Combines R42 vs R52

Welcome to Gleanerland where the men are men and the Deere are scared! The main differences between the 42's and 52's are engine hp (185 vs 230),grain bin size (170 vs 225),and standard final drives. The 42 has lighter duty final drives but the ones used on the 52's are optional. Other than that, they are the same. I'd say on your acreage, the 42 would do the trick but -I- believe the resale on the 52 would be better. You didn't mention if you were looking at new or used so the specs I list are for '96 models and up. Earlier models had a few less hp. Also didn't mention what size heads you were contemplating - but the 52 is overkill with 4 row heads, even sometimes with six row. You might want to opt foe the straw chopper rather than discharge impeller for beans. Electric ladder lift is a nice back saver. Also - REQUIRE NO "reverse" cylinder bars on your rotor - this is most important. DEMAND this despite what your dealer might try and talk you in to - everyone here will back me up on this. Check out the tips section to the left for more info on extending helicals in rotor cage, extended cylinder bars into discharge area, etc. They will make worlds of difference for small investment. Gleaners are the best of the bunch right out of the box but the folks here really know how to make them sing! Oh yes, the 42 weighs in at 20,718 and the 52 at 20,840. We get along ok without rwa and we have the standard size drive tires. If you have occasional soft spots, you may wish to opt for larger tires for better floatation or rwa with a lot of mud. These Gleaners are quite heavy on the rear end we have found. Our old conventionals would always start to sink on the drive tires first but our rotaries will drop in on the rear axle first. Keep that in mind. Good luck!

very good! might also add cage is chromed on the 52's and non chrome on the 42's

Thank you! I thought of the chrome thing but for some reason I thought the cage is now chromed on the 42's. I knew they weren't on the 40's. Anyhow, New2Gleaner, the chromed cages will last longer than the black steel (soybeans=dirt,etc) and I think they are "smoother" too - may allow better crop flow. Take care-

If you need some, we have em (Just couldn't pass that up)

We have found that the rear spindles of the Gleaners are weak. We have had gleaner a long time and have broke a spindle on alot of them. But we love gleaners. We have a R-52 right now and they work good. We run about 1500 acres with a 20 foot grain head and 6 row corn head.

G'Day New2Gleaner

Rolf - what do you meanIJ Use five different size "spanners" on the COMBINE or the DEAlERIJ! I tried three sizes on my dealer with very little results, he just got mad. Perhaps two more would have done the trick! Tom l.

The only real differences are horsepower and grain tank size. Threshing area is basically the same. I remember when we went from l3's to the R60. We were very apprehensive. While the R60 wasn't the best machine it was larger than the l3. Certainly with the introduction of the 2 series rotors(42, 52, 62, 72) reliablility and capacity are much better. Depending on what your going to use it for you probably can't go wrong. I would look at the 52 due to it probably being more re-saleable down the road.

Go with the R52, you won't be disappointed. If anything, the resale alone will make it worth it. It's just a matter of time before the class IV is eliminated in my opinion. Good luck! Tom langan

Thanks for your input! Resale isn't a big factor, since I'll probably have this combine for 15 to 20 years. I average 200 hours annually, with about 140 to 150 seperator hours. My 6620 Deere was purchased new 16 seasons ago and has 2940 hours on the engine. I guess my question, Tom, is whether the 30.5 tires, bin extensions, and chrome cage is worth the extra $7,000 U.S. dollars. I've heard (or read) where the chrome cage makes the mog sweep across the grate easier, thereby resulting in better quality, balable straw, which is very important to me, since I'm a dairy farmer and currently bale stover, barley straw and (sometimes) soybean residue. Aside from this issue, I'm sold on the simplicity and operator convenience of the Gleaner rotary combine. Why would anyone buy any other machineIJ