The drill wasn’t the problem. The platform was.
We get calls from customers who have a proven drill rig that still has plenty of life left in it – but the truck it’s sitting on has reached the end of its useful life.
At that point, there are options.
One is to remove the drill and install it on a new truck, which can mean replacing the truck, body, water system, and other components along with it.
Another option is to rethink the platform entirely.
That’s what we did with this build.
We took a 2002 CME 55 and mounted it on a Terramac RT6 rubber-track crawler carrier, then built a fully remote operating system around it.
The result isn’t a new CME 55.
It’s a new application for a proven one.
Why Start With a CME 55?
There’s a reason older CME drill rigs are still working in the field decades after they were built.
They’re proven.
They’re durable.
They’re familiar to drillers.
And they’re built to be worked.
A 2002 CME 55 doesn’t need to be “fixed” simply because it’s older. If the drill itself is still doing what it’s supposed to do, its age can actually be part of its value.
The goal of this build wasn’t to replace what made the CME 55 successful. It was to build a platform that lets those strengths keep working in a different application.
A Different Kind of Carrier
The Terramac RT6 gave us the platform we needed to take this build in a different direction.
The rubber-track carrier provides mobility and stability for applications where a conventional truck-mounted setup isn’t the right fit. Removing the carrier cab and engine also created room for features that would have been difficult to incorporate into the original configuration.
That opened up space for:
- 300-gallon onboard water storage
- Integrated toolboxes
- Under-deck rod storage
- 20,000-lb recovery winch
- Fully remote controls
- GPS and telematics
- Onboard gauge cluster
- Integrated leveling system
A Different Path to a Working Rig
When a proven drill still has useful life left in it, replacing the entire rig isn’t always the only answer.
Repurposing that drill onto a different carrier can provide another path forward – one that preserves the value of equipment that has already proven itself while creating a configuration suited to a new application.
That’s an important part of what Rig Source does:
We look at the equipment you have, the work you need it to do, and figure out what possibilities exist between “keep it exactly as it is” and “buy something completely new.”
Built Around the Jobsite
The rubber-track carrier changes where this drill can operate and how it moves across a jobsite.
For soft, wet, or sensitive ground conditions, the RT6’s track configuration and low ground pressure can provide advantages over conventional wheeled platforms.
And remote operation gives the operator more flexibility in positioning themselves away from the machine while maintaining control of the rig.
The carrier and control system aren’t just add-ons. They’re what make this particular configuration useful for the applications it was designed to serve.
So, What’s the Point?
A good drill doesn’t necessarily stop being valuable because the truck underneath it has reached the end of its useful life.
Sometimes the best solution isn’t replacing everything.
Sometimes it’s looking at what already works and asking:
“What else can we build around it?”
That’s exactly what we did with this CME 55.
A proven drill.
A new platform.
Modern controls and monitoring.
A configuration built around a very different kind of jobsite.
And if you’ve got a drill sitting on a worn-out truck, maybe your next rig doesn’t have to start from scratch.
Let’s talk about what might be possible.
📞 630-365-1649
