Combines TR98 TR99

Rotorhead, you say don't start a color war, shoot we have a color war on just yellow on this page(sorry JD I am just having fun). We demoed a 9600 in wheat a few years back a I did not think it could keep up to my TR-96 as at the end of the day when the wheat straw got damp I parked the 9600 and finished with the New Holland. The New Holland combines will chop and spread straw better for planting d'crop soybeans than a John Deere. If you want to bale straw just combine the straw wet and you will have no trouble baleing it. NHDon can tell you more about a TR-99 as I have a TR-98 but I think the improvements was a bigger clean grain elevator and bubble up auger, 270hp vs 280hp, electric concave adjustment, in the cab the indicators are moved overhead and the side shielding opened on gas struts. As for price somewhere around 100k for a low houred 99 and 80k for a 98 with 1000 hours. Anything more just ask. Ilnewholland

You have things stated about right. Of all the TR's I've owned(10 or 11) and used my favorite is the 21_2 year old TR-99 I have now with 1646 hrs on it. The 280 hp. is great in fact a few times we have snapped belts instead of pulling the engine down. We have had lots of wear on thingslike grin tank bottom, elevatorboots, auger flighting, and bubble up auger and tube. NH has warranteed and updated most of these, but with my high hours it has cost me about $6000. Thats my beef with NH right now. The latest production models have different steel and likely less wear. The Genesis engine is wonderful and more efficient and uses considerably less fuel that the older engines. The graintank unloading on a 99 has a 19 tooth sprocket on the unloading drive vs. a 16 on older models.The feederhouse drive belt is bouble v for more grip. They put a factory installed grease zerk on the inside bearing of the variable feederhouse drive this has eliminated the problem of the inside bearing wearing out. In fact on prior models they requred the dealer to install a fixed driveon the feederhouse for that reason. The chopper belt on a 99 has a 3 groove belt tof course the clean grain elevator is 3_4 inch wider too. It will take about 2500 bu_hr vs. 2200 for the prior models. My theory is that with a 99 and the newer 8 row corn head you can easily get maximum capacity with out a clumsy 12 row.Shaff machinery at Urbana, Il. has one TR-99with maybe 350 hrs and I think another with maybe 200 hrs.I think that harvesting no-till soybeans has created excess wear with lots of old corn stalks gong thru.

NHDon, I take it you havent shelled with a 12 row,or you wouldnt make that statement. I guess you wouldnt like a clumsy 30 ft head for cutting beansIJIJIJIJIJIJNot trying to start anything but you can always pick out the guys that dont shell with a 12 row corn head. I'm sure your 99 has the capacity to handle one. You would like it. Illinois Gleaner

Are you running a R-72 with the 12 row "Hugger"IJ If so, how much more weight is a 12 versus an 8 in the "Hugger" seriesIJ And I take it your using a 30ft "Gleaner" platform, is it the newest modelIJ As I looked at one at the Farm Show in louisville last year, it was a real nice looking outfit. How do you like these header's your running nowIJ The biggest NH turn off here has been their 973 30ft platform, they just don't feed well. Now I'm speaking of the one's which would be 4-7 years old now as there isn't a new style one around. My closest NH TR neighbor let his last one go back in on lease re-turn and they leased a Cat 485. They have a 30ft "rigid" platform on itIJ All the Cat user's here are using this "rigid" platform and are well pleased with. last year while the above neighbors had both of the machines running, the Cat could run along with no problems in some grassy beans , while the TR with the 973 could only poke and stop as the grass and beans would only feed in wads. I have this problem with just damp beans feeding in wads with mine, it does make you mad to have to run the reel down causing more loss because the header won't feed properly. Mine won't feed at 3ft off of each end, I've put extra floor springs under those areas which helped to some extent but, far from solving the problem. If I go with a Massey next time I've been told to go with the Gleaner headers, just wondering what your thoughts are on themIJ Thanks, JD BTW, the neighbor above with the Cat, if your wondering how they like it compared to a TRIJIJIJ well they had to hire someone to finish their corn this year for them, I think they stayed broke down and waiting for parts 15+ days, no joke! I couldn't help them as their on 30inch rows and I'm on 24's so they had to wait for a neighbor with a CIH to finish.

Ilinois Gleaner, I'm sorry I hinted that a 12 row head didn't have a place. There are lots of places they fit. Our farm is not one of them yet.I'm referring to the fact that you don't need a 12 row head to get the max output from a TR-99. With an 8 row you can get 2500 b_h in good corn and that's the elevator max. So why invest an additional $20,000 to do the same thing you can do with an 8 row. A 12 row is clumsy when it comes to moving from field to field and loading and unloading on a head trailer. Many farms in our area have gone to 16 row _31 Kinze planters and that doesn't fit a 12 row head. 30' platforms are common now days. I had my first one in '92 before NH even made one.I bought a JD 930 in SE Kansas and adapted it to my TR-96. When I brought it back to Il. for soybeans people thought I was nuts, especially JD dealers. It worked perfectly thanks to the terrain tracer. The biggest draw back was the single wobble box.

Hello JD, We have had two 973 heads, one a 1994 and my current one a 2000. I do not know how they done it but the new one feeds much better than the old one. The auger floats on the new one so it will not slug the header as much. Also be sure to have the 3" sickle sections because that 1.5" sections will not work in notill. I also did the hose thing form the Gleaner people this year and that made the head feed good in the short beans I had this year. You have to have the real down as close as you can get it to the knife without cutting tines off. I found best way to set that is to slip some 3_8" hose on some tines around real about 3" longer than the tine and go cut a few rounds and keep sitting real down till it cuts hose off just below tines as that worked good for me without cutting the real tines off. One side of my head quit feeding good last week and I see that I have the spring that helps hold the wobble box up is missing. I don't know if it broke or fell off. Ilnewholland

I found on the John Deere web site that you can compare John Deere's combines to any other make. It gives you the basic stuff on all combines. It says a TR-99 weight is 19,816 lbs. I would think it is more like 24,000 lbs, but I have never weighed mine. John Deere did a good thing(never thought I say that) to have this to be able to compare all combines.

Ilnh, your new one has a stainless floor doesn't itIJ That would help to some extent I'm sure. My 973 came with a Johnson's Guard on it, well we don't have rocks but we do have roots and I thought this would help keep some of them out. Well it did but it also kept beans and wheat out. I took it off after one season. I've thought about putting some form of flexible plastic pipe on mine. like air seeder hoseIJ Just haven't taken the time this year cause most of my beans have good growth. I lack about 200 acres still on beans, we can't go 2 days without rain it seems. Since the first week of Oct. we've had over 10inches, rain tonight, tommorrow, next Sunday and Monday is forecasted. Hardly any wheat planted in my area yet and the end of Oct is optimum planting timeframe. I planted 10 acres the first week of Oct just to make sure the air seeder was set up and no plugged lines. It looks good but odd as there is no other wheat aroundIJIJIJ Most guys haven't even started with beans as they plant later beans than I, I like 3 and 4's with some 2's. Most here are still all 5's. My group 2's this year have been my best yet both full season and double-cropped and I got them out before all the rain started. I hate setting like this when I should be all done and moving grain, been moving grain though but it sucks as I my tank yards are all tore up now and you need a tractor to pull the truck when loaded out to the road!!! Crap! Better luck next year I hope, JD

Why wont an 1.5" knife work in notillIJ we"ve run them for years and wouldnt take a 3" knife if given one. after 2000 acres we have broke one section on a rock and we ran 5.5 to 6.5mph. as far as short beans check out HCC's Paddles to replace reel fingers, excellent feeding with Johnson stone guard and didnt cutoff one in knife, that was the best thing any one with feeding problems could do.

Hey Boone, Are they the fingers that one of them take the place of 3 OEM'sIJ I saw that one advertised once and have never seen them again, they kinda look like a goose foot when picked up. Have you got a web site for themIJ Thanks, JD