Service Trucks Make Fieldwork Easier

Service Trucks Make Fieldwork Easier TRUCKS New Trucks 28-6-39 Working fields as far as 35 miles from home is less of a hassle than it used to be for Cary Urka, thanks to a couple of service trucks he customized for farm work. His knuckle boom straight truck is handy for transporting and repairing field equipment, while his home-built service truck gives him a shop on wheels. "The knuckle boom truck eliminates the need to find a place to load and unload trailers," says Urka. "It will easily handle about 2 1/2 tons, so I can pick up pallets, cultivators, fertilizer tanks and even small tractors. The boom is out of the way, so I have full use of the bed." Urka bought the snub-nosed 1984 Mack truck cheap, complete with the boom on back. It was operable, but not well maintained. He fixed it up with new brake lines, a valve job and a new cab, put a new axle under the front end and got it back in shape. He also put a heavy-duty under-ride bumper on the back to prevent a car from sliding under if it hit him from the rear. He added a full set of slings and straps to use instead of tie downs, and put a toolbox on either side. When finished, he had a state inspector check it out and got a clean bill of health. "It's extremely easy to drive, which is important with workers who are not trained truck drivers," says Urka. "I've hauled logs with it and even hauled a couple of pieces of a train engine. When I need to sharpen my Bushhog blade, I just lift it up on edge and grind down the blade. It's the ultimate utility truck." Urka's other service truck may be the ultimate shop on wheels. The æ74 Chevy truck was in good shape when he bought it, needing only a brake job. Though it had toolboxes on it, Urka stripped it down and rebuilt it to hold a 20 hp air compressor engine, welding generator and bottle racks, and even its own chop saw. Everything is enclosed with doors and drawers for easy access. It even has a couple of outlets for electrical hook ups. "Everything is out of the weather and out of eyesight," he says. "The tailgate folds down with a couple of vises on it for field repairs." The old bed had wheel wells sticking up into it, so he narrowed the new box down and covered it above the wheel wells. The new higher floor created storage space between the wheels for steel supplies. In the drawers is a full selection of nuts and bolts and pipefittings. When he changed steel cultivator shovels recently, he had the 50 nuts he needed right there. Urka estimates that he has put about $6,000 into the truck after buying it for $3,500. He says the heavy truck beats worrying about constantly overloading. "I wanted something to carry tools, stock and other supplies so I didn't have to go hunting," he explains. "It weighs about 17,000 to 18,000 lbs. fully loaded." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Cary Urka, 16919 Pole Rd., Bretheren Mich. 49619 (ph 231 477-5364; email: urka@kaltelnet.net).

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