Future Bulletproof Vehicles

[Tarw Coch]

We often look back with the benefit of hindsight at vehicles which have proved to be extremely reliable over 15,20 or more years, be they tractors, 4x4’s or whatever.
But is there anything made today that’s going to be looked back on in the same way? After all, most if not all these bomb proof vehicles were made before all the new emissions regs and the complexity they have added to engines.
Will the new Fendt keep going around the clock like the old ones with the mwm engines?
The Aussies used to say a land rover was fine to go into the outback but take a land cruiser if you want to come back, does that still hold true with the ones built today?

Any predictions for the vehicles of today that are considered bombproof in 20 years time.

 

[rob1]

We often look back with the benefit of hindsight at vehicles which have proved to be extremely reliable over 15,20 or more years, be they tractors, 4x4’s or whatever.
But is there anything made today that’s going to be looked back on in the same way? After all, most if not all these bomb proof vehicles were made before all the new emissions regs and the complexity they have added to engines.
Will the new Fendt keep going around the clock like the old ones with the mwm engines?
The Aussies used to say a land rover was fine to go into the outback but take a land cruiser if you want to come back, does that still hold true with the ones built today?

Any predictions for the vehicles of today that are considered bombproof in 20 years time.

I thought you were expecting a civil war

 

[Tarw Coch]

I thought you were expecting a civil war

Now now, there’s a Brexit section on here if that’s what you’re looking for!

 

[76masseyman]

 

[JP1]

View attachment 758098

Is that a generic photo or are you recommending a brand / model?

 

[7610 super q]

Not that I can see. I try and study the tractor threads on here, to work out which will be a good S/H buy in 20 years. I'm none the wiser.
A JD head gasket would be a cheaper fix than a Fendt engine / gearbox though ?
All modern sh!te have electrics and ECU's to bother those further down the line.
The next 20 years will be interesting for us peasants.

 

[76masseyman]

Is that a generic photo or are you recommending a brand / model?

Generic.

 

[Clive]

Not that I can see. I try and study the tractor threads on here, to work out which will be a good S/H buy in 20 years. I'm none the wiser.
A JD head gasket would be a cheaper fix than a Fendt engine / gearbox though ?
All modern sh!te have electrics and ECU's to bother those further down the line.
The next 20 years will be interesting for us peasants.

electronics will be cheaper to fix than mechanicals in the future (may already be the case in fact)

and there is a lot less to go wrong with a length of wire than there is a mechanical linkage etc

I don't think electric are anything to fear and a generation is growing up (has done already in fact) who are completely comfortable with fixing them

 

[Bald Rick]

Built in obsolescence

It’s a consumer society in the First World - or no, to answer the OP

 

[BBC]

electronics will be cheaper to fix than mechanicals in the future (may already be the case in fact)

and there is a lot less to go wrong with a length of wire than there is a mechanical linkage etc

I don't think electric are anything to fear and a generation is growing up (has done already in fact) who are completely comfortable with fixing them

Trouble is, with something mechanical there is usually fairly physical evidence, be it a pool of leaking oil or bits of metal where they shouldn’t be, that makes it fairly easy to track down the problem.

With electrics, there is nothing physical to show where a loose cable, faulty solenoid, etc is, making tracking down the problem a nightmare..

 

[7610 super q]

electronics will be cheaper to fix than mechanicals in the future (may already be the case in fact)

and there is a lot less to go wrong with a length of wire than there is a mechanical linkage etc

I don't think electric are anything to fear and a generation is growing up (has done already in fact) who are completely comfortable with fixing them

If you buy new, look after, and service it, make sure it's completely dry after washing, and kept under cover, etc, etc, I would agree.
But buying second/ third hand, you don't know the history.
Old stuff has mechanical problems, new stuff has mechanical and electrical problems. Not difficult for someone to fix, but it's still down time.

 

[Clive]

Trouble is, with something mechanical there is usually fairly physical evidence, be it a pool of leaking oil or bits of metal where they shouldn’t be, that makes it fairly easy to track down the problem.

With electrics, there is nothing physical to show where a loose cable, faulty solenoid, etc is, making tracking down the problem a nightmare..

no its much easier - you plug in a diagnostic and it tells you what's wrong

I know us old farts find it complex but its very simple stuff for the next generation

 

[BBC]

But that’s the problem.

If it’s mechanical, you can either do an on farm repair or any competent mechanic can sort it, whereas you are now reliant on a dealer trained technician, at dealer rates, to hopefully come out to you fairly quickly to identify the problem as I would think there are very few farmers will start trying to sort an electrical problem themselves.

Don’t get me wrong, electrics have brought many benefits but do have their drawbacks and you are very reliant on dealers having well trained mechanics available, as well recognised there is a recruitment problem when it come to agricultural mechanics.

 

[betweenthelines]

electronics will be cheaper to fix than mechanicals in the future (may already be the case in fact)

and there is a lot less to go wrong with a length of wire than there is a mechanical linkage etc

I don't think electric are anything to fear and a generation is growing up (has done already in fact) who are completely comfortable with fixing them

But are all the electrics really needed in the first place?

All singing, all dancing tech might be an advantage if the tractor is driven for 2000+ hrs a year, but how many people use kit for that sort of hours?

Most arable farmers are only busy at sowing and harvest, and most contractors are quiet over the winter

 

[Red Fred]

50 years ago, a farming friend crossed the Sahara and went all the way to South Africa in a Series Land Rover towing a trailer of bits, bearings etc. Would I take our modern Series 3 Disco on the same journey? Not flipping likely when a fault in the electric handbrake release (!) sends it into limp mode. I would rather drive my old Skoda across Africa as at least it is simple and fixable.

 

[JP1]

My Skoda Octavia Estate is pretty bombproof. Ditto my old Mercedes Vito 113 bi-turbo van

I have to say my Peugeot Partner never let me down but it didn't feel as well made

 

[simmy_bull]

I honestly don’t know what the answer will be. Seams like everything nowadays is commonrail and suffocating with emissions crap.

The chap I work for runs Deere’s and the new ones have both put warnings up for low fuel pressure or suchlike. One of them even had to go for a new injector pump at about a year old I belive due to “mucky fuel” I don’t think his fuel is as bad as that we get through enough of it so it’s not in the main tank very long.

Buy something that’s 20 years old now and get @REStracTORATION to do a nut and bolt rebuild and keep it for another 20 years.

 

[MrNoo]

1.9 diesel engined golf, my mechanic mate raves about them, the PD engines are bulletproof compared to the more modern junk.

 

[yellow belly]

When I was a kids cars were knackered at 60 k miles and exhausts and clutches a very common replacement

Tractors needed clutches and water pumps at 3000 hrs were noisy and once you were in a gear you stayed in it all day

Some of each model lasted much longer but only with light use

A modern car usually does 100000 miles before any thing other than serviceable items
When did you need an exhaust
140000 miles on a disco 2 td5 still going

 

[PostHarvest]

The Aussies used to say a land rover was fine to go into the outback but take a land cruiser if you want to come back, does that still hold true with the ones built today?

Having seen three prototype Land Rovers broken down in the last couple of weeks between their development and test sites at Coventry and Gaydon, I don't think their quality has improved. An outspoken Australian motoring journalist regularly includes them in his don't buy list because of high prices, poor reliability and lousy customer service.