D6 8U Modified for Nursery Tree Digging

I'd be leery to drive over a rock with that high center of mass. Very unique setup for sure. I'd love to see it at work.

Tom

Where's the step ladder?
i have seen D2's and D4's but never a D6 like that, pretty neat but like crawler dollars said i would not want to drive it on anything but level ground.

No need to drive it up on the lift for an oil change! lol just walk right under and oil slick yer hair back while yer at it! lol Gosh if Cat made a high clearance like that they would have to have hand rails, cat walks, hyd stepladder, the whole safety shebang and make it look like jungle gym! lol

This is a very unique bit of ingenuity. It took a little thinking by some ranch mechanic.

If you had this on I-5 last week it would not have been swallowed up by the mud and water!

Thanks for posting.
Jan

Glad you took pictures for all to share. My yard is only 2 miles from that digger. I drive past it all the time, but I don't get too close to folks stuff unless I see someone....
Look me up next time you are in the area, I can show you my fleet of jalopies! Thanks again for posting, now I won't have to stop! Lol. Juiceman:rain:

I've handled a bit of nursery stock, and I can't imagine what they are digging to need that kind of power or size. Did you get any idea what they use it for? Saw logs maybe?

I believe this machine is the first digger my neighboring farmers bought. They raise mainly peach, prune, almond and walnut stock. As they have expanded, I noticed they have upgraded to those GK Machine diggers made in Oregon. Other nurseries nearby have those as well, but I have seen JD 350, Cat D4C and D2 diggers in their early years. Juiceman.

I too would be leery of running such a top-heavy machine even with rollover protection. Without such protection, I would not run it. Maybe they have some massive ballast weight positioned out of site on insides of the lower portion of the track frames. But if not, even if the ground were dead level, I can imagine some pitching caused in reaction to that tree spade.

I agree about the safety issue. I have been around some of the other machines, and no such luck on ballast. I was told that some nurseries forbid the operator to drive faster that 1st or low gear. I watched one being loaded on a Cozad trailer; the operator didn't look very happy up there. No ROPS. Maybe that's why nurserymen have gone to those machines from Oregon. Low center of gravity, high clearance, dirt shakers, etc. a much better way.