Combines ave annual maintenance costs

cutter2388, Tell me about your draper head. How big is itIJ Do you cut soybeans with itIJ If you do cut beans with it, does it improve groundspeed and reduce shatter as much as what people sayIJ What model are you running it onIJ I've heard that Mac Don, who makes them for Case IH, and Honeybee, who makes the drapers for NH, have developed drapers with flexible cutterbars for the soybeaners. Have you seen or run or own one of these new drapers. I think once the flexible cutterbar draper is mastered, regular flex-head platforms will fade fast. Happy Holidays, TR

TR, I am running 1042 30' drapers or macdon whatever you want to call them. As far as harvesting soys with them I havent. This year my flex heads were already in Nebraska. I wanted to try out the drapers just so I would know for myself how they will work, I am like you I have heard alot of guys say they work great but first hand experience none yet. As far as the draper goes what a hudge difference your machine feeds the crop head first a nice even feed and no more auger noise. The maintenace is a lil greater but mostly just adjustmants. I need to widen my outer drapers a notch or 2 and I believe I will pick up more ground speed if I can get a bigger volume of feed through it. All of my milo droughted out this year so I didnt have the chance to harvest milo with them but from what I have heard they are the cats meow for milo also. If the milo would have made I would of cut soys with them also but didnt feel like draggin them clear down jsut for a test. One thing I have goin on the soybeans is they are all on relly flat ground and they are drilled so I belive I would be ok. How they will work in row cropped beans or hilly terain is questionable. I will say in wheat with the drapers there is no need for tilting feeder house they have some serious lateral tilt in the adapter. The terraces are a breeze to cut out now as long as they are not to steep. Another plus is that lil dead space in front of the center draper acts like a rock trap it actually works pretty good. Where I got the 1042s instead of the 1052s my head are offset at first it drove me nuts looking at the machines from behind but now I am used to it and it does make unloading on the go a breeze. Another thing if you know of any TR owners looking for some low houred TR70 and a TR85 let me know I would like to get 20k for both combines. The 70 has a dummy head with a belt pickup and the 85 has a dummy head and a 22' platform. Both combines have only cut barley....I would even consider throwin in an a-frame trailer for each machine..