Combines Should I trade a 2388 for an R 72IJ

Resale valueIJ Green has gone down the toilet this fall since the intro of the re-invented rotary. Deere dealers halting auctions halfway through to limit their losses on combines. Deere dealers going bankrupt from the drop in resale of combines on their lots. Anyone gloating about Deere resale hasn't had his eyes open this year! ReliabilityIJ Holes worn in the grain tank at 800 hoursIJ Four holes at 1300 hoursIJ Constant straw walker bearing troublesIJ Plugging in tough soybeans between discharge beater and straw chopper in the STSIJ Read it all at the Deere Talk Show and Machinery Talk. The good ol' "00" and "20" series Deere combines would run forever, I'll admit. But ask any 9000 series owner if his machine will ever see 4000 hours without major parts investments and he'll say no way if he's honest or not in denile. Silverturnedgreen - you claim to wish Gleaner would come out with something new - what do you consider your C62IJ Show me any other conventional with a cleaning system like your C62IJ What has Deere doneIJ A rotaryIJ 25 years too late. Their conventionals are nothing new since the beggining of mechanized harvesting. CIH has been in a rut too - nothing significant from them since the original Axial Flow. The Gleaner P3 processor was a totally new design in '89. The C62 was a totally new designed conventional in '96. Who else offers a choice of unloader stylesIJ Fieldstar yield monitor is cutting edge technology - most accurate on the market. C'mon, get real! And luke - as for the Gleaners grinding corn, if you had a dealer setting it, that was most likely the problem with that combine. No offense, Tom, Dan, tbran, and lbran, you fellers are great, but it has been our experience that the dealers don't know how to set these machines, at least around here. That is one area that I agree AGCO needs to work on. I simply feel that the advantages that Gleaner offeres over and above the competition outweigh the lack of dealer support. I can spend a lOT of time on the net asking advice of the knowledgeable folks here or driving the 90 miles to a good AGCO Gleaner dealer for the grain I save and the much lower investment compared to brand "JD". My $.02

Good points, Mr. langan, but a little invalid. First, the C62 is a "regenerated" concept originally design by Gleaner back in the good ole Allis Chalmers days. The introduction of this machine was scrapped by Duetz, then reconsidered by AGCO. Second, you DO NOT have a choice of unloading augers on the C62, at least not here. Third, I do not consider the Fieldstar monitor (which was incidently "inherited" from Massey's Dronningborg facility, not developed by AGCO) to be at all cutting edge! Workable, yes, but nothing to submit to the archives! I don't mean to start a colour war, but from my vantage point, Deere has done little wrong in waiting to introduce an STS (a.k.a. rotary) late in the game. It seems they've overcome some of the operational and mechanical hinderances other rotaries have encountered; - time will tell. In reply to the "low" life span of a Deere, well, I guess I should thank my Guardian angel that I've been "blessed" with the only 9600 which ran 3800 hours with NO major component wear beyond normal expectations. I will try to "sugar-coat" this message by saying that, well, I still miss my l3!

I don't think I'd told that!

We're looking at going Global. Where do you live and I'll open a store there! Now that's service!

You are correct about the unloader on the C62. As for it's introduction - even if it was designed back in the early 80's (and it was),it wouldn't even be in your shed if it weren't for AGCO, same with the Fieldstar. It is my personal belief that Deere came out with a rotary at this point to counter the CAT combines - trying to keep up with the Jones' - which usually leads to running yourself into the dirt! You are also correct in saying that time will tell - but I'm not convinced they've overcome the flaws associated with longitudinal rotors - there's already been reports on the net this fall about shortcomings in tough conditions. What made you decide to go with a C62 over another Deere, out of curiousityIJ Take care-

there are a lot of windbags that think they know everything about harvesting in here. they relay on crap they heard at the coffee shop and then come blab it on here. 800 hours and has holes in the grain tankIJ from what, grain sliding on the floor, i doubt it; just more "coffee shop talk" the STS combines shine in tough conditions. i know i actually have 2 9650 sts's and 8 9650 coventionals. in edible beans the sts machines could run after the conventional machines shut down with slugged cylinders. we only had the sts 's this fall so time will tell how they do in all crops after we go through this years full harvest.the sts was designed in the early 90's before cat even thought about selling Clause combines painted yellow. i wish a guy could have conversations with people that aren't so one sided. all machines have there good points and there bad points

I agree with you luke, a good harvester can make any brand of combine perform

luke - I know exactly what you mean about the coffee shop "windbags" making things up and spreading rumors. I've been on the net long enough that I can usually tell the difference between a nasty case of verbal diarrea and somthing that is close to the truth. The 800 hour hole thing was posted by a well respected regular (a fan of Deere products also) on Machinery Talk who is not known to embelish things. Also, a few other Deere owners agreed that they had experienced holes in their grain tanks at around 1000 - 1300 hours. If the 800 hour claim would have been argued about or not backed up by other claims, I would not have propagated it. Period. As for being one sided, yup, I am. But I believe you came HERE badmouthing my beloved Gleaners. I, for one, will risk being called childish and immature to defend what I believe to be a superior product. Problem is, I can't convince AGCO to put me on their payroll for all my efforts! I have taken the liberty to provide a link below for you to badmouth Gleaners with others who might share your opinion. Watch out, I may show up there too! Perhaps I need to see a shrink - seems like I enjoy the challenge of being outnumbered 100:1 Take care-

You could be correct about Deere's ititiatives pertaining to the introduction of a rotary, although I doubt that CAT influenced their decision much, since CAT doesn't offer a totally rotary combine (conventional threshing, rotary separation). My decisions to purchase a C62 were many. First, for the capacity, Deere couldn't match the price and_or trade-in allowance for my N6; - the Deere dealer didn't want my trade-in, but the AGCO dealer did. Second, (and you mentioned this) the cleaning system on the Gleaner is one of its best features. Third, we possess (within 30 miles of our farm) two of the best AGCO dealers one could ever wish for. They provided excellent service on my N6; - even provided a loaner l2 for me when my N6 had a minor fire, so brand and dealer loyalty played a part in my purchasing decision. In corn, beans and grass-seed, the C62 will perform every bit as good as the Deere; - only in small grains does the Deere seem to hold the advantage! As far as the unloading auger, I prefer the turret-style anyway, so this was not as issue; - I only wish AGCO would mount it better to make it look as though it WASN'T an after-thought. My local AGCO dealer wants to bring-in an R62 next harvest season and hold "demo days" on our farm, if he can gain the interest and participation of competitive dealers; - should be good!!!

I agree with you about the mounting of the turret unloader - it looks like an afterthought - because it was. I think the reason it looks so poorly is it would've required a major design overhaul to mount it "streamlined", for lack of a better term. I tend to think the greater majority of Gleaner owners prefer the swing out style anyhow so AGCO didn't want to invest big $$ in a design overhaul for the optional turret. I also don't like the hyd. ram mounted ouside the side shields on the swing-out unloader on the 62_72. It never used to be that way pre-Series II. It also takes away from the appearance. Anyhow, I appreciate the honest answer. Tom l.