Dominator™ Sodlayer
The Dominator™ is a unique sod lay down machine that mounts on the 3 point hitch of a tractor (we use a compact utility tractor) or a skid steer loader with the 3 point adapter. I first developed Dominator™ for myself. I'm almost 60 years old, planted my first big lawn when I was 16, and have been in the lawn and landscape business for 19 years. We used to do a lot of seeding
when we first started, but mostly we sod new lawns now and have for about the last 10 years. I have three sons who helped me with the business and when we laid sod they could always find some friends to help. Because I had available labor, I bought an old all-terrain forklift and we laid sod that way and got along fine. Back then, we would lay less than 30 semi-loads of sod a year. As the years rolled by, my sons started leaving, and it was harder to recruit help in laying sod. Also, it seemed like a lot more work for me as I'm getting older. Now, my helper and I have extra help only in the summer months.To lay a semi load of sod a day with the two of us was not much fun with the small squares, so I thought there must be a better way. I had seen the big rolls around and asked my sod supplier if he could provide them for me. The first machine I purchased to help me lay these mounted on a skid steer. We had to rent a big skid steer to lift the machine which weighed around 600 lbs. and also the sod which weighed around 2,500 lbs. The skid steer also needed tracks because it was so heavy. That worked to some extent, but when we used the tracks on the sod already laid, it would move it and we would end up tucking the sod that was in place all over again. This meant more work and frustration. Plus when we went to purchase the skid steer, the list price on that machine was over $70,000. Way too much money for my small business. I looked into buying lay down machines that were on the market. Remembering the trouble we had with the tracks while working with the skid steer and finding these machines very expensive, I couldn't find a practical option, so I started working on the Dominator™. I have developed many machines to make our job easier, and we still use these machines yet today, so I started exploring ideas to better handle big rolls. The first prototype worked pretty well, but I got tired of pinning the roll each time I had to stretch it to get out the lumps, or when we got to the end of the run to turn around. Not only was this aggravating, it was also unproductive time, so I decided we needed a braking system. The first braking system lasted about one roll, before I knew that it didn't work. The next braking system worked great, but was operated manually. The one we have today works hydraulically and works extremely well, as you can see in our video. I named the machine Dominator™, because a user has complete control of the roll of sod from top to bottom, left to right, and front to rear. You dominate the roll of sod instead of fighting it. If any of this sounds familiar, Dominator™ is for you. It is an investment that will pay dividends for years to come.
-- Wayne Himmelberg, founder of Dominator™
