Combines Ok let s get some things straight here

So then according to your wisdom,every custom "silage" cutter in N.America is waiting for disaster to strike because there are no, repeat no, self propelled choppers manufactured in N.AmericaIJ!!!!! I.E. J.DEERE+ClAAS Germany and NH FX_ CASE built in Belguim.

With your example Big Truck, it is unfortunate that those custom operators will never know how much better life could be with units produced in N.A. My point still holds true. Not to mention odds are you will be taken care of (parts and service, dealer network) better by Case or Deere than by Cat, Challenger, whatever they are called this week.

i do believe that the world does not stop at the border of the US. Are the american makers of farm machinery the only ones that can build a machineIJ

Still doesn't validate anything Dakota says or does.

You stupid man, The JD chopper, Claas Chopper and NH chopper are all built overseas and supported totally via North American distribution.

I stand by my previous statements. The combine experience with overseas built equipment has not been a positive one! This can be especially true for custom cutters who usually place greater demands on their equipment's support team. Oh, and Coors light, your choice of words shows everyone that you are definately not the brightest bulb on this site. lOl

You can't avoid first year production machines and still have new combines every year. That's a catch 22. Second - for over 10 years we ran used combines with little problems and with a lot more hours than this set of STS's we had. The STS performed well but had reliability issues. Unfortunately JD caters only to operators who purchase new equipment. But what are they going to do with all the used machinery they leave behindIJ A flooded second hand market is good for the used buyer but expensive for the every year trader. Foreign made = disaster IJ At the time of purchase this foreign made product was backed by the most dependable name in the US machinery industry. Why did CAT dump the lexionsIJ Did Claas and their combine not perform to CATs expectationsIJ (Claas marketed the Challenger in Europe)

Of course you could have avoided those first year models! Had you have purchased new units that year they would have been 1 year newer. You could have continued with 9610's and waited another year. Also (my guess is) judging by the number of hours those STS had on them when you bought them they must have been a custom operators used units. If that is true, you should have known better. Customers that buy new expect and deserve the best service from their dealer. I know I do. The U.S. heavy equipment industry and the U.S. agriculture equipment industry are two very separate and different entities. Get over it.

i agree partly! the ag buisness and heavy buisness are to very different entities indeed, however to think a combine can't be as reliable as a dozer is wrong in my opinion. But these are two very different machines the dozer has very few moving parts compared to the combine so it has less chance for things to go wrong. but i do think cats ideas for the combines might have been alittle lofty! lol lol