JD 1240 planter

1) plant accuracy will decrease with the rougher terrain.
2) Better know how to weld; Cause all the joints are going to be stressed a lot more.
3) You'll need to add a lot of weight to keep keep the planter in the ground.

I grew up around a "494A" planter that couldnt maintain good depth well at all in near drought condtions after plowing, disking. There is a good chance You might buy a "7000" cheaper, & it will do a far better job in No - Till. If You want real cheap then the Allis, or Agco brands of the mid 1980's can be bought for under $1,000 if You look around hard. I still remember seeing one work for (cant remember what model) on a farm about 1982 in which 4 foot high fescue grass was knocked down, and cut completely off, & it mantained uniform depth in No - Till corn. I am still impressed about that Allis while I sit here over 20 years later! I would still go with the JD since they are a more stable company. Scotty

ANY planter can be converted to a no-till unit. We started no-tilling before the Max-Emerge planters came on the market. Dad "converted" a 694 Deere planter for our first 3 seasons of no-tilling. When the 7000 first came on the scene, they were a natural for no-till work. Parts became easy to get (Coulters, row-cleaners, ect)

We used the same 4 row planter for the next 23 years. It has been re-built and re-engineered several times. Finally, 3 seasons ago, I finally went to 8 row....YEP! Another Deere. Max-Emerge II technology.

There are plenty of good 7000series planters out there, some at good prices. Then you can take your Shoup catalogue, or whatever parts house you like, and tailor it to fit your needs...WITH BOLT-ON PARTS. No need to weld, bend, grind, or cut.

The 7000 has enough built-in wieght to get your planter in the ground. It has enough heft to handle the pounding that no-tilling will dish out.

If you're like most of us, planting time is all RUSH-RUSH. No time to stop every few minutes and get the welder out. Find a 7000 series and THEN start your modifying. JMHO John

A 7000 would be a much better starter machine, as well as these other machines.

--->Paul