Inside a Farm Growing Equipment Uptime with Mechanic Truck

Ron and Nick Adams Farms is a fifth-generation family farm in eastern North Dakota that’s been going strong for over 200 years. Today, Ron and his son, Nick, keep the tradition alive, growing wheat, durum, barley, sugar beets, corn, soybeans and edible beans across a large amount of acreage.

Farm Foreman Dustin Finney uses the crane on the farm's Knapheide KMT1 Mechanics Truck to perform equipment repairs.

Farming at this scale takes serious equipment including tractors, planters, combines, sprayers, grain trucks, trailers and other agriculture machinery and attachments. Especially when planting and harvesting, these things work nonstop and maintenance and repairs are inevitable. In fact, equipment issues often rank right up there with weather conditions as the biggest cause of delays during peak season.

When something does go wrong, farmers either call equipment dealers for servicing or handle it themselves. For Ron and Nick Adams Farms, it’s usually the latter. With skilled staff and tools like Knapheide Steel KMT1 Mechanics Trucks behind them, they’re ready to tackle whatever comes their way.

"It's a 100% farm service truck. You never think about all the different things you can use them for until you have them. Then again, you don't know how you live without them", said farm Foreman Dustin Finney.

Dustin shared a few examples where his truck saved time and kept operations moving, like rebuilding an equipment hydraulic cylinder, using the crane to lift and fill seed into a planter right in the field, picking up necessary repair parts and working on semis across multiple sites.

Farm Foreman Dustin Finney grabs tools needed for the job from a CTech Manufacturing drawer in his Knapheide KMT1 Mechanics Truck's compartment.

This farm truck is a mobile shop, built on a Ford F-550 chassis cab with a Knapheide steel service body and packed with features and options like a:

• 8,600 lb. capacity, 30 ft. reach crane: Lifts heavy parts and equipment
• Air compressor: Inflates tires and powers pneumatic tools
• Welder & generator: Repairs metal and powers corded electric tools
• Raised front compartments: Stores oxygen and acetylene tanks for cutting torch
• Compartment lighting: Brightens tool and supply storage areas
• Vise: Mounted on the bumper for holding parts during repairs
• Drawer system: Organizes hand and power tools
• Power inverter: Charges cordless tool batteries
• Tool box: Keeps oils and fluids separate from other gear
• Loop towing hitch: Provides a front-end point for pulling stuck heavy equipment

Ron and Nick Adams Farms picked up their Knapheide Steel KMT1 Mechanics Truck as a ready-to-work rig through a local Ford dealer, meaning no ordering hassle or wait. After the purchase, they added custom touches to make it fit their exact needs.

"We leaned on them for what options are out there, what they recommended, told them what we use it for and it was a good experience," said farm Co-Owner Nick Adams.

Nick has particularly been fond of the CANBUS system, which provides simple push button start and stop controls for the truck's exterior lights, air compressor, crane and other equipment. While Dustin lauded many facets of the truck, but considered the crane the "pride and joy," given its usefulness in various scenarios.