Cheap barbell weight carrier

[Rollerman 290]

Everytime I see pics of members on here building something up from scrap I shrug my shoulders & think...I wish I could do that.

Well I guess after seeing many buildups from members like Ian, Pat, Nick, TT & others I was feeling inspired.....

Start small & work your way up right?

Needing a little more weight on the back of my Ranger & 953 plus haveing a whole bunch barbell weights from a long forgotten weight bench....I wanted to build a simple carrier that would slip over the drawbar hitch on my Horses.

I used a peice of 3/4" rod welded at an angle to some scrap 2" X1" box tube to slip over the hitch.

Finished & painted on back of my Lawn Ranger

All set with about 35 pounds of weight.

Id also want to say if anyone compliments my welding & is a licensed driver.....please don't drive. :D

[jusjeepn 59]

Stephen, First let me say your welding is superb (and I'm a class a CDL driver)!

Excellent Idea for that ity bity wittle twactor . Good use for the ole' weights! How did it do with the ags or have you had enough snow up there to tell yet? The weights we talked about have 4 1/2" bolt spacing. Looks like perfect for that little ranger! I can send you pics of how I mounted mine!

Nice work!!

Pat

[awd 0]

Good thinking and well executed.

I'd wonder if the weights bouncing when hitting a bump would bend the hitch or worse, damage the bosses cast into the trans where the hitch pivot pin rides .

That's enough weight that with a good bounce that's a lot of force. How does it seem to you?

[Rollerman 290]

awd....on the Lawn Rangers the drawbar hitch bolts ontop of the case & hangs about halfway down "higher to accomodate the shorter tires"

It seems plenty sturdy with 35 pounds of weight on it.

When I build one for a standard size tractor with the normal drawbar hitch I may look into that though as they tend to get tweaked with to much weight on them.

[Butch 194]

WOW! In the summer you could play horseshoes with your tractor.. Those ringers and leaners could be a problem. :hide:

[WheelHorse_of_course 99]

WHEEELie time :horseplay: :banana: :horseplay: :D

[sorekiwi 761]

Looking good Stephen!

I drove my Ranger for the first time last weekend and was popping wheelies in 3rd gear. I was thinking of adding weight on the front...

What size are the rear wheels on the later Rangers?

[Nick 13]

Good idea there Stephen and the welds look good from here. When it comes to welds I always said the angle grinder is your friend. Plus if all else fails I dont take close up pictures. Looks like you found some wheel weights also so the Ranger should be all set for the next big storm. Unfortunately our weather forecast is for a chance of freezing rain not snow. :hide:

[Rollerman 290]

I drove my Ranger for the first time last weekend and was popping wheelies in 3rd gear.

Mike with the snowblower on front I figured some extra weight in back would help....especially if my 100 pound teenager runs it again.

What size are the rear wheels on the later Rangers?

I think from 65 on they were 18x9.50x8

Looks like you found some wheel weights

Thanks for the comps Nick....those are multi fit generic cast jobs...about 20 pounds apeice.

I have 3 maybe 4 "there growing on me " Lawn Rangers though & am looking for another set of 8" cast weights.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tractor-Cast-Iron-52lb...1QQcmdZViewItem

I seen these on ebay & may buy a set....not to sure about the fit in an 8" wheel though?

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,337]

Stephen,

I'm not a welder so I may not be a good judge, but the weld looks good to me. Also, nice idea and execution. Looks functional. And I like those rear tires.

Have you tried the cast iron weights that Walmart carries? I think Dale uses them for wheel weights.

[bdanie7 0]

Now you all have got me a little worried.I had a couple of 50# cast iron weights and drilled them to fit my towing hitch.Is this too much weight on the tongue of the hitch?

[Duff 206]

Only MHO, but since you've got the weights tucked up fairly tight to the tranny you're not getting any bad leverage multiplying the weight being forced against the bottom of the tranny case. If the weights were hung further out, the hitch would act like a "lever" and muliply the force which could cause problems. Others with more knowledge may want to chime in, though.

Also, somewhere on one of these threads there was some discussion of putting a plate on the end of the hitch that's under the tranny to spread out the weight/force.

Duff :hide:

[unionman45 0]

i woyld love too have one like that care too make one more :thumbs: