Do-it-yourself mini tractor with a walk-behind tractor engine

Content

1 Which walk-behind tractors are suitable for conversion?
2 General guide to converting walk-behind tractors
3 Reworking the MTZ walk-behind tractor

If you have a walk-behind tractor on your farm, then you just have to make an effort and it will turn out to be a good mini-tractor. Such homemade products allow you to acquire all-wheel drive vehicles at minimal cost. Now we will look at how you can assemble a mini-tractor from a walk-behind tractor with your own hands and what you need for this.

Which walk-behind tractors are suitable for conversion?

It should be noted right away that almost any walk-behind tractor can be converted. It would be unwise to use a low-power motor cultivator. After all, it will also turn out to be a weak tractor. Ready-made homemade structures have full steering, operator's seat and front wheels. To make such a transformation, you need to buy a kit for converting a walk-behind tractor into a mini-tractor or rummage through old car parts.

Centaur

These professional walk-behind tractors will make a powerful mini-tractor with great productivity. The unit is equipped with a 9 HP motor. With. To remodel, you will need to weld a frame from a profile, add front wheels and a seat.

Bison

A mini-tractor made from a Zubr walk-behind tractor will achieve high performance, as the equipment is equipped with a powerful diesel engine.To remake the mechanism you will need to add hydraulics. Then the mini-tractor will be able to work with attachments. In addition to the steering, you need to take care of the braking system. You can buy front wheels or find old ones from a passenger car.

Agro

To assemble a mini-tractor from an Agro walk-behind tractor, you need to complete all the above procedures. In addition, the design requires the installation of wheel gears. They are needed to strengthen the drive axle shafts. However, you can take a different route. To do this, the motor is mounted on the rear of the frame, resulting in an even distribution of the load.

It is much more difficult to fold a mini-tractor from an MTZ walk-behind tractor due to the design features of the equipment. But the end result may be a maneuverable unit on three wheels.

General guide to converting walk-behind tractors

Now we will look at general instructions on how to make a mini-tractor from a walk-behind tractor and what is needed for this. The manual is suitable for the Centaur, Zubr and Agro brands. The conversion of the MTZ walk-behind tractor follows a different principle, and we will present instructions for it below.

Advice! The conversion kit costs around 30 thousand rubles. This may seem expensive to some, but the person receives a full set of necessary spare parts.

Frame making

Manufacturing a mini-tractor based on a walk-behind tractor begins with assembling the frame. By lengthening it, it will be possible to install additional wheels, a driver's seat and steering. Weld a frame from a steel pipe, channel or angle. It doesn’t matter what the cross-section of the workpieces will be, the main thing is that the finished structure does not deform under loads. You can take extra material for the cross-section of the frame. Weighting the finished unit will only be beneficial, as there will be better traction with the ground.

The material selected for the frame is cut into blanks with a grinder. Next, they are welded together to form a rectangular structure. Additionally, the joints can be reinforced with bolted connections.

Advice! Place a cross beam in the center of the frame. It is needed to enhance rigidity. Such a frame will withstand heavy loads, which means it will last longer.

A hinge is attached to the finished frame. It can be located in front or behind. The device is necessary for working with attachments. If cargo is to be transported, then a towbar is also installed at the rear.

Manufacturing of chassis

Further conversion of the walk-behind tractor into a mini-tractor involves the manufacture of a chassis. And you need to start with the front wheels. To do this, you need to buy or find from friends 2 hubs with brakes and secure them to a piece of steel pipe. A hole is drilled exactly in the center of the resulting axis. It is made end-to-end. Through the hole, the axle is attached to the front transverse element of the frame. Next, a gearbox with a worm mechanism is installed on the frame. It is connected to the front axle by steering rods. When everything is done, install the steering column.

The rear axle of a mini-tractor with an engine from a walk-behind tractor is mounted on bearings pre-pressed into steel bushings. This part of the chassis is equipped with a pulley. Through it, torque will be transmitted from the engine to the axle with wheels.

Advice! On homemade mini tractor install wheels with a radius of 12–14 inches.

Motor installation

Most often, a homemade mini-tractor made from a walk-behind tractor has an engine installed at the front. Fasteners are welded under it on the frame. This location of the motor allows you to maintain optimal balance while working with attachments.

To transmit torque, a belt is put on the axle and engine pulley. It must be well tensioned, so the motor fasteners are made adjustable.

Important! When installing the engine, you need to make sure that both pulleys are aligned.

Installation of additional equipment

When the assembly of a mini-tractor with your own hands with an engine from a walk-behind tractor is completed, the structures begin to give a finished look. First, the brake system is installed and tested. To operate attachments, hydraulics are attached to the frame. The driver's seat is bolted to the pillars. They are pre-welded to the frame.

If you plan to drive homemade equipment on the road, it must be equipped with headlights, as well as side lights. The engine and other mechanisms can be covered with a casing that can be easily bent from thin sheet steel.

When the structure is completely assembled, run-in is performed. After this, the mini-tractor is subjected to load.

The video shows the converted Neva walk-behind tractor:

Reworking the MTZ walk-behind tractor

To assemble a mini-tractor from an MTZ walk-behind tractor, you need to eliminate one problem. It is due to the fact that the two-cylinder diesel engine shifts the center of gravity to the front of the frame.

You can solve the problem using the following steps:

The MTZ walk-behind tractor has a mode of operation with a mower. This is where the unit needs to be switched.
Instead of the front platform, a steering wheel and a motorcycle wheel are installed.
At the top of the frame there is a niche where the steering rod is located. Here you also need to install an adjusting rod to increase the rigidity of the structure.
The operator's seat is welded to the platform through additional fastenings.
Another platform for hydraulics and battery is cut out of thick sheet steel. It is welded next to the engine.
For additional elements of the hydraulic system, fasteners are welded to the rear of the frame.
The braking system will be manual. It is installed on the front wheel.

The final result is a three-wheeled mini-tractor from an MTZ walk-behind tractor, which is easy to operate.

That's all the secrets of homemade crafts. Keep in mind that each brand of walk-behind tractor has a different design, so the transformation process must be approached individually.

Do-it-yourself mini tractor from a walk-behind tractor