Travels with Terry

Transporting blower and gas can efficiently
Stephen Ehrbar, CGCS, director of golf course maintenance, Nick Sabatino, assistant director of golf course maintenance, and Scott Crisp, equipment manager, make up the team at the Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta, Fla. They were concerned about the blowers and gas cans tipping over during transport.

The brackets, which are fitted onto a Toro Workman, are used to hold the Stihl BG-86 hand blower and the Blitz 1-gallon gas can. The material and tools needed are one 1⁄8 inch-by-1¼ inch-by-24-inch and one 1⁄8-inch-by-1¼-inch-by-19½-inch steel or aluminum flat bar. A 1⁄4-inch drill bit and drill, four 1⁄4-inch-by-1-inch bolts and nuts and a bench vice are used. Measure out 7⁄8 inch from each end of the two flat bars and drill a 1⁄4-inch hole centered. On the 24-inch flat bar measure out 11¾ inches and make a 90-degree bend. On each end of the flat bar measure out 1¾ inch and make a 90-degree bend the opposite direction of the first bend. The bend on the ends provides the mounting tabs for the bracket. On the 19½-inch flat bar measure out 11¾-inch and make a 90-degree bend. On each end of the flat bar measure out 1¾-inch and make a 90-degree bend the opposite way of the first bend. This bend provides the mounting tabs for this bracket. The larger bracket is for the blower and mounts 5 inches off the floor of the bed. The smaller bracket is for the fuel container and mounts 3 inches off the floor of the bed. Use the holes in the brackets as a template to drill the holes in the utility bed’s side walls. These brackets are meant to hold an 11-inch-by-9-inch blower and a 10-inch-by-6-inch fuel container, says Scott Crisp, who designed and built the brackets. It cost less than $20 per vehicle for the materials and less than one hour total labor time.

Sod cutter transport trailer
Scott Holman, equipment technician, and Robert Gamble, superintendent, at The Pearl Golf Links in Calabash, N.C., purchased a new Ryan Jr. Sod Cutter and they needed an efficient way to transport it. Holman conceived the idea of using a 1992 Toro TransPro 100 trailer, which was not being used any longer. The cross member bracket is two inches square tubing bolted to the front trailer frame. The two 14¼ inch tall, 2-inch square tubing uprights are welded to the cross member. The top member is 7¾-inch long, 2-inch square tubing with a 1½-inch angle iron the same length welded to it. The 3- inch aluminum angle iron, measuring 20 inches long in the front, and two three inch aluminum angle iron side brackets, measuring 12 inches long and mounted with 2-inch-by-3⁄8-inch bolts, keep the sod cutter from moving forward or to either side. The front bracket mounted on the sod cutter has a piece of scrap truck bed liner, which slips underneath the top member to lock the sod cutter in place along with the weight of the sod cutter. The sod cutter transport/cut clutch lever is also engaged for added safety during transport. The total cost for materials was about $30 (including one spray can of John Deere green paint) and it took about 3½ hours to modify the trailer.