Styer hybrid tractor

Would any body here want to buy a tractor like this ?
If money wasent the factor the looks/styling alone have turned me off
compleatly . To me an elecric drive is just a way to manufacture a tractor
cheaper to harvest more money from the buyer. They list features or perks
if you will that you can switch to electric power when going through areas
such as towns where you might bother people. Another feature is that it
can recharge the battery when braking --- I know this is a feature in
electric cars and possible highway tractors but how often could this be
practical in the field.
Untitled URL Link

hooking up a 700 volt power cord to an implement in a driving rain storm should be interesting.......

Well, it is a concept. Will never see a field.

To make this relevant to an old tractor forum IH tried that -- an electric powered pto whey back in the 1920's and it never took off-- sounds good on a engineers doodle pad but just had too many problems in the real world. Mounting a generator and running wires cost a lot less than a mechanical drive -- so they thought there was a way to make a lot of money .

YEH BUT this is exactly how we wind up with dingbatts designing things that we have to use every day . Perfect example is all the trucks now with short boxes. Who ever did that has cursed us for nearly a entire generation . Well I guess they can still be used for a goose neck hitch but other than that only good for hauling home groceries form the store.

This concept is already being used, and if I,m not mistaken mining equipment is powered in this manner also .
Diesel electric

Like el6147 said it's nothing new. R.G. LeTourneau built all different types of diesel/electric heavy equipment many years ago. I believe mostly in the 60's, but could have also been in the 50's. Mostly very large equipment for mining and earth moving. I agree with you I don't care for the looks or styling either !

A little bit related- it reminds me of this from the 1950's.

Yes a lot of mining equipment is built this way and used today. GE worked with LeTourneau in the 50's to build scrapers that was built diesel over electric motors. They were just years ahead. Today LeTourneau( now Komatsu)in Longview Texas still builds the largest mining equipment in the world this same way. They are shipped all over the world.May be to expensive for farmers to buy farm tractors today but probably will see them in the future.

Trains have been that way mostly for 75 years or better. gm

nothing new there.

Yeah, great idea, just like locomotives, submarines, off road dump trucks.....

Your comment has me confused. Who exactly is forcing customers to buy short-bed pickups? If you want a long-bed truck, then just order it that way - all the manufacturers make them. The only trucks that are not available with an 8-ft bed are the 4-door "half-tons" because the market for such a truck would be just about zero. Why spend the money to design a unique frame for a truck that virtually nobody wants? Many folks don't want a truck that is extremely long so most will select the shorter bed option with a 4-door truck. For a "half-ton" this means a 5.5-ft bed and for heavier models this is around 6.7-ft. (And nobody is forcing anyone to buy 4-door trucks, either. That's just what is the most popular these days.) The dealerships know what sells and will obviously invest the money to stock what most people want to buy. I'm not sure how this makes the designers "dingbatts" or has us "cursed". Capitalism and the free market mean that companies will produce and sell what they believe will make them money. If they get it right, everyone wins - the company makes money and the customer gets what they want. If they get it wrong, the company loses but the customer has the right just to shop elsewhere. Just like with the original post here - if there are enough customers out there that are willing to buy an electric or hybrid tractor and the company can produce them for a profit everyone wins. Often the market potential for new innovations is unknown but why criticize the company for taking a risk by exploring it?

(quoted from post at 11:27:46 01/18/20) Your comment has me confused. Who exactly is forcing customers to buy short-bed pickups? If you want a long-bed truck, then just order it that way - all the manufacturers make them. The only trucks that are not available with an 8-ft bed are the 4-door "half-tons" because the market for such a truck would be just about zero. Why spend the money to design a unique frame for a truck that virtually nobody wants? Many folks don't want a truck that is extremely long so most will select the shorter bed option with a 4-door truck. For a "half-ton" this means a 5.5-ft bed and for heavier models this is around 6.7-ft. (And nobody is forcing anyone to buy 4-door trucks, either. That's just what is the most popular these days.) The dealerships know what sells and will obviously invest the money to stock what most people want to buy. I'm not sure how this makes the designers "dingbatts" or has us "cursed". Capitalism and the free market mean that companies will produce and sell what they believe will make them money. If they get it right, everyone wins - the company makes money and the customer gets what they want. If they get it wrong, the company loses but the customer has the right just to shop elsewhere. Just like with the original post here - if there are enough customers out there that are willing to buy an electric or hybrid tractor and the company can produce them for a profit everyone wins. Often the market potential for new innovations is unknown but why criticize the company for taking a risk by exploring it?

Click to expand...

The days of going to the dealer and ordering what you want are gone. If you don't like what is on the lot, the dealer MIGHT find what you want from another dealer, but placing an order from the factory is a thing of the past.

There are now some snowcats with diesel-electric power; less chance of oil leaks that can be a problem with the hydrostatic systems of the past several years.

Makes a nice tiller drive also.
Electric groomer

It is actually very expensive to replace a mechanical drive with electricity. Poking a shaft out of the back of the transmission and using a shaft with a few u-joints to get power to the implement is about as simple and cheap as you can get and at the time IH's electric drive didn't offer enough benefit to outweigh its high cost and complexity. The advantages of electric drives such as infinitely variable speed and large zero-speed torque must be exploited in order for it to make sense.

This reminds me of the howling and whining about the Chip Foose 4020. This is a prototype and nothing more. If you read clear through the article they admit they have a few trouble spots to work out, like the safety of the 700 volt power in back and the longevity of the battery compared to it s size. What they are doing is experimenting with adding new technology to old technology. Is there anything wrong with trying something new?

You and I will have to agree to disagree -- if you were offended by dingbatts remark then I apologize. We clearly live in two different worlds. Around these parts I cant think of even one farmer that has ordered a bran new pickup truck. All the trade ins are brought in from city folk that bought new. Every thing about the newer trucks is all geared to impress the city dweller that is wanting --- #1 20 inch mag wheels -- they tend to work loose and leak air around the rim in extreme cold plus have a rim design that is flat on the inside that collects dirt(much like a centrifuge). Steel rims with conventional tires dont do this -- no farmer wants flashy low rider rims.
#2 As I mentioned previously the trade ins have short boxes -- any thing shorter than a 8 foot box is too short. By the time you get your L shaped fuel tank and then a tool box , and half he shop in the back only a 8 foot will do . So what is wrong with a 8 foot box and 4 door cab ??? Well nothing in the country but go to the city and all the parking stalls are marked out for compact Hondas. What motivated a store to have as many parking stalls marked out for a given space as possible. Only to annoy every body with dinged doors and having to park out in Siberia to just get you doors open. Vehicles with long wheel bases handle very well on icy roads. No farmer wants a short box and the ones that get talked into buying the used trade in shorties are continually wishing for a longer one. Such as hauling lumber back out to the farm with more sticking back over the tail gate than in the box.
If you are happy and have the money to buy shot box trucks bran new with flashy low rider wheels then I am not going to get in your way --- we need work trucks and what show up at the dealer ships is all your type of useless WOW WEE fad dictated monstrosities.

The auto makers design what sells, and with only 2% of the population in farming, that isn't going to be long bed working-type pickups. The demand is for a car that doubles as a pickup, and suburbanites can get all the beauty bark they want to handle over a weekend in the back of a short bed. You hit upon the other reason in your post- "I can't think of even one farmer who has ordered a brand new pickup". BINGO- Farmers are buying used pickups, and auto makers only make money from those who buy new. Sure, the supply of used long beds will get tighter, but commerce follows the fads of what sells, not what is necessarily practical.

You are 100% right about the trucks. The point of my speech that I forgot to add was that this talk was about the tractor by styer up at the top of the page . It looks like it was designed by a 13 year old that was trying to impress his friends and pick up girls. POINT BEING a agricultural tractor would be bought by farmers -- or you would think at least 80% farmers . What kind of farmer would be impressed with the styling (shown here). I dont get it it looks horrendous. Is any body here impressed with it????

Now, just wait a minute...I have ordered several brand new pickups because I did not want what was on the lot...including the 2500 dollar optional chrome wheels or the optional 1500 dollar extra V8 engine... The v6 in mine has more than enough power, pulled a 22 foot trailer through the Rockies on last year's 12000 mile road trip...gets better mileage than the eight, and I have never been in a situation were I wished I had more power. Mine has the small rear doors...again,there were none on the lot like that...but it does have a 6 foot eight bed which is big enough...just.
I guess you can call me cheap, or odd, but I like what I got..even if it is a odd ball pickup, I will drive it til the wheels fall off.

Ben

(quoted from post at 15:40:54 01/18/20)

(quoted from post at 11:27:46 01/18/20) Your comment has me confused. Who exactly is forcing customers to buy short-bed pickups? If you want a long-bed truck, then just order it that way - all the manufacturers make them. The only trucks that are not available with an 8-ft bed are the 4-door "half-tons" because the market for such a truck would be just about zero. Why spend the money to design a unique frame for a truck that virtually nobody wants? Many folks don't want a truck that is extremely long so most will select the shorter bed option with a 4-door truck. For a "half-ton" this means a 5.5-ft bed and for heavier models this is around 6.7-ft. (And nobody is forcing anyone to buy 4-door trucks, either. That's just what is the most popular these days.) The dealerships know what sells and will obviously invest the money to stock what most people want to buy. I'm not sure how this makes the designers "dingbatts" or has us "cursed". Capitalism and the free market mean that companies will produce and sell what they believe will make them money. If they get it right, everyone wins - the company makes money and the customer gets what they want. If they get it wrong, the company loses but the customer has the right just to shop elsewhere. Just like with the original post here - if there are enough customers out there that are willing to buy an electric or hybrid tractor and the company can produce them for a profit everyone wins. Often the market potential for new innovations is unknown but why criticize the company for taking a risk by exploring it?

Click to expand...

The days of going to the dealer and ordering what you want are gone. If you don't like what is on the lot, the dealer MIGHT find what you want from another dealer, but placing an order from the factory is a thing of the past.

Click to expand...

Wrong. You can walk in to any dealer and order a truck. How do you think the dealers get the trucks on the lot? They order what they want. Might be some bigger dealers in cities that won't set down with customer but with alot fo them if you tell them what you want they will order one that way. You need to know your facts before you spout off about something that you clearly know nothing about.

Dealers need to stock what they know will sell. Used trade-ins reflect what was sold back when the truck was new. If you want a striped down work truck consider ordering one. You will loose the 3 percent dealer discount for vehicles they keep stock, but if you strip off enough options it might be worth it. Keep in mind your trade-in value will also be lower, but most new truck dealers generally send used farm trucks and work trucks to the auction lots anyway.

Now-a-days you can rent a long bed standard cab pickup or a ten to 15 foot moving van for as low as $20/day in any town with a U-Haul dealer or big box lumber yard. The average residential home owner may only need that once or maybe twice a year, so most new truck buyers no longer have any need to pay extra for a long bed pickup that is harder to park and takes up extra garage space.