Another Farmer Engineering Project.

PHPaul

Well-known member

Equipment
B2650, Pronovost snow blower, Landpride rotary mower, Howard tiller, box blade
Apr 2, 2015
1,017
950
113
Downeast Maine
www.eastovershoe.com
I have a pull-behind lawn roller I made out of a 100# propane tank. It's okay, but even full of water, there's not a lot of weight there.

I got to thinking (which rarely ends well...:LOL: ) that if I mounted it to a QA plate, I could use the weight of the tractor.

roller2.jpg


I chose to bolt it to the plate vs. welding it as A) I wasn't sure it would work and wanted to be able to reuse the plate for my next hare-brained scheme, and B) there will be times when towing it makes more sense, so I can unbolt it and bolt on a tow hitch.

roller5.jpg


The loader hydraulics easily pick up the front of the tractor, which puts something like half the weight of the tractor on the roller. Works MUCH better. There is some concern about bending the rods on the curl cylinders, so the less stick-out the better but I really don't think it will be a major issue.

There's also the benefit of the QA. Drop the bucket, pick up the roller, do the job, switch back. Easy-peasy.

NOTE: The roller appears to be off center, but due to the shape of the tank and the way I welded the axles on it, the rolling surface is centered on the QA plate.
 
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Oleracer

Active member

Equipment
B2150 Kubota LA 350 750 Woods S250 Bobcat 300x deere
Jul 18, 2024
144
174
43
CT
Lo
I have a pull-behind lawn roller I made out of a 100# propane tank. It's okay, but even full of water, there's not a lot of weight there.

I got to thinking (which rarely ends well...:LOL: ) that if I mounted it to a QA plate, I could use the weight of the tractor.

View attachment 140926

I chose to bolt it to the plate vs. welding it as A) I wasn't sure it would work and wanted to be able to reuse the plate for my next hare-brained scheme, and B) there will be times when towing it makes more sense, so I can unbolt it and bolt on a tow hitch.

View attachment 140927

The loader hydraulics easily pick up the front of the tractor, which puts something like half the weight of the tractor on the roller. Works MUCH better. There is some concern about bending the rods on the curl cylinders, so the less stick-out the better but I really don't think it will be a major issue.

There's also the benefit of the QA. Drop the bucket, pick up the roller, do the job, switch back. Easy-peasy.

NOTE: The roller appears to be off center, but due to the shape of the tank and the way I welded the axles on it, the rolling surface is centered on the QA plate.
Looks good 👍
 

The Evil Twin

Well-known member

Equipment
L2501, LA526,
Jul 19, 2022
2,790
2,786
113
Virginia
Crazy enough it just might work!
The extended curl cylinders are a concern though. Maybe less stress going in reverse.
 

PHPaul

Well-known member

Equipment
B2650, Pronovost snow blower, Landpride rotary mower, Howard tiller, box blade
Apr 2, 2015
1,017
950
113
Downeast Maine
www.eastovershoe.com
Works if you always want to roll straight ahead. :geek:
True, but that's why I retained the option of putting a hitch back on it. For small patch jobs like shown (filling in after removing a tree and stump) the extra weight outweighs (see what I did there?) maneuverability.

Also, @ The Evil Twin, it never occurred to me to roll in forward, MUCH easier to see in reverse.
 
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