Combines Wear and Cost to maintain a 480R

[kp]

If you are experiencing tough conditions, the 480R is hard to beat. THis will be our 3rd year with both our 480R's, and we have been very satisfied with their performance in tough conditions. Dry conditions is another matter. You will have no problems in getting your 6000 acres off, considering the crops grown and the fact they are spread out in time frame. We farm 12,500 acres and are able to take off all our acres in decent time providing the weather is cooperating (unlike this year). As far as wear and tear, I can tell you that the labor portion of repairs will be more pricey (Cat labor),and the parts tend to be quite pricey as well. The good news is there is not much to expect for problems. Just make sure you keep on top of things and be proactive on maintanance or else you will be spending alot. In the 3 yrs of owning these machines we have spent approx 25,000 in maintance bills (about 900 seperator hours apiece) between the 2 machines, which includes our honeybee heads (we have had some problems with them). Good luck! Oh yea, make sure your dealer is good and knows ag - have heard too many horror stories from people who have bought from dealers with no service.

 

[batman]

We ran 2 460s for 4 seasons and still have one now, we are now running two 8010 case ih. We had reasonably good luck with the cats biggest problem was finning our dealer didnt have anyone that knew anything about combines. parts are a bit pricey and hard to get some need to come frome overseas our dealer didnt stock anything all parts came from the whearhouse in Edmonton Ab.We are in southern Ab. We rebuilt our concaves before last season did it ourselves seemed to work good. the suction blower on the rad screen wears out quick, on the third one now. had lots of straw walker problems I think it is finaly fixed. Good combine in tough conditions does a bit better than the 8010 in realy green tough conditions. but falls back in good conditions Make sure you have a good dealer and make him guarantee trade in value, resale has not been good here no other dealer will take on trade.

 

[2388now480rmaybe]

Thanks for the info guys, gives me a little more piece of mind.

 

[l]

Hi there... this is an interesting post on the cost of operating two large combines...here are a couple of questions i have for you...you wrote 25,000$ in 900 hrs_machine for two identical machines rightIJ If so... 1)how much of the $12,500 (approx. 50% of total cost per machine i assume)was in the first year (a lot or a little)IJ 2)Do you think more greasable bearings would lower the cost of maintenance (i heard back in 2000 that they were mostly sealed bearings. not sure if this has changed any)IJ 3) How many grease fittings are on these larger machines( should there be more or less on them)IJ 4) How much of the total amount paid was for the Cat laborIJ 5)Did you (were you able to do) some of_most of the repairs yourself or did you have to have the cat tech's fix your machinesIJ 6) Did you have to wait long for the parts that were not stocked "in country"IJ Just curious to know what your thoughts are...How are they on fuelIJ Thanks in Advance, lA. PS...Sorry so many questions but i don't get a chance much to read feedback of owner_operators who know just how much it costs them to really operate a combine (especially if it is going to be around long enough.)

 

[kp]

First year - virtually nothing for cost to operate. We did send them in to get a "winter fix", which cost maybe a thousand per machine. After warranty costs were what cost us the brunt - and out of that i would estimate 60% at least was the labor component. We had Cat Techs fix virtually everything the first year and a bit until we learned the ins and outs of how the machine worked, now we are able to do mostly ourselves which should save alot of money. THe parts are a little pricey. There are quite a few grease points for 50hr and 100hr, but i would rather spend 20 mins every morning greasing and visually inspecting rather than 5 hrs changing a bearing which is hard to get at. I would say there are just the right amount. Would prefer an auto greaser to be honest though - that way nothing gets missed, and if you put in a 20 hr day you can still get a shot of grease half way through. We have yet to wait for a part, if they don't stalk it (which they usually don't) they rob one off an existing machine. Either way it makes no difference to me. Fuel - found that for some reason this year they are excellent on fuel. At first they seemed to be using excessive amounts, but now that they have a few hrs on them they don't use near the fuel.

 

[l]

Hi KP, Thanks for that info...couple more questions here...how much longer do you anticipate keeping the machinesIJ Will there be a cutoff point with the hours or will you try and drive them into the ground before trading againIJ Can you get an auto luber on the new machinesIJ Were the techs you had from the dealer experienced or was it trial by fire the first go aroundsIJ What brand of machines did you deal off to get the new CatsIJ How many did you have thenIJ I guess you really like your dealer by the sounds of things. I hope things go well for your farm this fall. I enjoyed reading your reply. lA. PS. We own_operate a small new holland right now and like it so far. We only cut a select number of acres and don't need a huge machine but there is a 470 now cutting up here and i will keep track of how it does as a barometer.

 

[kp]

lA We like to trade our machines every 2-3 yrs to keep the hours down so they are more marketable, but with the lexion i have some concerns on market value, so we may keep them longer. All depends on what kind of deal can be made. To me it don't matter the color_make_model, it is all about dollars per acre. The lexion allowed us to go from 6000 cropped acres to 12500 without having to go to 3 machines. I like the fact that our days are longer as they can chug the tough conditions in the am and late pm, and that our down time is limited. But if red or green or yellow or whatever can come up with a financial package which will lower my costs, i can't argue. Economics 101. I don't think you can get an auto luber for the lexions, at least not in N_A. I know there is one for the 2388's, but that is it. We used to run Gleaner combines - something i never want to go back to. They worked great in dry contions, but we seldom have those. Plus you are constantly fixing.