(quoted from post at 14:03:09 05/12/12) Technology and size do not have to go hand in hand. In fact technology often means things are smaller in size but expected to do the same amount of work. The problem with technology lies in things like auto idle technology, different computer programs every year or so, with still more differences between each mfg, different tier emission levels every couple of years, in addition to simply trying to make you feel like your in your car for a Sunday afternoon drive while your actually working.
On the last item, while I am all for being as comfortable as possible, work is work, and making things too cushy does nothing but make the kids ((and many adults)) of today too lazy to get off their a$$es and actually want to do anything but drive a new piece of equipment.
As far as the rest of the technology mess goes, think about this. The majority of engine wear happens at startup, and shutdown, so the auto idle feature on new engines is shortening the life of the engine, and turbo if equipped, dramatically. Then the new computer programming each year or so can make a $250,000 machine obsolete the year after it was built. The different programs between mfgs insures you have to call them and pay top dollar for any repairs needed vs being able to do it yourself, or have an independent (who works cheaper) do the $200 worth of work the dealership charges $1000 to do. In that case you now need that 20 plus row machine to insure you work fast enough to make enough to pay a repair (((often electronic))) that either wouldn't have been necessary on an older machine, or would have simple and cheap enough that it could have been paid for using a 4 row planter had you been able to do it on your own.
Then to make matters worse all of the new tier emission requirements means they are having to stuff more equipment into the same area on the machine that was origionally designed to hold nothing but an engine. To do any differently means redesigning the whole machine, often making it larger. The alternative, to keep it small, is to make 10 million new, one of a kind parts, and to fit each part together like a jigsaw puzzle. Doing this once again obsoletes your machine as soon as the next tier level and new one of a kind parts come out. Not to mention it now makes doing what used to be a 5 minute job into a 5 hour job just to get to the part that will only take 5 minutes to change once you get to it.
Having worked on equipment all of my life I have personally seen everything I mentioned above happen more times than I care to count. Funny thing is the customers always fuss and gripe about the same things I mentioned but when it comes down to the wire their answer to their own gripe is to buy another new machine that will cause them even more headaches and cost them even more to repair. Saddly the new machine is often purchased because they couldn't get parts for the last $500,000 machine they bought because it was more than 10 years old.........Remember when a machine was actually designed to last and support was offered by the mfg for at least 20 years????????? Funny thing though, as son as the new machine leaves them out of work due to a technology related breakdown, they are off on a rant again about the junk that's being turned out nowdays and hwo it's all too technology oriented...........and the cycle repeats..........
