Combines Harvest Help Questions

I would recommend having a CDl with double_triple and HAZMAT endorsements. This would allow him to pull either double hoppers or any combination of trailers that harvesters usually have. The HAZMAT would allow him to drive the service trucks with large fuel tanks on them. A health card would also be a good idea to get when you get the CDl. I went on the harvest run for two seasons and didn't have the HAZMAT so I wasn't stuck driving the service truck all the time. Some harvesters require the drivers to have it though.

I have to disagree with the first post about getting a Hazmat endorsement to go on the harvest. The only way your son should get that endorsement is if he wants to get a job hauling hazardous materials after harvest. A very small percent of harvesters have their service trucks placarded because most of them have them arranged so they do not need to be placarded. If you have Hazmat endorsement it just adds a whole lot of other hazels that you really do not want to get involved in unless you are going to make a career out of hauling hazardous materials. If he should get a job with a harvester that wants him to have the Hazmat endorsement he can always go back and get it. One other thing, they may tell your son that since he is just 19 he can not go on the harvest because you have to be 21 to drive truck interstate. That is hogwash because harvesters are exempt from that. I'll admit it is a fine line but there are a lot of 19 year olds on the harvest.

Check with the US Custom Harvesters association. They should have the info you need and help connecting with an employer.

I see all this talk about having a CDl. I guess the question I have for you is.....do YOU think your 19 year old son wants to drive a truck in that kind of situation.....and do YOU want your son to do thisIJ Or does he just want to run a combine for one of these guysIJ

Have your son contact me if he is interested. I will always hire one person who doesnt have a cdl if they have experience in the combine or the grain kart. I also have room if he was willing to obtain just a class b with air brakes as I have 2 10 wheelers that only need this endorsement. The harvest is a great summer experience for a 19 yr old as long as he gets hired on the right crew. To get hired on a crew what has 10 combines then there is a chance will all of those young men together someone is going to be the black sheep and that would make for a misrable summer. We run 4 combines and run them in crews of 2 so there is usually 4-5 guys total per crew.. Hope this helps

Folks, Thank you for all the advice. Chuck

If you'd like to email me, I could give you some crews that I'd highly recommend for him to go with if he is serious about doing this for a season.

First of all is your son interested in putting in a full days work. During good going he will be up by 7am and servicing combines by 8am and running by 9am til 1 or 2am and than start all over again the next day on 4 or 5 hrs. of sleep! Can he do this for 20 or 30 days in a row if it doesn't RAIN!!! Also your son should be the one on here asking the IJ's not you. Most of us would think your just trying to find someone to babysit him for the summer. So don't put him into a situation that he's not willing to commit 4 to 6 months to without being around family and friends. I don't mean to sound harsh but thats the reality of it! If he takes a job and quits after a week or so it just ruins the operation.

Wheaty, You have no idea who I am, or who my son is. My request was a simple one for a little information. From that tiny tidbit of information why do you feel that this type of a response is appropriateIJ I often wonder why there are many people that sit on the sideline of these conversations and lurk even though they have valuable information to add. I will use your response as a great example of why they sit on the sidelines. Respectfully, Chuck

Whoa, Whoa, fellers!! I think every father should be willing to ask questions concerning the welfare of their children. I don't think this post is privileged to pry in to the personal reasons that we ask our questions or the reasons for what we are doing. We can, and I do, sometimes wonder why some questions are asked and the motive, but still if I am going to respond I will try and stick to the topic and then wait for the next question. This man's question was about CDl not whether his son is bashful, backward, lives on Main Street, or on Black Creek Road, or was born in a combine or a volkswagon bug. I think he should contact a custom cutter, which some have volunteered their emails and addresses. I think each will have different jobs available and remember as farmers we are prone to break a rule or two when necessary. Age 23 is the magic number for most true holders of CDl and the owner carrying insurance for road drivers. I was probably a better operator and driver at 19 than I am at my age. Youth just don't run out of "whiss and vinegar". Work them 20 hours a day and let a sharp little cutie come into sight and everything in them is recharged and ready to go another round. That is why there are very few old retired men on the combine run. We can't cut the mustard. Sir, I don't know who you are or anything about your son but I think you are supportive and willing to listen to his desires to see the country and take on a challenge. If not, and you are looking for a job for him that you think will grow him up, so to speak, then becareful of who might be the teacher if you set him out for the season. I have never been on a combine run, myself. I have a good friend that is an owner of a harvesting company for 30 years and I have visited him in the field and listened to his stories. He has never lost a kid to hard work or lack of sleep. Now a nonsupportive family or a crying girlfriend at home, can wreck any fellow. By the way, I am a working farmer in IN. My son is an engineer and the best friend I have.