DK 45 Hits the 1000 mark

Oleozz · Jun 23, 2015

Bought it from Wallace in April of 2006, good deal, very good dealer. Only major problem was the injector pump going bad at around 900 hrs. Have used it for planting (pulls a 4 row no-till JD 7200), running a grain auger, spraying, mowing, disking, plowing (snow and dirt), lots of front end loader work with stone rake, forks, bucket, and grapple. All in all a decent machine.

Amvcane · Jun 23, 2015

Tractor looks to be in great shape considering all the work its done. I have never seen a hydraulic thumb, ( or should I say hand ), on a loader bucket. Im guessing it's welded or bolted to the OEM bucket. I like the concept and am very interested in it. Where did you purchase and are you happy with it. Pros and cons.

chuck172 · Jun 23, 2015

I heard nothing but good about Wallace. Wish they were still dealing in Kiotis.

Oleozz · Jun 24, 2015

Amvcane--The grapple cam from a welder in the Midwest, Iowa I believe. had it shipped here by freight.
The two front points weren't long enough so I had a local Amish welder extend the points and it now works much better. Total cost eight yrs ago for cylinder and grapple was around $500. If you are really interested I will try to find the shop's name.
Chuck 172----Wallace was nothing but helpful to me, would always take time to answer questions. Kioti left a good one slip away.

Amvcane · Jun 24, 2015

Thanks Oleozz, since I saw this thread I did some internet surfing and found a couple of companies with loader thumbs and even more By Net threads discussing the attachment. I don't really have a lot of use for the root part of a grapple as I mostly use the loader, but it would be nice to clamp down on something when needed without having to change attachments.

rd_macgregor · Jun 25, 2015

You managed to avoid the weak shift fork issue? My 2006 DK45SC now has 1052 hrs on the clock and is going strong. Most of the problems I've experienced, with the exception of the shift fork, have resulted from hard (some might say abusive) use...especially working in the woods. I hope we're good to go for another thousand (or two!) hours!