You could try that- of course you will have to keep that trailer moving around 55MPH to get 100PSI.:laughing:

 

[Short Game]

Be aware that you might be infringing on a patent held by Rube Goldberg. . .

Henh.

I plan to have the shaft below the trailer bed...

I can see the neighborhood poles sporting "lost cat" fliers.

I hope we're not breaking the No Having Fun Rule here.

I was thinking of a transverse mid-mount engine going to a standard third member with the axles shortened and coupled to your forward and aft shafts. You could box the engine in and soundproof it and even put in a car heater and AC with the fan driven by a belt from your shaft (joking). But with the shaft below decks, the engine could not as easily be over the trailer's axles.

Have Shop -- Will Travel
Wire Jason

 

[mjncad]

If you build it...pix are required; especially during construction and the finished product.

 

[Jason14j]

Thanks for all of the great ideas, the plan in my head is getting clearer. Iplayfarmer - I like the thought of middle placement of heavier items, especially water, maybe two smaller water tanks (one on each side near the wheels). If I could accomplish two seperate shaft speeds that would certainly be benificial but I cant think of a way to do so without additional equipment. The plan thus far is to run the transmission in reverse to achieve 540 RPM shaft speed, the great thing about the transmission is I can shift into 3 different forward gears which (combined with an engine speed change) would allow me to have 3 different torque "settings" and the engine speed could be reduced depending on the workload. The PTO drive definately needs to spin in the proper direction but all the other devices could be designed to run in the opposite direction. I cant think of many situations where I would need PTO and another device running at the same time other than a hydraulic pump. Engaging each device is still a problem, but you may be onto something with the serpentine belt. The air compressor I'm looking at is actually a piston A/C compressor from a 70's volvo which has an oil sump for lubrication rather than oil in the lines like most compressers, the off road guys use these a lot and the output is very impressive. with that setup I could use a conventional belt drive electricly activated clutch. The welder/generator I plan to use is a little too big to run this way though. BUT i could always add a high output alternator and use an inverter for power tools :thumbsup:.
Day- I know your post was simply humor and I see how it may sound to some like a crazy idea. Rube Goldberg devices are amazing in my opinion. I think this idea is the opposite though. Having an electric or gas motor for every device seems a lot more complicated to me, not to mention extension cords everywhere and having to load up and move everything to where you need it. That old 6 cylinder is 44 years old and will see 44 more with the right care. A well designed system using industrial grade components will outlive all those little 10 horsepower engines and small electric motors on multiple peices of equipment.
Short Game- I dont like cats anyway :laughing:. I'm pondering the mid traverse mount engine. Thank you for the idea. Up until now I envisioned a the forward facing engine/transmission above deck with a Harley Davidson style beltdrive passing through the floor to the pulley on the lineshaft. They make a high performance upgrade system that I believe would handle the 6 cylinder with no problems. Have shop will travel, thats my now slogan :laughing:.

 

[Jason14j]

That A/C compressor I mentioned is a York. Look for a 1983 Mustang with the 5.0L V8. Rumor has it that was about the only factory application of a serpentine-belted York compressor. 3 Major versions, 7" 9" or 10" stroke. The 10.3 ci York pumps something like 4 cfm @ 90 psi just off idle and I've seen data showing 10 cfm's at 3000 rpm. That's a lot of air!

 

[Baby Grand]

Judging by your profile picture I assume you mean to not let anything get caught in the turning shaft. I'm the type that over engineers everything, safety is first. I plan to have the shaft below the trailer bed and covers over the pulleys and belts, and a cap over the PTO output.

Excellent!

I used to enjoy visiting my folks in Camden, Maine, when my Dad was still with us. At some point he'd get fed up with affairs at the house and quietly ask me (so Mom and Sis wouldn't hear) "Any interest in taking a walk?". This invariably led to us finding ourselves down in the town, outside the Sea Dog brew pub.
He'd ask "You thirsty?"
I'd say "Sure."
The pub was in an old, brick factory building. Inside was a large bar/restaurant with windows looking out at a waterwheel spillway. The wheel was gone, but the shafting was still in place, up in the ceiling. Beautiful stuff: big pillow blocks, lots of clutches with big levers and 4" wide pulleys for driving the leather belts. Oh yeah - the beer was good, too.

-Jim

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Thanks for all of the great ideas, the plan in my head is getting clearer. Iplayfarmer - I like the thought of middle placement of heavier items, especially water, maybe two smaller water tanks (one on each side near the wheels). If I could accomplish two seperate shaft speeds that would certainly be benificial but I cant think of a way to do so without additional equipment. The plan thus far is to run the transmission in reverse to achieve 540 RPM shaft speed, the great thing about the transmission is I can shift into 3 different forward gears which (combined with an engine speed change) would allow me to have 3 different torque "settings" and the engine speed could be reduced depending on the workload. The PTO drive definately needs to spin in the proper direction but all the other devices could be designed to run in the opposite direction. I cant think of many situations where I would need PTO and another device running at the same time other than a hydraulic pump. Engaging each device is still a problem, but you may be onto something with the serpentine belt. The air compressor I'm looking at is actually a piston A/C compressor from a 70's volvo which has an oil sump for lubrication rather than oil in the lines like most compressers, the off road guys use these a lot and the output is very impressive. with that setup I could use a conventional belt drive electricly activated clutch. The welder/generator I plan to use is a little too big to run this way though. BUT i could always add a high output alternator and use an inverter for power tools :thumbsup:.
Day- I know your post was simply humor and I see how it may sound to some like a crazy idea. Rube Goldberg devices are amazing in my opinion. I think this idea is the opposite though. Having an electric or gas motor for every device seems a lot more complicated to me, not to mention extension cords everywhere and having to load up and move everything to where you need it. That old 6 cylinder is 44 years old and will see 44 more with the right care. A well designed system using industrial grade components will outlive all those little 10 horsepower engines and small electric motors on multiple peices of equipment.
Short Game- I dont like cats anyway :laughing:. I'm pondering the mid traverse mount engine. Thank you for the idea. Up until now I envisioned a the forward facing engine/transmission above deck with a Harley Davidson style beltdrive passing through the floor to the pulley on the lineshaft. They make a high performance upgrade system that I believe would handle the 6 cylinder with no problems. Have shop will travel, thats my now slogan :laughing:.

I like how your plan is coming together. You might consider an unloader valve on your compressor vs. an electric clutch. It seems that's how most engine driven compressors are set up. Also, If you can find a generator head instead of an inverter you might be more happy with the results. Of course you already mentioned that you're planning a welder/generator combination, so that might meet your needs just fine. Keep us posted as your plan develops. I love this kind of project!

Have fun in Seattle.