Stories from the Job Site

John Deere 772D Motor Grader with IGC

Whether dialing in GPS coordinates or relying on pure skill and talent, operators everywhere are demanding the power and exacting control found in John Deere six-wheel-drive motor graders. We headed into Oklahoma near the Texas border to see how a fleet of 772Ds is grading Red River Valley dirt to make way for an expansion of the Chickasaw Nation’s WinStar Casino. Turns out automatic blade control and the lost art of the blademan are making quick work of the rugged Sooner ground.

For the casino expansion project, Chickasaw Enterprises’ Ken Fortner oversees his company’s two 772Ds and a pair of aces in subcontractors Silver Star Construction Company and Hammett Excavation. "We’ve gone from 35 acres of timber to 35 acres of parking with the help of two subs, five Deere 772Ds, and a 9420 Scraper Tractor. After the dozer cleared it, the scraper and the 772Ds took 117,000 yards of cut out of there, and did it with ease."

"I really appreciate the 772Ds. This land is Red River Valley sand, and our old 140H couldn't handle it — it would spin out constantly. But the six-wheel-drive Deere just digs in and gets it done just as quick and smooth as you please. We’ve been running these two fl at-out 9 to 10 hours a day for the past year with no trouble whatsoever. Just fill ’em up, grease ’em up, and put ’em to work."

Smooth operators
As a blade cowboy with two-decades’ experience, it’s fun to hear Chickasaw’s Darnell Williams describe his alma mater, the School of Hard Knocks. "First grader I ran was a mechanical (no hydraulics!) Cat 12E, a ’60s or ’70s machine so rough you’d end each day with swollen hands and wrists. I was happy to get out of that grader and into my next machine, a 1987 Deere 570B — it was a much better machine, but nothing like the new D-Series. John Deere knocked the ball out of the park with these graders."

John Deere 772D Motor Grader with IGC

After watching grader-wrangler Ryan Lynch of Hammett Excavators cutting through the arid red dirt with ease, we flagged him down and coaxed him out of the cab to take five and discuss his favorite brand of grader.

"I was raised on John Deere as an Oklahoma farm boy," says the young blademan. "It didn’t take long to get the feel of these 772Ds." And although he’s a member of Generation Atari, he can cut dirt without the GPS when he needs to. "These six-wheel-drive machines out-push our old 4WD Cat 140H big time. The controls are great, especially for fine blade work. We work out here up to 16 hours a day, but with these comfortable cabs, clear visibility, and A/C, it’s a pleasure to run them. That satellite radio the boss installed helps, too!"

But as much as he enjoys operating the 772D, there’s someplace Ryan would rather be. "Our new 872D is out on another job today, or I’d be running it. That’s a beautiful and very powerful grader."

Cutting to the chase
"You should have been here last week," we were told. "We had five 772Ds out here." And if we came next week? "None. We’ll be done next week. Ahead of schedule." The moral here: If you want to catch a John Deere all-wheel-drive motor grader at work, you’d better step lively — these are some of the most productive machines in the industry today.

Chickasaw Enterprises, Hammett Excavation, and Silver Star Construction Company are serviced by C.L. Boyd Company.

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