Growing up as a kid in the 70s, Russ from Washington always enjoyed glancing over the Struck Corp ads in the back of magazines…especially the Struck Mini-Dozers. After browsing the internet, he was thrilled to find that the original Struck family-owned company still offered a model crawler kit.
A Fun Project from Start to Finish
After talking with “the very kind and genuine people at the Struck company,” (his own words, we promise!) Russ decided to invest in his own RS-196K kit. Once the boxes arrived, he got started unpacking, de-greasing, prepping, painting, and assembling his new project. With the included service manuals, Russ said the entire experience went smoothly and was well worth his investment.
Big Needs for Small Yards
Russ decided to invest in this specific Mini Dozer because of the size lots he frequently works on. “Although I do not own a large piece of property, I have rented a small skid steer tractor that just barely fit along the side of my house.” When other people recommended that he purchase a Bob Cat, he found that the hauling requirements and size restrictions would have made it nearly impossible for him to make a reality. “When using a Bob Cat at my own residence, I could just barely drive it along the [8 foot] side of my house.”
After reading about the owner of the RS1000 model that had fellow contractors laugh at him for driving a small tractor (he was left with the last laugh, as he could access customer’s yards through only a 4-foot-wide fence opening,) Russ knew that a RS-196K mini crawler from Struck would be perfect for working on the type of projects he encountered on a routine basis…with the ease of going right through a regular fence gate. “I’ve been able to grade excess dirt from between a 6-foot wood fence and a permanent above-ground swimming pool,” he says, “This is tight space functionality!”
Domestic Parts. Personal Service.
One of the other significant deciding factors in Russ’ purchase was the fact that the RS series was more solid and serviceable than Chinese products, with all of the parks and fasteners being American made and readily available for years to come.
Russ says his purchase will continue to pay off in the years to come as he helps his family, friends, and work side jobs in the tightest possible spaces. He has continued to become familiar with the crawler’s characteristics and really enjoys driving it.
“If I can put it to use on an 8,400 square foot lot, think what you can do with it!”
See How Easy Kit Assembly Can Really Be!
You’ll need only basic D-I-Y tools like socket wrenches, allen wrenches, tape measure, etc. If you’re an intermediate or advanced DI-Y guy, you’ll still find it plenty engaging. After all, you’ve never built a genuine bulldozer before… have you?
Click here to Order the RS196K Kit Assembly Manual today!
Can the 196 model have attachments like the 1000 can I put the 47 inch kit and loader on it will the attachments for the 1000 fit the 196
Hi Fred. Great question. Although we use the same chassis and tracks, we have designed the RS196K to use manual attachments only. Only the items listed here are covered under our warranty for the RS196K. We do have some customers that purchase the PP35 Hydro Power Pack from the RS1000 price list and then add it to the RS1000, but technically that is not covered under our warranty and a person would need to adapt it to fitting the RS196K on their own, without any engineering advice from us. For more information on what would be needed to install it, please see the PP35 Power Pack instructions on page BM48, of this download. > https://struckcorp.com/downloads/rs1000/docs/RS1000%20Attach%20Manual%206.25.14%20-%20Part%201.pdf