FARGO, N.D. — Any rock picker designed to shake off mud and trash will also do a pretty good job of shaking the operator off his seat.
Turning that vibrating, shaking action into the kind of rotating action that originally came out of the hydraulic motor might do a better job of removing debris and lessen the operator’s discomfort.
That was the thinking of Minnesota farmer Kent Roessler, inventor of the Robo Rock Picker.
“Actually, that was the thinking of my four-year-old son,” said Roessler.
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“We have really stony land. I was out with the rock picker with my son about three years ago and he said, ‘Dad, this is just too rough.’ The next morning he said, ‘Dad, we should build a rotary rock picker. Something like a rotary combine.’ ”
Roessler said he thought it was a silly idea at first, but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.
He figured that a rotary barrel would eliminate most of the shaking, and the tumbling rocks inside the barrel would probably do a better job of cleaning the rocks.
There are three models, all with the same rotating drum that measures four feet long and three feet in diameter. The drum is capable of swallowing a 36 inch rock. It can be filled up solid if the skid steer loader has the power to move it.
The model 400 is for skid steer loaders under 60 horsepower. The hydraulic motor drives the drum directly, but only in one direction. It sells for $4,495.
The model 800 is for skid steer loaders over 60 h.p. It also has direct drive from the hydraulic motor and spins in one direction. It sells for $5,995.
The model 700 is also for skid steer loaders over 60 h.p., but is driven by a No. 50 roller chain, which allows it to drive in both directions.
For more information, contact Kent Roessler at 612-242-5051 or visit www.roborockpicker.com.
