New telehandler time

JMTHORNLEY

Member
Location
Glossop
What’s the thinking on new handlers now?

Ive a Merlo 32.6 that’s due refreshing 1000hr ish a year but don’t like the look of these new deadman switches that seem to be coming in. Is this all over the new market board or just Merlo?

Would be thinking along the lines of a 42.7 or 38.10. Any other brands to consider? Hydro drive is a must as everyone who has to drive the 32.6 loves how easy it is to get on with
 

goodevans

Member
Be patient, 6 to 8 month waiting list on manitou ,I dont know whether other brands have similar lead time,manitou and merlo here and I dont like the controls on the merlo
 

JJT

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
Cumbria
Dead man switch isn't a problem on the merlos, very quickly get used to it. Went from a 32.6 to a 35.7. To be honest i haven't found a way of holding the joystick where you aren't also holding the switch down anyway. There are other little niggley things I'm not keen on on the merlo but the cab suspension is awesome if you do ANY road or field work.
 
What’s the thinking on new handlers now?

Ive a Merlo 32.6 that’s due refreshing 1000hr ish a year but don’t like the look of these new deadman switches that seem to be coming in. Is this all over the new market board or just Merlo?

Would be thinking along the lines of a 42.7 or 38.10. Any other brands to consider? Hydro drive is a must as everyone who has to drive the 32.6 loves how easy it is to get on with

Have a look at a Bobcat.
Hydro drive.

The larger machines with the big engines are a must if you're doing a lot on the road, the smaller machines are a bit gutless.
 

CWS

Member
Location
Cumbria
Dead man switch isn't a problem on the merlos, very quickly get used to it. Went from a 32.6 to a 35.7. To be honest i haven't found a way of holding the joystick where you aren't also holding the switch down anyway. There are other little niggley things I'm not keen on on the merlo but the cab suspension is awesome if you do ANY road or field work.
New merlo hasn't got the dead man switch now anymore. How have you got on with the 35.7?
 

texelburger

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Herefordshire
Dead man switch isn't a problem on the merlos, very quickly get used to it. Went from a 32.6 to a 35.7. To be honest i haven't found a way of holding the joystick where you aren't also holding the switch down anyway. There are other little niggley things I'm not keen on on the merlo but the cab suspension is awesome if you do ANY road or field work.
Agreed,thought it was terrible at first but now very used to it.
 
What’s the thinking on new handlers now?

Ive a Merlo 32.6 that’s due refreshing 1000hr ish a year but don’t like the look of these new deadman switches that seem to be coming in. Is this all over the new market board or just Merlo?

Would be thinking along the lines of a 42.7 or 38.10. Any other brands to consider? Hydro drive is a must as everyone who has to drive the 32.6 loves how easy it is to get on with

You can tape the deadman’s switch down and run and overide button to a spare slot on the dash. All you do is push the button every time the machine is started then the deadman’s switch is bypassed.
 

JJT

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
Cumbria
New merlo hasn't got the dead man switch now anymore. How have you got on with the 35.7?
2000hrs on it now, it's been reliable, better than the 2 32.6's we had before. Had to get them to alter the gearbox softwear as it would cut the drive when it sensed too much load such as if you were pushing into a heap of soil. Softwear upgrade solved that. I really like the cab suspension. The auto revs is good for some jobs and not for others. The safety boom cut out is far too sensitive but I think that's probably the same on most makes now though. Couple of annoying things, the boom slows down at the end of travel which works really well when pulling the boom in but when pushing the boom out it slows down with about 3ft to go and just creeps out the rest of the way. Really annoying when doing jobs where your booming out a lot such as pushing grain up. Also when you put it into neutral tje revs drop to tickover for 2 seconds even if you have your foot to the floor. Annoying when you want to keep the revs up to work the hydraulics. 2 seconds seems forever! I also find it really noisy in the road, it's transmission noise, which I thought having cab suspension is would be quieter as the cab is more remote from the rest of the machine. In summary I like it but I don't love it as much as I did the 32.6 before. Going back to a machine without cab suspension would be a hard decision now though.
 

Renaultman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Darlington
They seem a very good machine. Haven't herd a bad word about them really. I liked the kramer built Claas I drove a few years back.
I have a Kramer built Class but also drive a lot of the newer proper ones, and find them really good from an operator's point of view, not sure on running costs but very rarely see one broken down and they don't have the easiest of lives.
 

PSQ

Member
Arable Farmer
They seem a very good machine. Haven't herd a bad word about them really. I liked the kramer built Claas I drove a few years back.

I looked at Kramer this past spring. What was surprising was that according to the Kramer salesman (Deere franchise) they wont fit anything but a Kramer headstock at the factory, and a replacement dealer fitted JCB compatible Q Fit carriage was something like £3k+, which was a deal stopper.
Went with a JCB 532-60 with the new shape cab instead, which I'm starting to really like.
 

fermerboy

Member
Location
Banffshire
My mate has swapped a Manitou out for a Kramer, very pleased with it so far.
Ive driven it a couple of times and once you get past "where is everything?"moment I liked it.
Hadnt really considered hydro before but that Kramer is spot on. Cab is a bit wider than his Manitou and my JCB and its noticeably more roomy.
Its too new to tell on reliability yet, but the build quality seems to be there.
Certainly worth a look if you're after a hydro drive telehandler.
As for comment above about the headstock, his came new with Manitou spec carriage on it. I thought it was Manitou that wouldnt supply anybody elses headstock
 

Renaultman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Darlington
I looked at Kramer this past spring. What was surprising was that according to the Kramer salesman (Deere franchise) they wont fit anything but a Kramer headstock at the factory, and a replacement dealer fitted JCB compatible Q Fit carriage was something like £3k+, which was a deal stopper.
Went with a JCB 532-60, which I'm starting to really like.
I'm sure you get one made elsewhere? I know Masons used to make them. There must be others? My Class is on cone and pin
 

CWS

Member
Location
Cumbria
2000hrs on it now, it's been reliable, better than the 2 32.6's we had before. Had to get them to alter the gearbox softwear as it would cut the drive when it sensed too much load such as if you were pushing into a heap of soil. Softwear upgrade solved that. I really like the cab suspension. The auto revs is good for some jobs and not for others. The safety boom cut out is far too sensitive but I think that's probably the same on most makes now though. Couple of annoying things, the boom slows down at the end of travel which works really well when pulling the boom in but when pushing the boom out it slows down with about 3ft to go and just creeps out the rest of the way. Really annoying when doing jobs where your booming out a lot such as pushing grain up. Also when you put it into neutral tje revs drop to tickover for 2 seconds even if you have your foot to the floor. Annoying when you want to keep the revs up to work the hydraulics. 2 seconds seems forever! I also find it really noisy in the road, it's transmission noise, which I thought having cab suspension is would be quieter as the cab is more remote from the rest of the machine. In summary I like it but I don't love it as much as I did the 32.6 before. Going back to a machine without cab suspension would be a hard decision now though.
We've a 33.7 and you just listed all the same issues 😂 good that they've sorted it cutting drive when going into a heap we never managed to get ours to stop that. The 33.7 is sold now and there's a new tier 5 35.7 on route soon. Hopefully they've sorted all the niggles out. Probably not. Maybe they will of just added some more. 🤔
 

aidan

Member
Location
Ireland
I see a torque converter transmission can have up to 95% efficiency but from a hydrostatic the most you will get is approx 85%. Indeed it is said need to budget for up to 30% of input power in the cooling system capacity.

Always wondering how come no company has tried a CVT same as fendt gearbox, it would improve the efficiency no end, no where near as much cooling required. I guess the hydrostatic part of the Fendt CVT would need to be loosened out a bit to allow it to slip a bit same as a telehandler performs.
 

JMTHORNLEY

Member
Location
Glossop
Never been a lover of side boom machines. Endured a manitou 629 for 5 years. Back to a centre pivot now with Schaffer 6680. Good machine nice cab, well made.
Best advice is get some demonstrators onto your farm
Trying my hardest to get as many as I can here. Got a 35.7 coming in the next week or so and trying to get a bendy JCB as I spent a huge amount of time on a Matbro TR250 and loved it.
 

JMTHORNLEY

Member
Location
Glossop
I’m north Derbyshire and struggling to find any Kramer machines or dealers close by. I’ve always liked the look of them and would be happy to give one a try if anyone can point me in the right direction?
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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