Travels with Terry

Lynch pin
Eric Kulaas, equipment manager, at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, St. Petersburg, Fla., designed and built a magnetic lynch pin that stays in place on the hitch and will not bounce out on bumpy terrain. Kulaas purchased them from Graingers where 25 pound round magnets are used for 3⁄8-inch and 1⁄2-inch diameter lynch pins and 65 pound round magnets for 5⁄8-inch and 3⁄4-inch diameter lynch pins. The round magnets are bonded to a disk, a center hole is drilled-out and then a larger disk is welded to the lynch pin and they work quite well. It took about 15 minutes to build each lynch pin (if three or four are done it takes even less time for each one) and the material costs were less than $15 each.

Trailers in a row
The Rubbermaid 15-cubic-foot trailers have been modified with Club Car Carryall ¾-inch or 1-inch used hubs and axles. The original wheel bushings wore out quickly so standard golf cart wheels and tires are used. The tongues were lengthened about 18 inches to hook-up to a trailer or to a Carryall so they do not hit the bed when backing-up or turning sharply. The dump features have been “welded-out” to make them “user proof." When the plastic tub wears out (they are over 12 years old), they buy another one and it is bolted to the frame. Typically two trailers are attached in tandem and used when mowing greens or tees to haul clippings. An additional two (for a total of four) are linked together to also haul trash from the course. All six trailers are rarely hooked-up together, but when they are they easily haul light-weight pine straw bales. Eric Kulaas, equipment manager, at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, St. Petersburg, Fla., designed the modifications to the trailers that are now worth about $1,000 each. It took about three to four hours to modify them.