The economics of combine driver taking control of grain trailer tractor!!!?

[Pilatus]

I expect some other TFF members read the article in last week’s FW , about the two JD x9 on the Buckminstet estate.
It mentions that the combine driver can take control of the grain trailer tractor from the combine seat. Great stuff but how much would that facility cost , and how on earth could one justify the cost. .

 

[Adeptandy]

It would be really handy for those of us cutting on our own

 

[Clive]

i asked on twitter where the ROI was in reply to a tweet by Andrew Ward recently

the silence was deafening !


i’m a big fan of tech and got to admit it’s blooming clever , but it does seem like tech for techs sake ?

 

[DieselRob]

Not quite the same but trailer drivers here are just told to point it forward and keep the line, start at the front and I slow the combine to load the trailers as required. Much less stressful

 

[Clive]

Not quite the same but trailer drivers here are just told to point it forward and keep the line, start at the front and I slow the combine to load the trailers as required. Much less stressful

if a cart tractor has auto steer and a vario transmission it’s not exactly hard for a cart driver these days

 

[DieselRob]

if a cart tractor has auto steer and a vario transmission it’s not exactly hard for a cart driver these days

Cart drivers are casual help that aren’t trained on the gps, they’re happy holding the old fashion steering wheel. I’ve not done a days carting this year but I’d probably use autosteer now

 

[Clive]

Cart drivers are casual help that aren’t trained on the gps, they’re happy holding the old fashion steering wheel. I’ve not done a days carting this year but I’d probably use autosteer now

easier to engage autosterer than use the wheel if casual / inexperienced I reckon

 

[Pilatus]

As the chaser bin driver has a job to see what’s going on , I say if you travel at “x”kph I will fill and it work’s really well.

 

[benny6910]

Does this mean the combine driver gets double wages or the trailer jockeys get half wages for only doing half a job?

 

[DieselRob]

Does this mean the combine driver gets double wages or the trailer jockeys get half wages for only doing half a job?

No because the alternative is stand and tip on the headland and that really is a show

 

[WOODCHIP]

Where are the days when people could just get on and do the job with skill with out technology, are the standards of staff deteriorating that much now days if so it’s worrying that we need technology to do a basic job of grain carting etc. what happens when the technology breaks no one will have the skill to keep going the job will stop?

 

[KB6930]

It would be really handy for those of us cutting on our own

You might need to put a heavy toolbox on the seat to get it to move first

 

[KB6930]

Someone local to us has this ability all the trailer drivers have to do is get close enough to the combine and then the combine steering wheel attendant takes over I dunno how much they use it but I know they've tried it out .

It's a win win as far as I can see . The combine pilot can only get annoyed with himself for the trailer not being in the right place or spilling grain

 

[Adeptandy]

You might need to put a heavy toolbox on the seat to get it to move first

Can you not link wires to bypass the seat sensor

 

[adam_farming]

As usual with these systems, the UK is not the centre of the universe and the feature has a much bigger application in the US or similar where the grain cart (chaser) would be 30-40t and impossible for the cart driver to see to load themselves. In my experience (I drove both combine and cart at different times), the cart driver draws alongside and sets themselves at a constant speed and holds a parallel heading then the combine alters their speed to fill the cart. In practice not much adjustment is needed until the 4th/5th unloading to top it off nicely (extra points for a dead level finish on the top achieved while still combining) We had cameras but depth and perspective is difficult to judge on a small screen.

My particular combine had the buttons ready on the joystick but (as usual with JD) needed the feature unlocking, not sure how many $$$. This was back in 2018 and it was a year old combine so it's been around for a while.

 

[Clive]

As usual with these systems, the UK is not the centre of the universe and the feature has a much bigger application in the US or similar where the grain cart (chaser) would be 30-40t and impossible for the cart driver to see to load themselves. In my experience (I drove both combine and cart at different times), the cart driver draws alongside and sets themselves at a constant speed and holds a parallel heading then the combine alters their speed to fill the cart. In practice not much adjustment is needed until the 4th/5th unloading to top it off nicely (extra points for a dead level finish on the top achieved while still combining) We had cameras but depth and perspective is difficult to judge on a small screen.

My particular combine had the buttons ready on the joystick but (as usual with JD) needed the feature unlocking, not sure how many $$$. This was back in 2018 and it was a year old combine so it's been around for a while.

agree - BUT all uk farmers who number their combines WILL have to tick that option box to remain “progressive”

 

[adam_farming]

agree - BUT all uk farmers who number their combes WILL have to tick that option box to remain “progressive”

I've only got one combine but I'm tempted to number it. The trick is picking a number above 1 so people assume there are others.......

 

[Clive]

I've only got one combine but I'm tempted to number it. The trick is picking a number above 1 so people assume there are others.......

#7 i reckon

 

[adam_farming]

As usual with these systems, the UK is not the centre of the universe and the feature has a much bigger application in the US or similar where the grain cart (chaser) would be 30-40t and impossible for the cart driver to see to load themselves. In my experience (I drove both combine and cart at different times), the cart driver draws alongside and sets themselves at a constant speed and holds a parallel heading then the combine alters their speed to fill the cart. In practice not much adjustment is needed until the 4th/5th unloading to top it off nicely (extra points for a dead level finish on the top achieved while still combining) We had cameras but depth and perspective is difficult to judge on a small screen.

My particular combine had the buttons ready on the joystick but (as usual with JD) needed the feature unlocking, not sure how many $$$. This was back in 2018 and it was a year old combine so it's been around for a while.

Not my finest effort of the season but a good average. Shows the cart driver's perspective (or lack of) well

 

[adam_farming]

#7 i reckon

Mine in the US was #5, I'm tempted to "number" mine after that one!