Air-Ride Forklifts Give Fruit A Bump-Free Ride
Dale Seaquist is a 4th generation cherry grower from Sister Bay, Wis., who’s spent nearly 60 years looking for better ways to run his family’s business. “Over the years we’ve built and changed things that have really helped us out,” Seaquist says. “Our custom-built forklifts were made by modifying older model pickups with special lift forks and an air-bag suspension. They can carry 1-ton pallets of fruit through an orchard 3 or 4 times faster than the tractors and loaders that we used before.”
Seaquist, his son Zach, and another employee came up with the idea to build their own lift trucks after they’d seen a similar rig in Michigan. They removed the truck box and cab from each truck, but kept the motor, drive train, steering mechanism, brakes, and some of the instruments. The rear frame was strengthened to support the lift forks and a 1-ton payload. The springs and shocks were modified to accept 8-in. dia. air bags that are commonly used on semi tractors and trailers. Seaquist says “the air bags compress to support the weight of the truck and its 2,000-lb. payload of cherries, providing a cushioned ride through our orchards and over the road.” Diamond plate steel was used to build a new open station seating area, floor and heavy-duty dashboard. Plate steel was also used to build a new low-profile hood and fenders.
The lift trucks are easy to drive, Seaquist says. “We keep the original dashboard with radio, the automatic transmission, the foot pedals and a comfortable seat. We swing the steering to the middle of the truck so the operator can sit at an angle and still see behind the vehicle during orchard and road operation.” Hydraulic controls to raise and lower the lift forks are mounted on the platform next to the seat. They also install a 600-lb. bumper on the front to counterbalance the weight of the fruit on the back.
Seaquist says that buying commercially built rigs equipped like his would’ve cost 4 to 5 times what they have into their home-built rigs. He says they put a limiter on the engine so it can’t exceed 2,000 rpm’s and overspeed the electric clutch on the hydraulic shift.
“We can haul the full pallets through uneven ground conditions in the orchards, then haul them down the roads at speeds of 50 to 60 miles per hour if we need to.” He and his crews can pick more than 900 acres of cherries and 30 acres of apples much faster and more efficiently than they did with tractors and front-end loaders.
Seaquist Orchards is one of the largest producers of cherries and related cherry products in the country, offering more than 500 items online and in their farm market store. Their fruit is grown on about 1,200 acres in scenic Door County, Wis. In a high producing year, they’ll handle more than 10 million lbs. of fruit.
Seaquist’s great grandfather planted fruit trees in the area 150 years ago, and cherry trees started about 115 years ago. Dale is the 4th generation, his sons are the 5th and grandkids now make up the 6th generation to carry the Seaquist name. “All of our families enjoy the work and the fact we’ve been able to carry this through so many generations makes it very gratifying,” Seaquist says.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dale Seaquist, Seaquist Orchards, 2023 Highview Road, Sister Bay, Wis. 54234 (ph 920-854-4199; www.seaquistorchards.com).
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Air-Ride Forklifts Give Fruit A Bump-Free Ride MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Forklifts Dale Seaquist is a 4th generation cherry grower from Sister Bay Wis who’s spent nearly 60 years looking for better ways to run his family’s business “Over the years we’ve built and changed things that have really helped us out ” Seaquist says “Our custom-built forklifts were made by modifying older model pickups with special lift forks and an air-bag suspension They can carry 1-ton pallets of fruit through an orchard 3 or 4 times faster than the tractors and loaders that we used before ” Seaquist his son Zach and another employee came up with the idea to build their own lift trucks after they’d seen a similar rig in Michigan They removed the truck box and cab from each truck but kept the motor drive train steering mechanism brakes and some of the instruments The rear frame was strengthened to support the lift forks and a 1-ton payload The springs and shocks were modified to accept 8-in dia air bags that are commonly used on semi tractors and trailers Seaquist says “the air bags compress to support the weight of the truck and its 2 000-lb payload of cherries providing a cushioned ride through our orchards and over the road ” Diamond plate steel was used to build a new open station seating area floor and heavy-duty dashboard Plate steel was also used to build a new low-profile hood and fenders The lift trucks are easy to drive Seaquist says “We keep the original dashboard with radio the automatic transmission the foot pedals and a comfortable seat We swing the steering to the middle of the truck so the operator can sit at an angle and still see behind the vehicle during orchard and road operation ” Hydraulic controls to raise and lower the lift forks are mounted on the platform next to the seat They also install a 600-lb bumper on the front to counterbalance the weight of the fruit on the back Seaquist says that buying commercially built rigs equipped like his would’ve cost 4 to 5 times what they have into their home-built rigs He says they put a limiter on the engine so it can’t exceed 2 000 rpm’s and overspeed the electric clutch on the hydraulic shift “We can haul the full pallets through uneven ground conditions in the orchards then haul them down the roads at speeds of 50 to 60 miles per hour if we need to ” He and his crews can pick more than 900 acres of cherries and 30 acres of apples much faster and more efficiently than they did with tractors and front-end loaders Seaquist Orchards is one of the largest producers of cherries and related cherry products in the country offering more than 500 items online and in their farm market store Their fruit is grown on about 1 200 acres in scenic Door County Wis In a high producing year they’ll handle more than 10 million lbs of fruit Seaquist’s great grandfather planted fruit trees in the area 150 years ago and cherry trees started about 115 years ago Dale is the 4th generation his sons are the 5th and grandkids now make up the 6th generation to carry the Seaquist name “All of our families enjoy the work and the fact we’ve been able to carry this through so many generations makes it very gratifying ” Seaquist says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dale Seaquist Seaquist Orchards 2023 Highview Road Sister Bay Wis 54234 ph 920-854-4199; www seaquistorchards com
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