DIY Tow Behind Spray Rig
I've wanted to do this project for a while now.
I wanted a spray rig that I can pull behind my 4-wheeler. Something that has enough reach to do the 1-acre food plots on our family property but also collapsible (removable) booms to do my city sized yard.
The Rig
I was not sure that I wanted to start this project until I saw the prices on sprayers. They range anywhere between $284.29 (with no extended boom) to 699.99 or up if you want one with green paint and a 'name'. The rig I have designed could cost you under $300 but not much over. This will depend on how many items you have on hand and how many you have to buy.
I already had the shelf material that I plan on building the trailer frame out of. I have included a shelf that is close to what I have in the parts list. It's pretty expensive and I know that I did not pay anything close to that when I bought it, so shop around, but this will give you the general idea. (You could use an old garden cart or anything else you have lying around for you trailer frame.) Also, I work in a manufacturing facility that does sheet metal, so the wheel brackets are not on the parts list since they were made at work. With a cut-of wheel on an angle grinder and some of this (Aluminum Angle) you could make a V that would hold your axel if you wanted to. (Just a thought.)
I've included a parts list download just to the left. It has in it everything that I have bought (except for the wheel mounts) for this project. It also has links to a battery, solar panel and solar charger controller that I use for my tractor, 4-wheeler, and spray rig to keep batteries charged and fresh.
Parts
Here are pics of some of the parts on the parts list.
I said that I had a few pieces on hand to help finish this project. Alot of the hardware I already had on the shelf.
Bear with me here I have to give you some background about this.
In the 70's Home Craftsman would put glass jar lids screwed to shelf bottoms to hold jars with hardware. I do not like this at all! While it seems like good idea in theory, it is not something, in my opinion that you would want to do. The containers that they were using were glass. A bit dangerous.
I know that my dad and his dad had at least one (maybe 2, 3 or more) buckets, drawers, or coffee cans full of hardware. If you were to go through them to find 4 of a certain piece you would find 3.
This led me to sort and throw away a BUNCH of nuts, bolts, screw, and other hardware. Basically, the rule in my shop now is if there is not at least two of them, it gets tossed. It ended up with something like the below pic. Still a work in progress, but with a Microsoft Surface and a label printer out there it sure makes labeling and trying to get stuff organized a lot eaiser.
The hardware section (red and blue buckets) was an idea I had to put in our container out at the family property. It is about 30 minutes from the city and if you have a breakdown out there, you have lost a couple of hours. I have hardware out there on the wall to replace at least one of every bolt on the property.
I transferred this idea to home and it's really nice to be able to walk into the shop and grab exactly what I need to do what ever I want. (At least most of the time) This is where all the hardware came for this project.
Weather Problems
It is December 2023 and the weather in North Texas is warm, but not warm enough to paint.
Since we cannot paint yet I decided to go ahead and mockup the 'trailer' frame.
