Soap Box Trailer and Chicken Tractor

We now have a way to haul Alex's Soap Box Derby car in style. Grandpa Kennedy found an enclosed trailer special-made for hauling a Soap Box Derby car and all the necessary equipment, including a large toolbox and upper shelf for lawn chairs, fold-up canopies, etc. He bought it for Alex. It's in really good shape, but we're going to do some work on weatherproofing the seams, and perhaps customize the inside just a little more. We also ordered some large All American Soap Box Derby decals to put on the outside.

Sometime soon (this weekend, perhaps) I'll be working with Alex to design a 'Green Slime' logo, then sending it off to Tykite in Battle Ground to quote a couple decals for the car (http://www.tykite.com/). Perhaps I'll also ask for a couple larger ones for the trailer. Of course, we also need to get Alex's name on the car and trailer.

That's all work for next week, though. Hopefully I'll get a good start on building the chicken tractor on Friday . . . Saturday is a big Fourth of July barbecue . . . and Sunday is Hayden's birthday party at Horseshoe Lake. (We'll be taking the canoe to the birthday party).

Here's a couple screen shots of the Chicken Tractor I've modeled. The thing standing next to the tractor is a person the same size as Alex, to give you some perspective. The base of the tractor is 4 X 8. The two chickens shown inside are large chickens . . . about a foot and a half tall.

In the first shot, everything is closed up. All of the open sides will have chicken wire. The protruding boards on the left will eventually be supports for an axle and wheels. The two protruding boards on the right are handles.

In the second shot, all the doors are open. On the left end there is a small door into the nesting box for collecting eggs. On the right end is a larger door for feeding and watering. One side of the roof also hinges up for access to the coop for cleaning. In the open photo, you can see the second-story coop, the ladder, and two roosts. Of course, there will be a hole in the nest box wall; I just have not decided how big it will be yet.