I got a John Deere Gator 6x4 for cheap. It had a blown head gasket and the plastic body panels are all pretty much destroyed. My wife and I have a hobby farm and she is always dragging around a dump trailer on the lawn tractor while tending the gardens.I replaced the head gaskets and got the engine going again. But to make it useful, it needed a bed. The bed that was on it was completely rusted through everywhere. It was the plastic bed liner that held it together. I really started this project thinking I would patch the bed, but it became apparent that wasn't going to happen. So my son and I pulled the bed and then I cut everything off down to the frame.
Everything other than the frame and headboard went in the trash. Most of it was swept off the floor as rust flakes.
Had the frame and headboard sandblasted. The sandblast guys always comment on how well the John Deere powder stick.
Reply:I formed a pan from 14 ga steel. And a tall angle to patch the front where the headboard was rusted away. Ran 1" square tubing down the sides.
2" x 1/4" for the end lip. Frame wasn't really flat. And pan wasn't perfectly bent. So used strap to pull it together and make it good enough. Was starting to get annoyed and how long this "quick project" was taking.
Ran 1" square down from top rail to back lip. That let me get the (end) of the pan squared up.
Reply:Test fitting. I wish I hadn't reused the head board. It was really rotten and I didn't want to take the time to fix it. So I didn't. Just unhappy about it.
Drop in tail gate. Another 14ga pan reinforced with some 1/4" scrap on the ends. Drops into slot.
It's off for another trip through sandblast and then powder coat. I probably spent 8 or 10 hours and will likely be $400 with materials and sand blast and powder coat. So much for a quick project.
Reply:Nice job on the box!I had two Gators on the farm for 20 plus years. A 6x4 like yours and a 4x2.
Just sold them last summer. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk:
Reply:Nice job! If you don't mind my asking, approximately how much does it cost to have a piece like that powder-coated? Tim
Reply:
Originally Posted by timrb
Nice job! If you don't mind my asking, approximately how much does it cost to have a piece like that powder-coated?
发表于 2021-9-1 23:17:59
