We still use our 1954 Allis-Chalmers tractor. It's no Hoyt-Clagwell, but it gets the job done. ;)
Solution — don’t buy John Deere.
Nothing runs like a Deere.....................
I would not buy something I can’t do at least some of my own fixes to.
So, previously, you only rented a John Deere, correct? Pretty un-American what Deere had done to US Farmers. Sure, the big corporate farmers could survive, but the small independents got hosed, unless they avoided ever buying a Deere in the first place.
We still use our 1954 Allis-Chalmers tractor. It's no Hoyt-Clagwell, but it gets the job done. ;)
I know everyone is wondering if there’s a song about John Deere tractors.
Well, there is. Here’s the chorus from the country song “Way Out Here”.
We won’t take a dime if we ain’t earned it
When it comes to weight brother we pull our own
If it’s our backwoods way of livin’ you’re concerned with
You can leave us alone
We’re about John Wayne, Johnny Cash and John Deere
Way out here
What stops Deere from pricing their service manuals more than the tractor itself. Evil begets evil.
Fix it yourself if you can. The biggest problems come down to the maze of electronics that are on these machines.
Solid state devices fail completely and suddenly when they fail.
The official tractor of corporate country music.
Does the ruling require JD to make available software and firmware as well as diagnostic jigs? Those could be prohibitively expensive to an independent repair shop. That’s the way it was with consumer electronics repair. You had to buy pricey jigs and service tools for almost each model of widget by each manufacturer. Half the time a firmware update would correct the problem. The practice was discouraging to small shops.
I had a friend who was in the printing business and used these huge Xerox copiers. Xerox did the same thing that Deere was doing. They had a secret code to login to the copiers to “fix” it. Usually at a minimum of $250.00 a whack.
He got smart and installed a camera pointed at one of the machines he was getting ready to have maintenance done on and got the code.
No more Xerox calls.
Farmers have the right to repair and John Deere has the right to deny your warranty if you don’t use their stuff.
Perhaps John Deere is attempting to head them off.
I knew dedicated John Deere farmers in Australia who were buying German equipment because of this issue.
So, Deere and other makes haven’t figured out the underhanded method of the auto manufacturers of making everything impossible to work on without an “expert”?
I think the car manufacturers are also trying to force mechanics to only be employed by them, for official XYZ knowledge. Drive out regular service station independent mechanics.
Farmers who own and use a lot of equipment have their own tools, shops and welding equipment.
When weather dictates immediate use of the equipment, rational people do not wait for an appointment for service with a tractor dealership when something breaks.
In June of 2021, I took a John Deere riding mower to the local farm dealer to buy replacement mowing blades and have them installed. The parts department told me there were no blades then available for this popular mower ANYWHERE in the U.S. John Deere network. John Deere always bragged they stocked parts to repair every machine they ever built.
I also checked with the John Deere service department. They told me they had no openings for service until AUGUST ! It was still June.
I took the mower to a nearby auto mechanic shop run by Mexicans, most of whom did not speak English. They said they could sharpen the existing blades IMMEDIATELY. They rolled the mower off the trailer and sharpened the blades as my wife and I were having lunch across the street. Mission accomplished. Charge was $30.
It’s about time! This was a policy that could stop farmers’ ability to plant or harvest in a timely manner. When time is of essence at harvest time, you can’t wait for a certified JD repairman to have a opportunity to come repair your harvesting equipment. It’s needs to be repaired immediately. You can lose an entire crop due to such a policy-caused delay.
(From the article): " The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and Deere & Co. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Sunday."
"It addresses a long-running issue for farmers and ranchers when it comes to accessing tools,
information and resources, while protecting John Deere's intellectual property rights
and ensuring equipment safety," AFBF President Zippy Duvall said.
"Under the agreement, equipment owners and independent technicians will not be allowed to "divulge trade secrets"
or "override safety features or emissions controls or to adjust Agricultural Equipment power levels."
(My Comment) : This is a mutual agreement to repair John Deere factory equipment through 'independent repairmen' rather than previously mandated Deere service centers.
It does not establish a legal precedent, but rather, is a private understanding covering the 'need to repair'.
Given the frequent breakdown of supply chain issues, this memorandum of agreement should increase the ease of repair during stressful agricultural seasons
where repair centers have gotten overloaded with work and replacement parts may be unavailable.
This is a common sense response by both suppliers and consumers and should aid in keeping agricultural costs lower.
It’s a good thing any time Mother Deere takes one in the shorts. That company is evil.
as dementia joe might say, this really is a B.F.D.!!!
Cletus is passing by Billy Bob's hay barn one day when, through a gap in the door, he sees Billy Bob doing a slow and sensual striptease in front of an old John Deere tractor.
Buttocks clenched, he performs a slow pirouette, and gently slides off first the right strap of his overalls, followed by the left. He then hunches his shoulders forward and in a classic striptease move, lets his overalls fall down to his hips, revealing a torn and frayed plaid shirt.
Then, grabbing both sides of his shirt, he rips it apart to reveal his stained T-shirt underneath. With a final flourish, he tears the T-shirt from his body, and hurls his baseball cap onto a pile of hay.
Having seen enough, Cletus rushes in and says, "What the world're ya doing, Billy Bob?"
"Good grief, Cletus, ya scared the bejeebers out of me," says an obviously embarrassed Billy Bob ..
"But me 'n the wife been havin trouble lately in the bedroom d'partment, and the therapist suggested I do something sexy to a tractor."