rockyridgefarm
Elite Member
In Bob Skurkas excellant thread on comparing the visibility of curved vs. boxy tractors and loaders, I made an ignorant comment about the strength of NH loaders. Seems I was crazy to be quoting the numbers which NH chose to use in their marketing, as it showed an significant disadvantage to them in reference to their competition. Of course, there were two yardsticks in play, and the loaders are very close in performance, when equal specs are in play.
Now that might seem like splitting hairs. But in my case, I dropped NH from my short list when I bought my current tractor, due to this very perception. I had even sddressed this with the NH dealer, and they also were convinced that the loader was significantly lower powered.
Now I really am pleased with my tractor, and in the end have no regret. Except that I think we should all be able to make the most informed desicions as possible. (And then get what we really want in spite of the facts /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )
SO, what can we do?
Of course, the first thing is for shoppers to get informed. Trouble is, that is exactly what I thought I was doing. There are so many specs, and varying methods for reporting them, that it is a daunting task.
Manufacturers offer comparison charts. Of course, they are often wrong, but can still be valuable tools.
I am convinced that the best setup is to start with the compare feature at John Deere's site (hold on! I am not trying to sell a green tractor!) If you aren't familiar with Deere models, it maight take a bit, but you should be able to find out what matches your Orange or red machine fairly easily.
Once you choose some models to compare (that is one significant advantage over Kubotas compares (again I am not suggesting their tractors are inferior in any way!) as they lock you into comparing certain models, usually pitting theirs against the competitors lower displacement offerings (tsk! tsk!) When you build a chart there is an export to Excel option. that is the good part.
Because, Deere will also have missing or wron info on their own products (stupid!) let alone their competitors...
But with your handy chart, you can now go and find apples to apples specs and figure them out! You can even add pricing to the specs, so that you can even up the score (like Deere doesn't offer telescopic draft links as std., NH does, if you care, you can add the $210...)
And , more importantly, you can add the loader specs (since the manufacturers don't seem to realize that we are just buying the tractor as an accessory for the loader...) And make sure that wherever possible, we are comparing specs at the same points...
Even better, would be to build a new specs department at the worlds leading tractor website. (that would be TBN!!) That is a HUGE task, but maybe it could be done. I suggest having a comitee set up, with a member responsible for each brand. I know that I haver benefitted greatly from input of folks like _RaT_ and Bob Skurka (just to name two...) who have been careful to find really accurate comparisons.
Or maybe I should just shut up...
Now that might seem like splitting hairs. But in my case, I dropped NH from my short list when I bought my current tractor, due to this very perception. I had even sddressed this with the NH dealer, and they also were convinced that the loader was significantly lower powered.
Now I really am pleased with my tractor, and in the end have no regret. Except that I think we should all be able to make the most informed desicions as possible. (And then get what we really want in spite of the facts /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )
SO, what can we do?
Of course, the first thing is for shoppers to get informed. Trouble is, that is exactly what I thought I was doing. There are so many specs, and varying methods for reporting them, that it is a daunting task.
Manufacturers offer comparison charts. Of course, they are often wrong, but can still be valuable tools.
I am convinced that the best setup is to start with the compare feature at John Deere's site (hold on! I am not trying to sell a green tractor!) If you aren't familiar with Deere models, it maight take a bit, but you should be able to find out what matches your Orange or red machine fairly easily.
Once you choose some models to compare (that is one significant advantage over Kubotas compares (again I am not suggesting their tractors are inferior in any way!) as they lock you into comparing certain models, usually pitting theirs against the competitors lower displacement offerings (tsk! tsk!) When you build a chart there is an export to Excel option. that is the good part.
Because, Deere will also have missing or wron info on their own products (stupid!) let alone their competitors...
But with your handy chart, you can now go and find apples to apples specs and figure them out! You can even add pricing to the specs, so that you can even up the score (like Deere doesn't offer telescopic draft links as std., NH does, if you care, you can add the $210...)
And , more importantly, you can add the loader specs (since the manufacturers don't seem to realize that we are just buying the tractor as an accessory for the loader...) And make sure that wherever possible, we are comparing specs at the same points...
Even better, would be to build a new specs department at the worlds leading tractor website. (that would be TBN!!) That is a HUGE task, but maybe it could be done. I suggest having a comitee set up, with a member responsible for each brand. I know that I haver benefitted greatly from input of folks like _RaT_ and Bob Skurka (just to name two...) who have been careful to find really accurate comparisons.
Or maybe I should just shut up...
