daTeacha
Veteran Member
When I got home today, the wife wasn't here yet. I decided to burn some fossils and drove over to the Agco dealer. They had 2 ST25s, hydro and gear. Also an ST30x and an ST34A.
The unsuffixed models have been sitting there for a while, showing paint fade and fade on the seat material from the sunlight. I didn't drive them, but they didn't seem real comfortable or inviting to sit on. They also seemed a bit small, just about half again the size of my 'bota. The hydro model had just one brake pedal, located on the right along with the hydro rocker pedal. I asked the guy about turning brakes. He wasn't a salesman, but a parts/service good ol' farm boy. He said using turning brakes with a hydro is not a good practice, being hard on the hydro parts.
The ST30x is a competitor for the NH TC30 and JD 790. It's about 2200 lb. and 30 hp, the size and power I think will work best for my application. There is lots of room in the operator station, no frills, just a straightforward working machine.
The ST34A, at about 2900 lb., was just too big. Interestingly, the ROPS is lower than the JD 3120, closer to the height of the 4110. It's wider, almost the full width of the tractor.
The 25s had the fuel filter hanging low, but not the other ones. I saw no soft or easily hurt things hanging out unprotected, especially on the ST30X. There isn't anything to hurt!
None of these tractors had loaders mounted, so I didn't really get a look at how the hoses and connectors are fitted.
I was hoping to find an ST28A or ST33A. These come with a suspension seat, tilting steering wheel, and other ergonomic goodies that I seem to think I want to keep my back happy in the future. Unfortunately, they had none around.
One thing I noticed was the placement of the rear lights compared to the way Deere does it. Deere lights, both amber and red, are mounted on the outside of the ROPS. They're shielded sort of, but still vulnerable to being bent by a protruding branch or something. On the Agco, the lights are built into the fenders or set low in a protected position.
I think what I need is a JoNh Massey Bota AlphaOmega30M with a fully shuttleable CVT that has tires that switch from R4 to R1 tread patterns as the need arises, a seat that adjusts its springiness to the terrain, and an engine that runs on water so I don't have to keep buying diesel. It would have a wheelbase that adjusts from about 54 inches to about 70, depending on the feedback from the onboard tiltmeter. Ditto the width. In addition, the entire chassis will rotate against the axles to maintain a vertical orientation and greatly reduce the tendency to tip. (There really was a tractor that did that, BTW!) Lights would be mounted on gyroscopically controlled gimbal mounts in protected cages on the ROPS, the loader frame, and the hood. There would be lighting to the sides as well as front and rear, of course, plus a plug-in for a 12v heated body suit to wear while plowing snow -- kind of like electric socks, but taken to the exteme.
For color, it would be an interesting camoflage style mix of green, blue, orange, and red in various subtle tones and shades. For those of a less manly nature, you could get it in plaid! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
The unsuffixed models have been sitting there for a while, showing paint fade and fade on the seat material from the sunlight. I didn't drive them, but they didn't seem real comfortable or inviting to sit on. They also seemed a bit small, just about half again the size of my 'bota. The hydro model had just one brake pedal, located on the right along with the hydro rocker pedal. I asked the guy about turning brakes. He wasn't a salesman, but a parts/service good ol' farm boy. He said using turning brakes with a hydro is not a good practice, being hard on the hydro parts.
The ST30x is a competitor for the NH TC30 and JD 790. It's about 2200 lb. and 30 hp, the size and power I think will work best for my application. There is lots of room in the operator station, no frills, just a straightforward working machine.
The ST34A, at about 2900 lb., was just too big. Interestingly, the ROPS is lower than the JD 3120, closer to the height of the 4110. It's wider, almost the full width of the tractor.
The 25s had the fuel filter hanging low, but not the other ones. I saw no soft or easily hurt things hanging out unprotected, especially on the ST30X. There isn't anything to hurt!
None of these tractors had loaders mounted, so I didn't really get a look at how the hoses and connectors are fitted.
I was hoping to find an ST28A or ST33A. These come with a suspension seat, tilting steering wheel, and other ergonomic goodies that I seem to think I want to keep my back happy in the future. Unfortunately, they had none around.
One thing I noticed was the placement of the rear lights compared to the way Deere does it. Deere lights, both amber and red, are mounted on the outside of the ROPS. They're shielded sort of, but still vulnerable to being bent by a protruding branch or something. On the Agco, the lights are built into the fenders or set low in a protected position.
I think what I need is a JoNh Massey Bota AlphaOmega30M with a fully shuttleable CVT that has tires that switch from R4 to R1 tread patterns as the need arises, a seat that adjusts its springiness to the terrain, and an engine that runs on water so I don't have to keep buying diesel. It would have a wheelbase that adjusts from about 54 inches to about 70, depending on the feedback from the onboard tiltmeter. Ditto the width. In addition, the entire chassis will rotate against the axles to maintain a vertical orientation and greatly reduce the tendency to tip. (There really was a tractor that did that, BTW!) Lights would be mounted on gyroscopically controlled gimbal mounts in protected cages on the ROPS, the loader frame, and the hood. There would be lighting to the sides as well as front and rear, of course, plus a plug-in for a 12v heated body suit to wear while plowing snow -- kind of like electric socks, but taken to the exteme.
For color, it would be an interesting camoflage style mix of green, blue, orange, and red in various subtle tones and shades. For those of a less manly nature, you could get it in plaid! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
