Wheelhorse Crawler Conversion

[jd4310man]

I bought plans from ubuilditplans.com for their newest plan to convert an ordinary wheelhorse tractor into a crawler tractor. I have been collecting the metal and mechanical parts over the last few months and am now finally making some headway with the build. I have one track assembly tacked together and got the undercarriage assembly all cut and tacked together. I am very pleased with the plans as they are very well written and very easy to understand. I would recommend u build it plans to anyone. The plans call for a dozer blade run by an electric winch, but I am being very ambitious with this project and I want to build a front loader for it later on. I plan on using a 15hp Farymann diesel engine I acquired to power it. Its very heavy and is much wider and longer than the stock Kohler was. I am following the plans as close as possible but I made a few changes. The plans call for the use of 3/16' square tubing, I went with 1/4". I also added an additional third idler sprocket to the undercarriage as the plans call for two per side. It uses the stock 8speed wheelhorse transmission and the crawler steers with two 10" brake disks that are chain driven on independent mounts chain driven to the transmission. I'll post more pics as work progresses. It will probably take the rest of the winter to complete. It is a very fun and interesting project.

 

[Ductape]

Very cool ! Can't wait to see more pics as it takes shape.

 

[davedj1]

Very cool! Looks like a very fun project. Can you post some more info on the chains?

 

[jd4310man]

Hear is a pick of the designers prototype and an example of what one looks like. As for the tracks, they are made from 4 lengths of #80 roller chain. I got lucky and found them for $25 a piece on ebay. You have to make track brackets from 1" channel and 1-1/2" C channel. Then you make a jig to line up the three track brackets to weld to the sides of the roller chain. The tracks are by far the most tedious part of the build, but it is relatively easy with the jig. The first two pics are the prototype, the others are a customers machine.

 

[davedj1]

Yeah, I went to their website. I couldn't tell from your pic how big the chain was and I wasn't sure if you had to make each link.
thanks,
dave

 

[Farmerford]

That's quite a project. I look forward to wathching it come together. And hearing the diesel chuff along.

Is there an additional gearing reduction between the axles and the tracks?

Any idea how much it will weigh when you finish?

Chuck

 

[SPIKER]

heck here is a early prototype for sale, new on the site today, not mine but real neat l972 Power King with Tractor Trax installed
http://images.craigslist.org/3Ec3K13I15Lf5N15F6cb52e39a3c1e7cd1e7b.jpg

Mark

 

[jd4310man]

Well, the plans state that if you have a two speed trans. that you can have a 1 to 1 ratio and if you don't have the two speed, then you can have a lower ratio on the drive sprockets from the trans to the track axles. As far as weight is concerned i hope to get it past the 1000# mark. That's just the tractor part. I plan on adding a loader and eventually a 3 point hitch with rear ballast. So I'm hoping to add close to another 1000# of weight to the machine. When I get it done ill get it weighed to find out for sure.

Ross

 

[CNC Dan]

As for the tracks, they are made from 4 lengths of #80 roller chain.

got any pics of the track segments?

 

[jd4310man]

Hear is an update. I got the undercarriage all welded up, and I started back to work on the tracks. haven't had much time to work on it as the weather is so nice this week. Got started tacking the track shoes to the track bracket plates. Its a bit tricky getting everything to line up as there is a lot of little parts to work with. I am overall happy with the way things are going but im having an issue with getting the sprockets to line up with the track chains. Its got to be just right. Hear is some more pics.

Ross

 

[Down South]

My this is a interesting project. It came to my attention through the engine you have chosen. I am looking at buying one myself. Odd but interesting engine.
Can you tell us why you chose it and how you plan hooking it up and using it?

Thanks
DS

 

[jd4310man]

Down South,

To answer your question about the engine, I acquired it when I traded another small air cooled diesel ( a Hatz 10 hp) for it. This Farymann is practically unused and in excellent condition. Another reason I am using this particular engine is because of its size. It is rated at 15hp and has 709cc displacement. It should have a lot of torque for this size engine. I done a bit of research and these Farymann engines seem to be used in very harsh and demanding applications so it ought to be very reliable. It is considerably wider than the stock kohler that came with the tractor. So I will be using a jack shaft directly behind the engine to get correct alignment for the pulleys and to power a hydraulic pump and an alternator. I will show this as the build progresses.

Ross

 

[jd4310man]

Hear is an update to the project. I finally got the tracks completely welded and I also got the upper frame modified (strengthened) to handle more of a load. I just got done fabing up the steering brake mounts and I am now working on getting the upper frame aligned to the lower track frame. There is a lot of alignment issues in order to get all the drive chains to run properly without touching any of the frame components. There is not much room for side to side adjustments. Anyway once I get the transmission all lined up with everything, I will be able to fab up all the rest of the upper frame mounts and begin work on mounting the engine and related parts. The tracks are by far the hardest part to build as there are hundreds of little pieces to cut and weld and to get it all to work perfectly with the sprockets and undercarriage parts. The next hardest as I'm now finding out is getting the transmission to connect up with the driving sprockets and steering brakes. Anyway Its been a real education for me and its something I always wanted to do.

Ross

 

[Joey J]

Did you ever finish this project? I am just getting started on mine. Going to set up with hydraulic wheel motors.

 

[David Devuono]

I built one with hydraulic motors. Not direct drive though, I had to go to 3:1 gear ratio via chain drive to get enough torque to drive the tracks. I wish I had gone mechanical because I put several thousand dollars into hydraulics in the end and because disillusioned with the project. Still waiting for one track to get finished. So much to think about with hydraulics, motors, pumps, cross over relief valves, hydraulic filters, oil coolers, tanks, strainers. Flow dividers unless you are running dual pumps. Need other valves to tap off to run blades, main pressure relief valves. I put in a pressure gauge as well. Probably 30 hoses. If the wife only knew.

 

[David Devuono]

here is my nightmare.

 

[Chopperhed]

After reading this thread, I'm glad I stuck with the Peerless Hydro Differential steering on my Ford conversion. It looks like it saved me a lot of money for hydraulics, and a lot of misery for the fabrication.

 

[jd4310man]

No I haven't finished it yet. I lost steam on the project a while back due to other projects at the time. Its still waiting on me. I have all the parts to make it work though.

 

[stingray1]

Looks like a fun project.I wish I would have known about this a few years back,I could've picked up most of the material and parts from the scrap bin at work,for free.

 

[Joey J]

David,
Those hydraulics look pretty involved. I was planning on using a Zero Turn pump arrangement like someone else has done. Still working on the proper gear reduction ratio and wheel motors. I hear you about the wife. Mine doesn't know what I am up to yet. Thanks for responding.

JD4310man,
I hope you continue with the project. Your pics have really helped clarify the frame build out so far.

Thanks all