SP forager driving tips

[DanL99]

The college I attend, the students do all the grass and maize silage. We run our own claas jaguar 850(old model) and all our own tractors and trailers. Everyone in the group gets a fair go on the forager but the person who tends to be the most skilled on it stays on it the most as at the end of the day weather is still an issue etc so they need to push on. I want to make the most on the forager as I wont get another opportunity for years and don't want to be stuck on trailers as there is plenty of time as I'm young and if I went to work for a farmer/contractor after college I won't get near a forager but will be on trailers. None of us in the group has ever driven a forager. Any little tips that could possibly set me apart from the rest of the group? Advice and tips welcome and I'm fully aware I won't be amazing on it as I would imagine it takes a few years to get very good on one, but just want to be that bit better than everyone else as would like to get a fair few hours on it and make the most of the amazing opportunity. It's a claas jaguar 850 and will be using it in grass. Any tips, advice, tricks welcome.

 

[mushnt grummmble]

Fill the trailers on the left side then the right so no one can tell you your doing it wrong
And Push the stick on as hard as she will take it

 

[ProDrive]

Get good on the rake and stick with it, most important job in the whole operation. With a muppet on the rake the job goes down hill fast.
Chopper driver isn't the be all and end all....

 

[phil]

Get good on the rake and stick with it, most important job in the whole operation. With a muppet on the rake the job goes down hill fast.
Chopper driver isn't the be all and end all....

I would take raking job anyday

Like any machine be steady, drive in straight line on swath and stay calm. Set the pace and don't lose time

 

[Will 1594]

Make sure the rake man does all the tails on the row ends the wrong way round first time round that's after the Tedder man has made it all lumpy then rake man does same And if rake man has brains he will row some of the short work about 10 into 1 and make it a huge rope that will stop you then trailer man is either 20 yards away or rubbing paint of header or runs over pick up wheel and forgets the loud pedal when going round corners or on end Or rake man rows swath over top of the only drain inspection cover and your looking at trailer when you hit it And always cut back to tick over when reversing feed rollers when a metal detection because when feed rollers flick the rake tine or drawbar pin over top and smashed knives come through cylinder lid Bendall sharpening rails and stick a knife in bottom of cab you don't forget Drive it at 90% load and don't block it You get far more done with been sat on seat and keep moving forward. Like any machine service and maintaince and repairing it is the hardest. Driving the easy bit. Get involved with its servicing. So you know how it ticks Then you more than half way there. Like any machine they need a good mother

 

[DanL99]

Get good on the rake and stick with it, most important job in the whole operation. With a muppet on the rake the job goes down hill fast.
Chopper driver isn't the be all and end all....

I do enjoy on the rake and have done a fair bit of it, it's a very nice job

 

[DanL99]

Make sure the rake man does all the tails on the row ends the wrong way round first time round that's after the Tedder man has made it all lumpy then rake man does same And if rake man has brains he will row some of the short work about 10 into 1 and make it a huge rope that will stop you then trailer man is either 20 yards away or rubbing paint of header or runs over pick up wheel and forgets the loud pedal when going round corners or on end Or rake man rows swath over top of the only drain inspection cover and your looking at trailer when you hit it And always cut back to tick over when reversing feed rollers when a metal detection because when feed rollers flick the rake tine or drawbar pin over top and smashed knives come through cylinder lid Bendall sharpening rails and stick a knife in bottom of cab you don't forget Drive it at 90% load and don't block it You get far more done with been sat on seat and keep moving forward. Like any machine service and maintaince and repairing it is the hardest. Driving the easy bit. Get involved with its servicing. So you know how it ticks Then you more than half way there. Like any machine they need a good mother

Thank you for the advice, before we start on 1st cut we service it fully and look at it in great detail so that should help.

 

[ProDrive]

I do enjoy on the rake and have done a fair bit of it, it's a very nice job

Oh, and leave your phone alone, unless it's the chopper ringing to tell you what a fantastic job your doing.
While your driving between fields of course.

 

[Rob Holmes]

If anything goes wrong blame mower/Tedder/rake/trailer man!

Seriously, I used to enjoy raking, steady job, no pressure as long as you were well ahead of forager, knock off first.

 

[yellowfrog]

don't as some have suggested push it as hard as it can take it as you will soon come to a shuddering halt!!! if you suddenly hit a lump you have no reserves and it cant take it (remember hare and tortoise) many a time ive been with flash harrys who think going as fast a can go is the be all and end all of driving forager . at the end of the day its what you get in the pit that counts not look at me going flat out "oh sorry ive just stuffed the whole machine up". its all about being sensible and listening and feeling what the machine is telling you and that only comes with exsperiance.

 

[deutz.agrostar]

If anything goes wrong blame mower/Tedder/rake/trailer man!

Seriously, I used to enjoy raking, steady job, no pressure as long as you were well ahead of forager, knock off first.

I love mowing myself but you're always out in front of the "team" often on farm alone.
Raking I'm the same as you.
Trailers, too much racing around/ too much roadwork
Forager - You're in control, calm and steady wins the race and keeps the repair bills down.

 

[Rob Holmes]

I love mowing myself but you're always out in front of the "team" often on farm alone.
Raking I'm the same as you.
Trailers, too much racing around/ too much roadwork
Forager - You're in control, calm and steady wins the race and keeps the repair bills down.

I enjoyed mowing too but always seemed to be rushing round and out of the action, raking you normally can watch the action without being part of it

 

[Sandy]

Push the stick hard against the window always worked for me not sure about the trailers though

 

[Cowabunga]

Basic stuff….

Get everything up to full speed before getting grass in it and make sure its all cleared up the spout before you even think about lowering revs or disengaging cylinder drive.

It steers at the back, which will be most peculiar at first and you will probably oversteer badly. Keep the steering steady.

Keep away from ditches and electricity posts.

Watch for trailers that are too close to you as you turn, just in case your machine's arse kisses your neighbours arse.

Don't ingest mud unless you want to spend the next couple of hours unblocking it.

 

[Mouser]

The driving is the easy bit, there is a wee graphic display of triangles rising and falling. Aim for left of middle so there's a bit of reserve for a lump and ease into end of swards go easy round ends so don't lift turf and trailer doesn't have to lift turf to keep up.
The main thing is judging when trailers are full/full enough for conditions, don't go past the gate 20ft just to fill it right up. Know where wet steep or generally awkward bits in fields are. (learn this at slurry time as everywhere can look fine in glorious sunshine)

 

[Kevtherev]

The man who rips and tears is usually stopped while the steadier man keeps chopping

 

[tanker]

Be aware of tractors with a full load struggling to keep alongside up slopes and if a field has awkward,steep or damp parts don't finish loads of there..Done plenty of trailer work and a bit of vision on the s.p makes the job a lot smoother(though I'm sure some of you wouldn't believe some of the fields people make silage on down here..)

 

[farmer pickles]

Basic stuff….

Get everything up to full speed before getting grass in it and make sure its all cleared up the spout before you even think about lowering revs or disengaging cylinder drive.

It steers at the back, which will be most peculiar at first and you will probably oversteer badly. Keep the steering steady.

Keep away from ditches and electricity posts.

Watch for trailers that are too close to you as you turn, just in case your machine's arse kisses your neighbours arse.

Don't ingest mud unless you want to spend the next couple of hours unblocking it.

Good advice above.
The easiest way of driving a harvester is filling the loads yourself if the trailer driver's are all over the place it makes it harder for you to put a good load on the trailer. The spout moves for that reason.
Don't shove the stick forward until you get the feel for the machine and keep an eye on the rev counter as when the revs lower its a sign your heading for a choke.
Don't waste time on the headlands running idle make progress all the time.

 

[deere2140]

Get a wagon

 

[DanL99]

Thanks everyone for the advice/tips. Is it best to keep the spout always on the same side? When I was on trailers at maize the forager driver striked out then the spout was always on the left side is this the best thing thing to do with grass? Also where I worked last summer when I was on the rake I was told when I get to the corner of the field to just turn sharp and keep it as one row so the baler man didn't have to reverse if you know what I mean, is this the same when raking for a forager?