We switched to planting narrow rows (30") three years ago, the same year that we quit using our worn out mounted NI pickers. We hired an older neighbor for those three years to pick our ear corn with his Uni and a modified JD combine head. He had a downturn in his health and could no longer run the Uni, so we took a chance and picked up four NI 324 wide row pull-type pickers this summer. We bought them CHEAP ($1800 for all four), since most folks have switched to narrow row corn in this area and don't want to keep the old wide row equipment. For the most part, all four were in working condition after the usual grease/oil/tuneup and some minor part replacements. I was worried about trying to pick 30" rows with a wide row picker, but so far it has worked out very well. I walked behind the picker while Pop ran the picker train, and we lost very few ears per 6x10 wagonload. We used a fixed rod instead of the hydraulic ram to control the height, and set it a bit higher than recommended (snoots are 12" off the ground). This height seems to let the stalks bend a bit around the center snoot. Pop said that he has to concentrate more than usual on keeping the picker centered, but it didn't take us long to give up the idea of planting a "special" patch of wide row corn for our wide row pickers. When we opened the field with the combine, the yield monitor showed 150-175 bpa on the sidehill patch (not our best field), planted with around 30,000 population. The 324s are all equipped with NI 327s on the back ends, and they are cleaning the shucks and stalks better than the mounted pickers or the Uni ever did. The corn shells a bit, but I blame the modern hybrid for that more than the picker. We use an AC D-17 Ser IV, which pulls just fine. The open cab and tight wheel base are ideal for monitoring and maneuverability.