Often, alteration of a walk-behind tractor is carried out in cases where the operational characteristics of the unit, functionality and ease of operation no longer satisfy the owner of the equipment. In some cases, individual craftsmen tune a walk-behind tractor to realize their visual fantasies or to impress others. Today, almost every private house and summer cottage has a walk-behind tractor or a walk-behind cultivator. However, the capabilities of this technique are limited. To expand the functionality of walk-behind tractors, you can contact a specialized workshop, but the price of such conversion can be very high. There are several ways to inexpensively and practically upgrade a walk-behind tractor with your own hands.
Preparing to create a homemade mini-tractor
To create a mini-tractor based on a walk-behind tractor, you need to draw up a drawing, its kinematic diagram, and also prepare materials, tools and equipment in advance. If you have the required knowledge and skills, then you can figure out how to develop a mechanism demonstration scheme yourself. But if you don’t have such skills, then you can find a more suitable option online.
For a homemade mini tractor, you can use a purchased factory kit for parts and components. But such a decision cannot be called correct for those who intend to break a 4x4 and save on this procedure.
For the technique you need:
- set of tools;
- equipment for welding work;
- drill with various drill bits;
- pipes, channels made of metal;
- nuts, bolts;
- grinder and discs for working with metal.
Attention!
Purchasing a ready-made set of spare parts for conversion is the main expense item on which you should not save. Otherwise, the quality of the finished structure will leave much to be desired. In addition, for a homemade tractor you need to select two wheels, a hitch, a driver’s seat, a steering mechanism, pedals and a walk-behind tractor with the required weight and power. Ideally, it would be a heavy-duty vehicle with a diesel engine. Thanks to this, you will have a home-made, yet powerful mini-tractor at your disposal that will effectively cope with agricultural tasks.
When choosing the weight of a new mini tractor, you must take into account the condition of the land on which it will be used. If it is compacted and dry, then the unit may not cope with the task assigned to it. Therefore, the harder the soil, the harder it is to choose a walk-behind tractor. And the power of the motor must be correlated with the area of the area that will be processed by such a tractor. Therefore, the larger it is, the more productive the engine should be.
Walk-behind tractor: device
The thematic unit is a wheeled chassis on which an engine with a power of up to 14 hp is placed. The motor is powered by diesel or gasoline to set the chassis speed through the gearbox.
As a result, the user of the walk-behind tractor effortlessly pushes the equipment forward, holding it by the handles. The latter houses the start and speed buttons.
The chassis of the walk-behind tractor consists of two wheel axles with thick tires. In winter, it is better to equip tires with chains so that the unit does not slip on snow and ice.
But for better maneuverability on wet ground, it is recommended to replace axles with tires with metal lugs.
An alternative option is a caterpillar track. But then the question arises: “how to make tracks on a walk-behind tractor with your own hands and what materials and means to use for this?”
To make themed caterpillars, enthusiasts use:
- Conveyor belt and links cut from a profile pipe;
- Split tires from cars and other transport equipment.
This explains the need to use a grinder for sawing metal and cutting tires. You will also need pneumatic tools for cutting in fasteners.
How to remake
A tractor from a walk-behind tractor will cultivate a small area. Anyone who has even a little knowledge of how equipment works can assemble it. In addition, it must be taken into account that the alteration of different models is carried out according to different schemes.
From Agro
If you want to build a car on the Agro base, you must take into account that the standard axle has insignificant fracture strength. It is possible that these parts break even when using a walk-behind tractor without additional weight, and if the load is increased, the risk of this outcome increases several times. To reduce the likelihood of a breakdown to zero, you can install wheel gearboxes from a UAZ or LuAZ car. In this case, the gear ratio can be changed to increase the traction range.
Attention!
Before making a homemade mini tractor, you need to determine in advance where the engine will be located - front or rear. In the first case, the unit will become more maneuverable, but the pressure on the wheels will increase. There may also be problems with the transmission.
Construction stages:
- Create a frame and front axle according to the drawings from rolled metal profiles.
- Attach the wheel hubs to the front axle. They have mechanical or hydraulic brakes.
- Assemble the axle. In the case of a composite frame, it must be attached rigidly to the front half. To turn, the entire part of the frame will tilt.
- Install the steering gearbox on it and connect it with steering knuckles to the steering rod.
- Assemble the steering column and check how the controls work.
- Place the rear axle in its original position. It is attached to the frame by means of two cages with bearings. There is a pulley on the axle that transmits torque from the motor.
- Install the engine and wheels.
- Place the driver's vision and pedal assembly according to the drawings.
- Adjust the functioning of the tractor components.
Instructions
You can easily create a mini tractor from walk-behind tractors from a variety of manufacturers (for example, from a Foreman walk-behind tractor). So, if you have Agro equipment, then you should build the tractor according to the following instructions. To make it you will need:
- Motoblock Agro
- Steel sheets and profiles
- Car seat
- Steering wheel from a car of any model
- One or two pairs of wheels can be changed, all of them, or you can leave one “original” one.
Wheels
In general, this “formula” is suitable for walk-behind tractors from any manufacturer, because the parts for manufacturing are not much different.
Necessary consumables, parts and spare parts
To understand what components are needed to build a machine, you need to know what components go into it. This is an important aspect that allows you to immediately buy the necessary items and avoid unnecessary expenses.
So, there should be:
- frame – made of any type of metal;
- turning device;
- brakes;
- sitting;
- metal required for body cladding;
- hitch - helps to connect other equipment.
These components are not difficult to buy: there are many of them at car dismantling sites or at scrap metal collection points. But the choice of these components should be approached responsibly. Often they are no longer new, so you need to carefully inspect them for damage. In case of defects, the homemade unit will not work correctly.
Drawings and assembly
To make a mini-tractor from a walk-behind tractor with an engine with your own hands, you will need to prepare drawings and an assembly diagram in advance. You can work on this yourself, but the main condition must be met - there must be balance in order to avoid unpleasant “surprises” in the operation of the apparatus.
Creating a wireframe
To create a frame, you don't need a lot of material. At the same time, if something is missing, then analogues can be used. But the dimensions and properties should be similar. This is about:
- metal - you need to prepare corners, channels and a square-shaped tube. For cladding you will need steel with a thickness of at least 1.5 mm;
- rotating device;
- wheels and axles;
- bearings;
- tape measure, welding, drill, grinder.
Assembly is carried out only according to the scheme - you cannot deviate from it.
Once all the elements have been connected, you need to check whether the installation was performed correctly. To do this, you need to install the frame on the walk-behind tractor. If everything is as it should be, then you can continue to create a mini-tractor. if something went wrong, then the shortcomings need to be corrected.
Application area
This machine will be extremely useful in agriculture, because it can be used to do a wide range of work, for example, clearing snow using a mini tractor. Therefore, even old walk-behind tractors can be very successfully used to create mini tractors that will be more than useful to you.
You can do this from a new walk-behind tractor if you think you need a compact tractor more.
In agriculture, technology plays a very important role. She is both a method of transportation, and an excellent assistant, and a tractor, and a strongman. Therefore, there is nothing better than a private house with a farm, which has a full fleet of all necessary equipment. Tractors (for example, MTZ tractors) are especially widely used.
Mini tractor
They do not have to be large and powerful, because even a small and compact tractor can provide significant assistance and become a good transport and way of transporting goods. In a word, there can be as many applications for such equipment as are convenient, because when working on the ground, you can come up with almost any “tasks.”
But small tractors are most often used precisely as transport, as well as mobile platforms on which various agricultural equipment can be installed.
If you equip a minitractor with a bucket, you will get an analogue of an excavator (see, for example, a Hyundai excavator), with which you can dig and loosen the ground, which is simply necessary in agriculture.
In addition, with a mini-tractor you can even graze livestock comfortably, because instead of walking, you will be riding on your steel horse.
Is it possible to make a mini tractor yourself? If you have no idea how to make a mini tractor from a walk-behind tractor with your own hands, then we are ready to please you: everything is easier than it seems. To get inspired, you can watch the video on how to make a mini tractor from a walk-behind tractor with your own hands. We also suggest watching a video about homemade minitrators – here.
Breaking and remaking equipment is not the most difficult process. Plus, you don't have to do absolutely everything yourself. There are special kits that will allow you to easily transform one type of equipment into another in a short period of time. This set includes the following parts:
Frame
- Frame with special mounting space for engine
- Pedals
- Seats
- Levers for disabling the axle shaft locking
- Steering wheel
- Wings
- Front beam and rear linkage
This kit is ideal for those who are wondering how to quickly convert a walk-behind tractor into a mini tractor. But there are many people who approach this idea with genuine enthusiasm, and therefore want to carry out all the work themselves, without using ready-made sets of parts.
It is for them that we will tell you how to make a mini tractor yourself from a walk-behind tractor.
How to make a frame
Before you create a mini-tractor, you first need to think about the frame. To do this, you can use parts from an improved kit or steel profiles. It is better to choose stainless steel.
Sections of the profile made according to the selected drawing are first connected with bolts, and then welded at the fastening points.
Attention!
A pipe with a side height of 30-35 cm can replace the profile. A transverse beam is suitable for rigidity.
A towbar must be welded to the rear of the frame, to which you can then attach attachments, for example, a trailer.
Construction of a homemade ATV VAZ 2109 4x4 No. 2
Continuation of the construction of the so-called ATV
ATV wheelbase 14301030.
The bipod is made of an 8 mm wide iron sheet in a shape resembling the letter “T”. At the edge of the “rack” there is a hole with a diameter of 20 mm - the control shaft is inserted and welded there, and in the ears there are conical holes for the ball ends of the control rods. These holes are reinforced with suitable welded washers. The bipod ears are slightly bent down so that they are almost parallel to the rods.
The wheels are 15-inch, from a Chevrolet Niva car. Tires with a suitable fit diameter of 205/70 (width/height as a percentage of the width) with an off-road tread pattern. The wheel running diameter is about 660 mm.
Drawing of a homemade quad bike frame:
1 — lower spar (pipe d25x3.5,3.2 pcs.);
2.7 — upper spar (pipe d25x3, 2.7, 4 pcs.);
Installation of the chassis
After installation is completed, the attachment devices are mounted on the front and rear axles, and the wheels on them. Basically, those that came with the walk-behind tractor are installed on the rear, and those from the passenger car are installed on the front. In this case, the tread pattern should be deep. This is an important aspect, since the equipment will have high cross-country ability, and the traction of the wheels with the ground will be improved.
To equip a homemade tractor with a full-fledged chassis, you need to buy hubs with brakes. In this case, it is desirable that the kit also includes steering rods, wheels, a gearbox and a column. But they can also be remade - removed from a passenger car.
Some gardeners supplement the front suspension with shock absorbers for comfortable work.
Walk-behind tractor: search for other spare parts
Borrowing engines from passenger vehicles is convenient because the corresponding equipment may have the necessary gearbox and transmission. Then the enthusiast needs to adjust the wheeled chassis and frame to the “mechanics” and the power plant, and not vice versa, which is much more difficult.
To make wheels that will support a walk-behind tractor, you can use:
- Brake drums;
- Car wheels "Zhiguli".
Engine and hydraulic installation
The most profitable option for a homemade mini-tractor is to install a single-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine. It is beneficial from an economic point of view, so using a unit based on it will not be expensive. It is mainly placed on the front of the frame, so it maintains balance when used with additional equipment. In the place where the engine will be installed, a sliding fastening system is mounted - this will make adjustment and tension of the belts easier.
The transmission of force from the engine to the rear wheels of the mini-tractor is carried out by a belt drive. Gearboxes and transfer PTO can be borrowed from a truck, for example, GAZ-53. The motor is installed so that the PTO pulley is in the same plane with the pulley of the rear axle of the unit. At the same time, you need to determine the place where the clutch pedal will appear.
After installing the engine, you need to install the hydraulics. It should include an oil pump, an oil tank, a hydraulic cylinder and a distributor. These elements are connected by flexible oil-resistant hoses. The best option is if the hydraulics have a floating mode.
Installation of the brake system and electrical equipment
Once the engine is installed, you need to work on the brake system. You can use new brakes or use this component of a passenger car.
Initially, according to the diagram, you need to determine the place where the brake pedal will appear in a homemade mini tractor. The mount for it and the main brake cylinder should be installed on it. After this, connect it to the brake drums located on the front wheels using hoses
Attention!
Immediately after the procedure, you need to check the system for leaks. If it is violated, everything must be redone.
But in order for a mini-tractor made at home to be fully functional, you will need to connect electrical equipment and display sensors on the instrument panel. This is necessary to ensure the safety of the operator when operating the machine.
Advantages of homemade tractors from walk-behind tractors
A mini tractor with a walk-behind tractor engine will make agricultural work easier. In this case, the entire load will be on the unit, and the operator will control the process. There will be no problems with spare parts - they are freely available.
Other advantages include:
- compactness;
- maneuverability;
- Ease of use;
- affordable price;
- no need for a garage;
- efficiency - in 8 hours of operation the engine will “eat” only 2 liters of fuel;
- travel speed is about 30 km/h.
In addition, the unit is suitable for processing areas with densely planted trees.
Do-it-yourself 4×4 walk-behind tractor
Auto mechanic, specializes in agricultural equipment
Tillage is an integral part of the life of those people who have land at their disposal. Various tools are used specifically for this, but its use involves physical costs. To significantly facilitate the task, there is auxiliary special equipment. In this case we are talking about walk-behind tractors. Such equipment is quite expensive, which is why not everyone can buy it. Despite this, there is a possibility of making such equipment yourself.
Reviews
Oleg, Taganrog
I have been using the walk-behind tractor for several years now. I also wanted to buy an adapter for it, but I saw a homemade mini-tractor online and got excited about this idea. I thought it would be difficult to do this, but gradually, as I studied the material and delved into it, I realized that I could do everything myself. I chose a drawing, bought the necessary components and got to work. It took me about a month, but I achieved my goal. Now work on the site goes faster.
Ivan, Krasnodar
I bought a walk-behind tractor and was happy with my new “assistant”. But, I am a supporter of modernization, so I constantly improve my equipment. It was the same this time - I decided to assemble a mini-tractor. The design is simple, I found the components quickly. Now I have a new unit, and my neighbors are surprised that I was able to assemble it myself.
To create a mini tractor at home, you don’t need to turn to professionals. All you need to do is select a diagram and drawing, buy the necessary spare parts and get to work. Moreover, now you can find instructions where each step is captured in the photo.
Walk-behind tractor: purpose
A walk-behind tractor is a mechanized piece of equipment for agricultural work. Depending on the engine type, it is powered by gasoline or diesel.
Compared to a tractor, the walk-behind tractor has small dimensions, which makes it convenient for cultivating small and medium-sized lands (0.1-1.0 hectares).
The nature of processing depends on the attachments of the walk-behind tractor:
- Plow – for plowing the soil;
- Garlic cutter – for sowing garlic;
- Potato digger - for collecting potato tubers;
- Aerator – for crop irrigation;
- Bucket – for removing snow and soil;
- Trailer – for transporting crops and other goods.
The corresponding attachments are included in all drawings of the walk-behind tractor, provided that they are presented by the same manufacturer.
Although there are exceptions - when the attachments fit all models. In any case, thanks to the attachments, the walk-behind tractor becomes a universal assistant on the farm and beyond.
