R.M. King Company specializes in overhauling the cotton picker header unit. Since the company’s inception in 1953, R.M. King Company has completed more than 40,000 overhauls. Our shop is designed with custom equipment to repair cotton picker headers exclusively. Our specialized equipment and machines are created to do the work as detailed and efficiently as possible. Since our focus is on the cotton picker header alone, our overhauls are more thorough than the average repair shop. Many mechanics primarily focus on high wear areas and any known problems. We call this maintenance and repair rather than an overhaul. R.M. King Company is unique in that it does a complete rebuild on every section of the header as a part of the overhaul. This means that every part (gear, bearing, seal, roll pin, etc) is inspected before being reassembled. The flow sheet below shows the steps every overhaul goes through.

Often the first question a machine owner asks is, “How much is this going to cost?”.

To ensure maximum value for the customer, we offer a fixed labor rate. The cost of an overhaul is the fixed labor rate plus parts. To provide assurance and accountability to our customers, we even offer to return the used parts back to the customer*. This allows the customer to inspect the parts that were replaced to verify the wear. (Note: The request to return the replaced parts must be made in advance)

Another common question is, “How often should I get an overhaul and what if I have problems before then?”

Our goal for each overhaul is to update the header to the manufacturer’s specifications while minimizing the cost to the customer. R.M. King Company repairs all models of John Deere and Case IH cotton picker heads. Each overhaul comes with a one year warranty, providing confidence in a smooth harvest. During an overhaul, we do not replace parts that have good usable life under normal operating conditions. Many customers find that an overhaul every 500-900 acres per head provides a balance between expense and function (3,000-5,400 acres for a 6 row machine). When a machine is run too long without proper maintenance, parts with a shorter lifespan potentially cause damage to other parts that have a longer life span. This is most often seen in the relationship between the cam track, cam roller and bar. When you review the life of a machine, keeping header units on a regular overhaul schedule minimizes expensive repairs caused by excessive wear. We have seen overhaul invoices 50% higher than our average because maintenance was postponed too long. Keep in mind that because we have a fixed labor rate the difference in total cost is solely in the quantity of parts needed during the repair process. When the header units are properly maintained, they will outlast the rest of the machine. We have customers who still regularly run cotton picker machines over 40 years old!

If you are interested in sending your headers in for an overhaul, all you have to do is dismount your header units from the rest of the machine. We will take care of the rest. Your salesman will schedule the transportation from your location to our shop. Once the bill is paid, the salesman will deliver the units back where they were picked up. We have the ability to transport and overhaul any cotton picker header in the continental United States. Our goal is to make it a simple process for the customer and focus on what we do best, overhaul cotton picker headers.

R.M. King Company also manufactures the most complete line of aftermarket header parts in the industry. Our quality parts help us maintain low cost overhauls. Check out our Parts page for more information about R.M. King brand parts.

The request to return the replaced parts must be made in advance

* Warranty service calls cover the labor charge of an RMK mechanic. There may be a charge on the parts used depending on the circumstances.