Homemade caterpillar minitractor: features and photos

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:41

Homemade caterpillar tractor is a good help for rural residents and small farm owners. Such equipment can facilitate the implementation of a whole range of works, increasing labor productivity and the speed of processing land. These are plowing the soil, transporting the harvested crop, fertilizing, loosening and much more.

Application

The purchase of specialized machines in stores and markets will cost a "tidy" sum, therefore, many landowners make home-made tracked minitractors from improvised materials and available mechanisms that were in use. This approach allows not only to save financial resources, but also becomes an exciting pastime for economic and zealous men.

Such devices significantly expand the possibilities in terms of cultivating land, and additional attachments make it possible to maximize the functionality of the unit. As a result, all operations are greatly simplified, andmaintenance and operation do not require large investments and devices.

Work in progress

Homemade tracked mini tractors are suitable for the following manipulations:

• loosening the earth, including digging beds;
• application of various fertilizers by spraying method;
• harvesting, lawn grass care;
• garbage disposal, clearing the area of foliage and snow;
• transportation of goods for various purposes.

As practice shows, with the help of the technique in question, it is possible to carry out most of the work inherent in the inhabitants of rural areas. In addition, such a unit is quite suitable for a number of construction operations.

Do-it-yourself caterpillar minitractor

The self-made version is a design of several main nodes. Each part is made separately according to drawings and diagrams. Let's start the description of the assembly with the frame part. This element is a defining detail, since the stability of the entire model depends on its strength. Other units are attached to the frame. The base is made from a pair of spars, a traverse, connecting them by welding.

The outer part of the future frame consists of a channel, the inner equipment is made of a pipe with a square section. At the same time, the front traverse will be smaller than the rear counterpart. For example, from channels No. 12 and No. 16, respectively.

Powertrain

The right choice of engine fora homemade caterpillar minitractor is an equally important point. For this, any motor is suitable, the characteristics of which allow you to provide the necessary torque.

A suitable option would be a diesel power unit with a capacity of 12 horsepower or more. It is advisable to choose a motor with a water cooling circuit, which will provide the minimum requirements for equipment without adding to it any special outstanding performance.

Travel elements

For a home-made caterpillar minitractor from a walk-behind tractor, a bridge from used domestic cars is suitable. Often, a node from the GAZ-21 is used for these purposes. At the same time, it will have to be finalized by turning to a width of 0.8 meters. You will also have to remove the rivets from the fixing stockings.

If there are no ready-made caterpillars at hand, you can make them yourself. As a starting material, you will need four wheels and a pair of tires from a large car. The size of the elements is selected so that they are in harmony with the dimensions of the entire machine being created. In this regard, it is difficult to name the unambiguous diameter of the wheels exactly, since the dimensions of the frames for home-made equipment differ significantly. The tire is cut off at the edges and put on wheels placed along the axles.

Other mechanisms

The way a caterpillar homemade mini tractor plows and its other performance characteristics will also be affected by such details as the gearbox and clutch assembly. For the arrangement of these blocks, analogues with GAZ-52 and 53 are suitable.

In general, the procedurefor the assembly of this technique can be determined by the following steps:

1. Creating a frame part from channels by welding, fixing track rollers on it, wheels from the trolley that set the machine in motion.
2. Mounting the motor with gearbox.
3. Installing differentials, brakes, connecting them to the gearbox.
4. Workstation and steering equipment.
5. Stretching tracks on wheel blanks.
6. Checking the reliability of all fasteners and the performance of the entire structure.

Pros and cons

The benefits of a homemade tracked mini tractor include a few highlights:

• increased traction performance compared to wheel counterparts;
• decent ride, even on the most difficult terrain;
• reduced ground deformation during movement;
• increased cross-country parameters;
• financial savings in the manufacture of the unit with your own hands from improvised materials.

There are also disadvantages, and among them:

• lower speed than wheel modifications;
• increased fuel consumption;
• exclusion of the possibility of movement on an asph alt surface;
• high noise level during work.

Recommendations

Creating homemade tracked mini tractors for arable land is a rather painstaking and difficult process. The assembly will help useful tips below:

1. Before the startprocess, the future model should be displayed on paper by making a detailed drawing indicating the exact dimensions and parameters.
2. Make sure you have the necessary materials and tools, including a grinder and a welding machine.
3. All fasteners must be tightened consistently and carefully. Despite the bulkiness of the design, it requires careful handling, since manual assembly is a rather specific process.
4. The process itself is quite interesting, capable of captivating any man. However, it should be clearly understood that home-made modifications will be inferior to factory counterparts in a number of characteristics. This is not surprising, because in most cases old parts and surface-treated materials are used, which does not give the machine enhanced performance. In addition, to create such a unit, you must have certain experience, technical knowledge and relevant skills.

Working principle

The self-made minitractor works on the principle of standard caterpillar analogues, only with a simplified deployment system. Operation steps:

1. Transmission of torque to gearbox.
2. Distribution of force along the semiaxes using a differential mechanism.
3. The wheels start moving with the transfer of traction to the tracks.
4. Turn occurs when one axle is locked and all torque is directed to the second element.
5. Due to braking, the active part moves around the stalledchassis, which contributes to the turn.