"Head Handlers" Help Save Storage Space

"Head Handlers" Help Save Storage Space COMBINES Headers 24-6-12 Handling Deere combine heads is easier for Jeff Garman, Colfax, Illinois, since he designed and built a couple of "tools" that attach to the heads. They worked so well he put them on the market. One tool is called the "Head Handler." The Head Handler is attached to the 3-pt. or Cat II, or a Cat III quick coupler. "With this, you can mount the head right on a tractor, raise it up, and move it around wherever you want," Garman says. "It's very handy if your combine is at another location and you need to set your head on a header trailer. It's not designed to be used on the road." The second tool is called a "Head Stand." Like the Head Handler, it mounts on the head using the feederhouse connections. "It's made of heavy steel, with small pneumatic tires at the bottom. Once it's attached, you can tip the head up so it's vertical. It can be stored in a lot less space this way." To tip heads, Garman uses a tipping tool which fits on either a tractor 3-pt., a forklift, or a skid steer loader. Once the head is tipped, it can be picked up with a forklift. There's also a 3-point hitch on the stand, so the head can be moved by a tractor. Garman's Head Stand and Head Handlers fit any Deere combine head made from the late 1960's to the present, since they all mount on the combine in the same way. The difference between the two is the Handler doesn't allow the head to be stored vertically. "The Head Stand saves space and makes it a lot easier to work on the gearboxes and snapping rolls," he says. Garman's current models work with 8-row headers or smaller. "I can make them for larger heads, too, if people want them," he says. Head Handlers will work with either Category II or III hitches, and with or without a quick coupler. It sells for $289. Weight is 125 lbs. Head Stands sell for $949. The shipping weight on one Head Stand and one Tipping Tool is about 420 lbs. Garman's head handling equipment works only with Deere headers. His primary business is farming, but he has made a few of these for others in his spare time. He says it takes about three weeks from the time he receives an order until it's painted and ready for delivery. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jeff Garman, Rt. 2 Box 74, Colfax, Ill. 61728 (ph 309 723-6287; E-mail: harmsseed@aol.com.)

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.