Which tractor is the most driver friendly for a 14hr + day?

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
JCB Fastrac. The latest models with CVT, autosteer, headland management and so on.

Of course it depends on the intended use and I wouldn't use one to scape slurry in cow cubicle sheds at all, let alone for 14 hour days.
Biggest problem might be falling asleep due to the pillow-like ride, comfort, silence, and automation. It's not the most driver-friendly for a casual driver to use for the first time having been used to an old Ford 6610 either. Probably frighten the life out of him/her.
 

Farmer Roy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
NSW, Newstralya
Well, without being brand specific, there are certain requirements for doing big hours on an arable tractor or harvester while keeping the operator relatively fresh & alert & ready to jump back on day after day

First is auto steer - it makes a huge difference to operator fatigue over long hours, allows driver to stay fresh & concentrate on other things than staying on line ( especially at night ) Auto steer is also brilliant on a chaser bin tractor when loading on the move at harvest 👍

Suspension / a good seat

A quiet cab

GOOD air conditioning & preferably tinted windows to minimise glare & eye strain & reduce the heat coming through the glass, especially in late afternoon / early morning when the sun is low in the sky. That’s where the old green Steigers were great, their roof was quite a bit wider than the cab, so you were sitting in the shade for most of the day. It doesn’t matter how good your air con is, if you are sitting behind glass with the sun shining on you on a 40 C day - it is still hot . . . Even on a cold winters day, our afternoon sun coming through the glass can turn the cab into an oven, like today
image.jpg

749AF25B-EEA5-4520-B0F0-2780A7744C82.jpeg


A roomy cab, to hold a large tucker box of food, a couple of thermos flasks & a 5 litre water bottle, & also to have a bit of room to stretch out or change driving position through the day

Good lights, with a broad spread around the tractor & implement & with enough distance in front to see far enough ahead. Preferably HID or LED with a bright “white” colour, to minimise shadows, fatigue & eye strain
 
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The only experience I have of long tractor hours in one day was back in the summers of 1974 and 75 when I started cutting hay at 4.30 or thereabouts and I kept going till I finished .. we didn't have big acreage but cutting one way with dexta and Bamford 3R cutter bar was slow going
Then quick dinner and go and turn with acrobat or row up and bale and lug in ..
When I turned with acrobat I traveled fairly slow as it did much better job and I remember a neighbour with big
farm saying I must be the only 16 year old who drives slow
I don't think this is the reply MX7 is
Looking for
 

Farmer Roy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
NSW, Newstralya
JD’s used to have shitty little cabs you could hardly fit a water bottle in, let alone a decent sized lunch box ( eg - 4020, 4440, 4850, 4955 ), although they were always relatively comfortable.
The 8000 series in the mid / late 90’s ( as in the 8400 & since ) changed all that, with a lot more room & floor space

then ILS front end 👍

dunno about the smaller models, haven’t had anything to do with them
 
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KB6930

Member
Location
Borders
this for me is where big JDs win hands down, jd green star simple to operate, big comfy seat, and a calming coloured can.
7020/30 JD for me we've got 1 of each and they're the most comfortable for a long day .

Just a a fastrac 4220 for a couple of days and that won't be beaten for suspension I was spreading fert in fields that 8/10k is fast enough in my R series JD. The JCB 16/18k wasn't a problem. But the JD still wins for driveability
 

Boysground

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Wiltshire
My 6250r has the most rubbish cup holder, yet another mug of budgens coffee fell out of it last week. Fortunately I don’t drive it much but little things like that really annoy me. The fancy integrated radio not being DAB is another.

The answer to @MX7 question is really whatever the driver wants to drive.

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Farmer Roy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
NSW, Newstralya
When I was 9 I would happily have spent 24 hours a day on our Ford 4000 although it did have the deluxe cab. Today I am on a tractor ridging potatoes I love tractors and have a lot of them but the thought of 14 hours a day on any tractor would make me think of a career change.

thankfully it’s only seasonal here & now that I’ve given up contracting & only doing my own work, it’s only for a few days at a time

but - I have 30 + years of months straight of 14 + hour days behind a wheel

I don’t miss it . . .
 

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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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