17 Jul Scott: Making A Few Modifications

Scott talks about preparing the combines to harvest in wet conditions.

Storms have also been rolling through parts of South Dakota and there’s a chance the ground conditions may be a bit muddy when it’s time to begin harvesting the wheat up there. This means we have decided to setup our combines for mud now and that way we can quickly fasten the duals on if the softer ground conditions are an issue.

We have to make a few modifications to the configuration of the machine from the factory. We have to take off the front tires, rotate sides to keep the tread running the right direction, turn them around to dish the wheel in, install an axle extension, and bolt the dual spacer on the primary wheel. It takes us about two hours to make these changes, but it will only take minutes to install the extra tire later if needed.

Here are some pictures of the crew making these modifications.

Kevin quickly unhooks his header from the combine by removing the driveshaft and flipping the hydraulic quick connect handle.

The crew loads the spacers and axle extensions for the combines onto the service truck to transport them to the combines.

The guys take a quick count of the hardware required to put on the spacers for the duals to ensure all is accounted for.

An elevated parking lot makes jacking the combines up a bit tricky and can present an unsafe working environment quickly. The block of wood behind the tire just didn’t seem to being doing the trick, so we brought in a bigger, green block for reinforcement just to be certain the combine wasn’t going anywhere.

After removing the wheel from the combine, the guys work on removing the shields and shrouds in order to gain access to the bolts holding on the boll gear.

Kevin guides the frontend loader and helps position it in the tight working area.

The men pry the boll gear lose from the machine.

The axle extension is tapped into place and fastened accordingly.

The guys tighten the bolts on the extension before putting the final torque on them.

The boll gear is placed back on the extension and fastened.

This is what our combines will look like when the duals are installed.

For more information contact crew@allaboardharvest.com. All Aboard 2011 is sponsored by High Plains Journal and DuPont Crop Protection.