I've often thought about a design like this... but here in MN we need to be dealing with snow... think about
@chevytaHOE5674's situation (context is everything)... how would a gate like this work for him?
That said, IF... I was going to build something like this, using the weight of the vehicle would be the "optimal" way to do it, rather than these (I'm sure you're all aware of these), which are quite common here with dairies where they have to drive in/out regularly for feeding and manure hauling equipment all the time. The light weight of them though is a big advantage... the "psychological barrier" vs. a physical barrier can be a huge advantage too.
The problem with these of course is that they drag along and scuff your rigs going through... not good for a car or pickup, maybe not so much of an issue for a tractor, where it rubs on the wheels mostly.
But perhaps a "version" of a combination of the two could work well? IF... your "wheel works" (the portion that is vehicle weight driven) are "protected" AND any moisture accumulation is addressed (i.e.: positioned over a "pit system" with appropriate drainage applied, so that any snow melt/accumulation is accomodated and/or can be drained away, and snow accumulation on top can still be plowed off), and then you use a lightweight electrified "gate" to contain the animals...
Something more like this then, using a parallel linkage system instead of "tilting" the whole gate. You could counterweight the mechanism with an adjustable extension spring. Everything lifts easily, vertically, to help avoid snow accumulation concerns (thinking of extremes like
@chevytaHOE5674's situation again). You could keep that bottom rail "reasonably high" off the ground if this is a concern where you live (say like 24") and then use some vertical streamers, perhaps made of chain, that hang down to close that final gap for calves, if necessary. That way, if the snow did build up at the gate, say to 24" deep, the bottom rail would generally be above the snow, and the "streamers" would pull
up through the snow as the gate is lifted "fairly easily"... and the weight of the "lighter weight" (but not so light as, for example, a piece of polyrope) chains would help to maintain them "fairly vertically aligned and appropriately spaced" in windy conditions.
You could put as many "bars" on the gate as you'd like (perhaps more "cosmetic" than functional???)... if you've counterweighted them, they could ACT like they're as light as a feather almost... if you've properly adjusted the counterweight spring. You probably could also incorporate some "decorative styling" to it, like your ranch "brand", etc. Just a matter of using one's imagination. This doesn't have to be difficult. Of course, you could also simply add in a remote controlled electric winch system to raise and lower the gate. I would put one of these on each side of the drive, so each individual gate is shorter, while you would still be able to control a much wider opening. If you wanted, you could also have it where each individual gate is operated separately for a wide opening... say a 12' (or somewhat wider) individual gate, to achieve a 24' wide opening for large equipment, but then you can only open one, for a 12' wide opening, for narrower equipment, like a tractor, pickup, or SxS/4 wheeler. This could help if the critters are right there by the gate then too.
I personally LIKE the idea of a purely mechanically controlled unit... just drive up, and your vehicle weight does all the work, automatically. But it might be more reliable mechanically (back to that "snow" issue), if you have power available, to use a winch setup with a remote. And you might be able to achieve it for less cost too.
You COULD mount control switches on posts on each side of the gate, if you wanted to avoid the need for a bunch of remotes to operate the gate (you'd need one in every vehicle, or for every person who will be using the gate). But now you'd at least have to be able to drive up alongside of that post and reach out the window... and how does that go with a tractor, combine, etc.? But it would sure be nice to NOT have to always have a remote control with you too, and still be able to open the gate without getting off/out of your vehicle.
I guess with this design, you COULD make it so that
ALL of the lifting is done by the counterweight spring, and a "lock" holds it in the down position, and the " powered winch" is only used to pull the gate back down when using the remote. This way, if you don't happen to have the remote with you, you COULD still just manually "pull the spring loaded lock", and the gate would automatically open (raise up). Put a gas strut on it to control the speed of it opening... If your "powered winch" can freewheel out, but also recoil the cable back in like a tape measure does, now you could simply get out and manually pull the gate DOWN till it automatically was locked in the down position again. So it would be a "manually operated OR remote control operated gate". The "remote" would simply open the "lock" to open the gate, and then initiate the power to the winch to close it.
Additional edit: You could have a gate like this where it actually folds down between two uprights on the "closing end", so that it is a physically stronger barrier, like if a critter were to challenge it. And you could also have it built so that one of the "double gates" has a section that folds down on either side of the opposing gate... for the same purpose... one gate would slip in between the other, making it a more physically strong design when in the locked position. Would do the same thing as when you have two swinging gates that you overlap and chain to each other... just makes for a much stronger physical barrier... the longer the overlap (within reason), the stronger the barrier.
Guess I'd better get busy building in my shop!
