Response to Article

I read an article yesterday that was about how used tractors--especially from the 80's--were fetching premium prices because they had some life in them and even if they were well used it was cheaper to rebuild than buy new tractors. Especially in the face of newer tractors being so computer dependent that they could only be fixed by the manufacturer--the green ones were targeted in this respect. So, is this true? I know very few farmers and are two generations from those in my family.

Tractors are getting computerized just like cars and the only place that can afford the diagnostic equipment is the dealers. So I will stick with my older tractors that I can work on. Nothing too complicated on them.

My son sent me this. I think this is what you are after. I hope it works.
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/20/01/06/215250/for-tech-weary-midwest-farmers-40-year-old-tractors-now-a-hot-commodity

Yep, Big Green has gotten rather nasty about the electronics in their tractors. Even the software is proprietary. I say rip the system out & wire in a couple raspberry pi 4s. Should be able to keep track of all functions & operate everything with a couple of those. Not that I would ever condone hacking a tractor or anything.

Mike

for me being a small farmer and I do have a shop and tools to do most work myself I sticking with tractors mainly between the years of the 70's up to the year 2000 but that depends on the model when I say that. my main tractors will be the 66's and 86's in IH and the 70 series and 90 series in case. I do have a 5230 and it does have more relays then I like but can deal with. I talk to some guys I know that have bigger tractors that are less then 10 years old and they are telling me they not built like the older ones. so I guess I happy with what I have.

Yes, the article even mentioned legislation called the "right to repair" bill that was introduced in Wisconsin or another state. That's pretty bad when you aren't even allowed to try and fix a tractor without calling the green service truck.

That was mentioned in the article too I think. The "codes". Just like the newer cars, the "codes" give direction on what's wrong.

As I stated in another thread on this same article, the article does not take into account how poor the farm economy is right now. Traditionally, when the farming economy becomes depressed, the values of older usable equipment rise because, "cheaper than a new one."

Unfortunately buying these old tractors to fix and use is going to backfire because the parts for the old ones just aren't there anymore.

...and no, the new tractors are not built like the old ones but in so many ways that is a GOOD thing. A 1066 starts making a funny noise, you're left scratching your head, then running it until it gets bad enough to maybe figure out what's wrong with it, usually making the repair more expensive. A new Magnum starts making a funny noise, you read the code and it tells you exactly what the problem is.

...and the reality is that MOST farmers don't have the knowledge, skills, facilities and/or time to even be able to effectively fix a tractor at the technology level of a 1066, let alone a new Magnum or Steiger. They'd send it to the dealer anyway, so what's the big deal? I'm sure in time people will start figuring out how to work on these modern tractors...

Do you really think a farmer in 1963 had the knowledge and ability to work on a fresh-off-the-line 806? No, if the tractor needed work, it *HAD* to go back to the dealer. So really, nothing's changed.

(quoted from post at 07:39:22 01/08/20) That was mentioned in the article too I think. The "codes". Just like the newer cars, the "codes" give direction on what's wrong.

Click to expand...

Yes but JD keeps the code information and readers only for their high priced dealers. Many car manufacturers did that too until right to repair laws were passed. Still for some cars such as hybrids very few reader software packages other than the vendor one can interpret the detailed codes needed for proper diagnosis.

What has changed is the dealer is not going to hook up that $20 thousand plus machine to (try) to diagnose the problem without digging deeply
into your wallet. Don't know how accurate the machine is but my 2015 sonic had a problem with headlights flickering. After two trips back to
the dealer and them telling me there was nothing wrong I made up a test volt meter and it was jumping all over the place. I told them I think
it is the alternator regulator. "Nope that is not it". Took the car back and said don't call me until it is fixed. 3 days later they called
"it is ready bad alternator". Now you tell me how much better off we are thanks to those computers. Can you imagine what it would have cost
me if it had not been under warranty? I'll stick with my "relics"!!!!

I read the article that rick r. posted from slapdot, I did not read the original article published by the "Minnesota (should be Minneapolis?) Star Tribune.

A farmer bought a now obsolete 30 year old tractor for secondary farm work: augers, something for the kids to use, etc. The tractor (JD 4440) cost 1/10th the price of a new one ($18,000 vrs $150,000 +) and probably about half of what the tractor sold for new. That does not sound much different than all the 10 to 30 year old Farmall M/450's, JD A/730's and Oliver 77/880's that were used for secondary farm work, the kids to use, and by small and part-time farmers back in the 1960's and 1970's.

This does not sound like much of a revolution or even a change from normal long term practices. Small and part time farms can get by with older equipment. I don't see large farms hiring extra labor to run smaller older equipment and certainly they will not return to 50 year old tractors like the 3020 pictured in the later re-copy of the article.

It was fun to read though.