New JD 6330

[Rossie]

Good morning,
I'm farming in New Zealand...I've owned a JD 6200 for 7500 hours and have recently traded for a 6330 std. It is presently being "prepped" and will be delivered next week.
The 6200 has been such a reliable and comfortable machine that I was very reluctant to change brands. A couple of things annoy me about the 6330 though.

16 years ago when I bought the 6200 I discovered that it had no intermittent wiper setting...not a huge drawback I know, but annoying on those occasions when working in showery weather, when intermittent is preferable to continuous. The new one is still lacking....I have asked the dealer to remedy this.
(It does seem a bit miserly of JD to have the intermittent setting only available on the "premium" 6330.)

The other thing is the position of the loader control stalk. The 6200 control is neatly placed in the panel just forward of the power shift but the new 6330 has the control on top of a stalk that emerges from the floor on the right side of the seat.
Now one of the JD sales pitches is the ability to turn the seat to the right (in fact my 6200 seat is permanently set a notch to the right) for more comfort when ploughing etc., but in the new 6330 this puts your right knee against the loader stalk...seems a backward step to me. It also precludes me putting my storage box there on the floor due to the unnecessary protrusion!

I have asked if it is possible to reposition the 6330 stalk to a similar position as my 6200...I'm not expecting a favourable reply.
Has anyone here any suggestions? Don't suggest there are other makes...I know happy Fendt and Case and Claas owners just as reluctant to change brands!
Has this bugged anyone enough to shift the stalk off the floor and put the control stick where it should be beside the range lever.

Cheers and best wishes all,
Ross.

 

[Zebrafive]

Is this the levers you are referring to? Floor mounted and in right side console? Drawings are from JDparts.com.
I have the console mounted on my 6415. I think I would prefer the floor mounted lever only because the console mounted lever is in the way for mounting/dismounting from the right side of the tractor.

 

[Rossie]

Thanks for your reply Zebrafive...your thumbnails are spot on....the right hand one is the present control setup on my 6200....mounted in the console which is my preference.
The new 6330 has the joystick mounted atop a stalk on the floor.

I am curious to know if it is possible to remove the stalk and thereby leave the floor space free to accommodate a storage box. Repositioning the loader control lever to the console would also mean I could turn the seat to the right and make ploughing more comfortable.
I'm curious to know if anyone has done this.
Cheers,
Ross.

 

[Zebrafive]

I think it can be done. It would take some bracket building. You have cables to the loader valve so they can be easily moved.

I am considering the opposite swap. My joy stick is in the way to dismount on the right side. I had not considered mounting the short straight lever of the floor mounted stalk into the console. I was going to floor mount it.

I'll take a picture of my console mounted lever and post it.

 

[arlen4720]

I think it can be done. It would take some bracket building. You have cables to the loader valve so they can be easily moved.

I am considering the opposite swap. My joy stick is in the way to dismount on the right side. I had not considered mounting the short straight lever of the floor mounted stalk into the console. I was going to floor mount it.

I'll take a picture of my console mounted lever and post it.

I thought tractors were like horses...you always mount and dismount from the left

 

[Zebrafive]

I thought tractors were like horses...you always mount and dismount from the left

Bet that's why mine didn't have right side steps........which I added. And I thought it was because mine was the economy version

 

[Rossie]

My new JD6330 tractor was delivered 12th Aug but no luck with the FEL stalk problem...it did have a bird's nest tucked in under the rear of the cab though!

Two weeks after signing the deal, and requesting an intermittent wiper setting and for the FEL stalk to be repositioned....the tractor arrived with neither.

Apparently the FEL stalk cannot be moved from its present position on the floor to where I maintain it should be on the console. I've talked to a nearby farmer who purchased a used 6330 premium a couple of years ago and he has a sock around the stalk! This cushions where it gets in the way of his knee when he has the seat turned a notch to the right for ploughing etc.
I've suggested that the stalk could be adjusted rearwards when not in use. However, this is not possible, due to the pivot at the base restricting movement to a mere couple of inches of top rearward movement.

The more I look at this FEL stalk rising out of a plate of steel bolted to the floor, the more it looks like a very poorly designed add-on...and not really befitting of the usual JD brand standard. The dealer has assured me that when it comes up for it's 100 hr check they will "look at shaving a bit of the square base" to see if it will allow a pivot to the rear.
Grrr....if it wasn't for warranty considerations I would have a go myself!
I'm left feeling there is little desire for my dealer to make the improvement I've suggested while privately conceding that it is substandard.

So I have looked on the John Deere website to see if I can discuss this with the dude who designed this....no luck...all contacts referred back to the local dealership.

I'm just 120 ha. farmer with a tractor fleet of one, but I really would like to discuss this with the designer!
Please tell me how I might contact Mr John Deere or his design team direct? I would hope he/they would be receptive to have a comment from one of the users of his otherwise marvellous product! It's not too much to ask for surely....?
Your comments/suggestions gratefully received.
Cheers,
Ross.

 

[jenkinsph]

Ross can you have a shop build bend this stalk in a different shape to miss your knee? An offset bend ir two might cure this for you.

 

[Rossie]

Ross can you have a shop build bend this stalk in a different shape to miss your knee? An offset bend ir two might cure this for you.

It's a new tractor and the dealer acknowledges that it is not satisfactory...and that it will be fixed on it's 100 hourly service. Until then at least I am not going to play with it! I reckon that if the FEL stalk's rearward travel can be increased that is a better option than bending anything. But I have to resist doing it myself 'cos of warranty considerations.

And if it isn't fixed on it's 100 hrly, then I want to know how to contact the next monkey up the tree, to put it bluntly.

16 years ago when I bought the JD6200, it was streets ahead of the Massey Fergusson, CaseIH, and Ford NH...can't speak for other brands as I didn't kick any more tyres than those at the time. Well now it seems they are well and truly caught up...hard to explain rationally perhaps, but I didn't want to change now after 16 very comfortable and reliable years! And we also have reputable makes like Claas and Deutz and Fendt not to leave out Valtra and even Lamborghini!!!....goodness, for a country of 4.5 mill we are spoilt for choice here.

And I'm sure all the other brands have their loyal advocates....but I just reckon JD have dropped the ball, insignificant as it may seem in the greater scheme of things, and I would like to let them know!

Any clues how I might contact someone in the design team please let me know.
I would like to think that if I was anything to do with making these tractors, then I would be taking a passing interest in a forum that catered for the discussion of owners of John Deere tractors.

So thanks Tractorbynet.com and again I ask....come on you John Deere tractor designers, if you are here...what's the story
Cheers,
Ross.

 

[mcgill72143]

I think the dealer is hoping you'll get use to it by the time you get to 100 hours...why else would he basically say " Get a 100 hours on it and then we'll see what we can do".....