New tractors will anybody listen

[Cowabunga]

I understand your point but it conflicts with comments I've had from a local JD service manager that over 50% of calls to modern tractors are software faults. These often prevent the machine finishing the job in hand, my personal definition of "unreliability".

I'd love to have electric spools and front suspension but, for the above reason, I'll stick to my 6310 thanks.

They are yanking your chain. Most faults on software are not that at all. Software is fixed and seldom updated and isn’t re-coded and almost never over-written by a mechanic. Software/firmware just almost never goes wrong. Not even on a Deere.

 

[Finn farmer]

They are yanking your chain. Most faults on software are not that at all. Software is fixed and seldom updated and isn’t re-coded and almost never over-written by a mechanic. Software/firmware just almost never goes wrong. Not even on a Deere.

Probably more like an user error, which a restart would easily fix. Remember goingi to test drive a 6175R Deere when they were launched, turned it on and it wouldn't move forwards or backwards. Turned it off and started it again and off i went.

Ad-blue faults are quite common, but rarely keep you from finishing the job. Some see them as software errors even though they aren't.

 

[Pistonbroke]

i think Valtra still do the hitech which is very basic in todays standards but wont be in stock, still phone a dealer and ask

What they call a hitech now is the bottom of the range but still has the same full power shift as the posher specs and lower capacity hydraulics unless,like you say, maybe built to special order

 

[wdah/him]

What they call a hitech now is the bottom of the range but still has the same full power shift as the posher specs and lower capacity hydraulics unless,like you say, maybe built to special order

You mean the 36/36 with 2 gear levers and electric shuttle is no more

 

[Pistonbroke]

You mean the 36/36 with 2 gear levers and electric shuttle is no more

No mention anywhere now

 

[ollie989898]

I tried a jd 6155r but found you needed an extra long arm to change gear unlike our old 6320

Crowbar shift. I guess you will get right-wing syndrome in a modern JD with autoquad unless they have continued to offset the seat to the right as they did in the old tractors.

 

[7610 super q]

Modern tractors have miles of wiring which chaff, connections that go green and need contact cleaner, ECUs , potentiometers , screens , error codes, and digital dashes that need to be " Sent to David King ".
Probably fine for the first decade, but think about owner 2, or 3.
You either accept this, or bury your head in the sand and pretend it doesn't happen.
Good OP by the way. Not often you see a sensible post on TFF.

 

[Cowabunga]

Modern tractors have miles of wiring which chaff, connections that go green and need contact cleaner, ECUs , potentiometers , screens , error codes, and digital dashes that need to be " Sent to David King ".
Probably fine for the first decade, but think about owner 2, or 3.
You either accept this, or bury your head in the sand and pretend it doesn't happen.
Good OP by the way. Not often you see a sensible post on TFF.

They may well do, but they must be a more modern than my 1993 Same Titan with electronic engine speed memories, leccy linkage control with radar slip control, 9-speed electronic powershift. Or my 1997 NH 8360 Range Command with most of the above apart from engine memories. Or my 2004 7490 Vario with Datatronic2 and all the leccy and computerised stuff that you could throw a stick at.

So how much more 'modern' do we need to go before we find these terrible unreliable and difficult to repair tractors? How old do we need to go before it gets to your ideal age and level of unsophistication? Got to go older than 1990 when my GenIII Ford 7810 had a digital dashboard. That's 30 years old already and they are still going strong and making good money. Where do you draw the line? I suspect your ideal tractor is an MF300 series, which I know weren't that last word in electrical reliability even though they were only one step up electrically from the 100 series. At least they had an alternator factory fitted.

 

[ColinV6]

How are electric spook valves hard to operate? They couldn’t be simpler. Just use your finger tips. Pull back, push forward. Right forward for float.

We’ve got manuals in our other tractor and it feels and works so awkwardly in comparison.

 

[ollie989898]

How are electric spook valves hard to operate? They couldn’t be simpler. Just use your finger tips. Pull back, push forward. Right forward for float.

We’ve got manuals in our other tractor and it feels and works so awkwardly in comparison.

Finger tip control of spools in my view is one of those things that make for a much more comfortable working day for the operator as I generally can learn to use them by feel alone and I don't need to look at them when operating them, your muscle memory does the work so your eyes can be looking out the window at the spreader door etc. Manual spools are all levers that feel identical and often quite far apart unless you have a cross gate gizmo.

 

[The Seeker]

What makes me laugh is your paying more for less with some of the new machines , and I simply cannot stand an iPad mounted on the dashboard, totally obsolete in 20 years time

 

[Finn farmer]

What makes me laugh is your paying more for less with some of the new machines , and I simply cannot stand an iPad mounted on the dashboard, totally obsolete in 20 years time

Quite like the first digital speedo's from 80's that still work? How do you think they'll be obsolete, when they don't have any software installed in them? They just view the data fed to them, so no fear of the "ipad" (which it is not, just display) will slow down and break. Easy to swap for a new one if it goes black.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

50k, front suspension, manual gear sticks radio, how about a series 3 land rover

 

[7610 super q]

They may well do, but they must be a more modern than my 1993 Same Titan with electronic engine speed memories, leccy linkage control with radar slip control, 9-speed electronic powershift. Or my 1997 NH 8360 Range Command with most of the above apart from engine memories. Or my 2004 7490 Vario with Datatronic2 and all the leccy and computerised stuff that you could throw a stick at.

So how much more 'modern' do we need to go before we find these terrible unreliable and difficult to repair tractors? How old do we need to go before it gets to your ideal age and level of unsophistication? Got to go older than 1990 when my GenIII Ford 7810 had a digital dashboard. That's 30 years old already and they are still going strong and making good money. Where do you draw the line? I suspect your ideal tractor is an MF300 series, which I know weren't that last word in electrical reliability even though they were only one step up electrically from the 100 series. At least they had an alternator factory fitted.

7810 is where I'd draw the line. Digi dash on mine behaves oddly, but not yet got to the stage of sending to David King. Leccy is involved in engaging Duel Power, and 4WD, but hasn't given too much trouble.
My next purchase is either going to be pre 1990, or brand new. Buy brand new, keep it undercover, wash carefully and not very often, service to the letter, keep it at least 30 years, and hope for the best.
I'll not be touching anything S/H produced 1992 - 2020.

 

[Y Fan Wen]

How old do we need to go before it gets to your ideal age and level of unsophistication?

Standard Fordson.

 

[bobajob]

How are electric spook valves hard to operate? They couldn’t be simpler. Just use your finger tips. Pull back, push forward. Right forward for float.

We’ve got manuals in our other tractor and it feels and works so awkwardly in comparison.

The thing is they should be more reliable than they are for what they cost.
You had a problem with your NH that hadn't done many hours and had been looked after. Why didn't NH do a recall on these tractors/ bearings.?! Seems to be a common fault.
There is other examples like this, rusty wheel rims, black paint flaking off a jcb etc etc.
These machines are more expensive than a house in the local town but farmers are supposed to just accept it...

 

[Cowabunga]

7810 is where I'd draw the line. Digi dash on mine behaves oddly, but not yet got to the stage of sending to David King. Leccy is involved in engaging Duel Power, and 4WD, but hasn't given too much trouble.
My next purchase is either going to be pre 1990, or brand new. Buy brand new, keep it undercover, wash carefully and not very often, service to the letter, keep it at least 30 years, and hope for the best.
I'll not be touching anything S/H produced 1992 - 2020.

All mine are of that age and the youngest is 2009, a tierIII MF5445.
None have had much trouble electronically. Hardly anything really. The biggest issue has arisen only in the last three weeks on the 1997 New Holland. A good while ago, maybe two years ago, the blister switch strip at the bottom of the instrument panel became detached. I glued it back on and it was as good as new. However in the last few weeks it has stopped functioning completely. It doesn't stop the tractor working perfectly well but it doesn't allow me to manually switch between gauges on the left of the dash and, far more importantly, to see the hour meter. So it looks likely that I'll need to order a new blister switch, which will take me less than ten minutes to replace. No idea of the cost but it is unlikely to be anywhere near the £350 spent on new Softdrive gas accumulators for its loader, or the £100 for a complete seal kit for the boom lift ram. It will take a damn site longer to replace the ram seal as well and I might need to get someone to heat it up to remove the end cap.

There really isn't anything to be frightened of. The most potentially dodgy things on newer tractors are the emissions control devices on some models. Not common-rail fuel systems, which are generally great, but the soot filters, variable vane turbochargers, EGR valves and coolers and Adblue application systems. If you choose a recent or new tractor, these things just cannot be avoided even on the most basic specification.

 

[ColinV6]

The thing is they should be more reliable than they are for what they cost.
You had a problem with your NH that hadn't done many hours and had been looked after. Why didn't NH do a recall on these tractors/ bearings.?! Seems to be a common fault.
There is other examples like this, rusty wheel rims, black paint flaking off a jcb etc etc.
These machines are more expensive than a house in the local town but farmers are supposed to just accept it...

I heard the horror stories and was wary of them, but it’s like anything once youve had them you just want them forever after. Touch wood no issues so far, always keep a cloth on the cab floor and wipe clean every pipe end before sticking them in.

Fully agree on the paintwork and wheels thing though, the blue bits are fine, the chassis and hitch areas leave a lot to be desired, and the wheels are rusting already on our 6 month old T5

 

[bobajob]

I wasn't just meaning your tractor re the paintwork, just a general comment. Got a five year old case here and some black bits on it are not good and it's never been out on salted roads etc.
We had a jcb digger and the paint was terrible .

 

[ollie989898]

The scary thing is that the UK has nothing like the weather some countries do, it does make you wonder how JCB machines etc would fare in much hotter/colder environments. The Fastracs I have driven, for example, their air con systems couldn't cope with a hot day in the UK, they must be near as useless in places like the USA.