Loader A gentle reminder that tractors are not dozers

[charlessenf]

crawl under the machine with a flashlight

Before you Buy A John Deere! Jeeze I thought tractors were built solid!

 

[beenthere]

So much misinformation in this thread. Won't try to address it all.

 

[WinterDeere]

What looks odd, is.. it’s slippery thin snow, so he couldn’t get much force forward, plus there’s no peeling out marks in the snow either.

Some have figured it's photo'd where it happened, but maybe not exactly when it happened.

 

[milkman636]

That's what the first pic looks like to me, the bucket is digging into the ground after going off the driveway. I'd guess he had a good head of steam going, (maybe the tires are loaded as well which would increase the force), had the bucket angled down which then plunged into the ground when it hit dirt, dug in and stopped the tractor cold.

Exactly what I was thinking. The tractors forward momentum would be a frontwards force acting on the bottom of the loader masts. The stopping force would be an opposing backwards force applied through the loader arms to the top of the masts. The tops are not anchored and the masts become levers wanting to rotate towards the rear. The loader mount would resist that movement by transmitting the rotation/torque directly to the mounting bolts and casting. The weakest link was found.

 

[sd455dan]

They left the most important character off that model number. It's not a "3038", it's a "3038E", the "E" meaning "Economy". These low-end machine's are Deere's way to try to not lose every customer looking for a more budget-minded machine, but they really have no business playing in this market. Deere makes some great machines, but they're just not going to beat Asian brands when competing for lowest cost/price.

I looked at a few of the 3E-series machines, when I was shopping in 2018/19. No way in hell was I buying one of those economy machines. At least for me, it was 3R-series, or another brand.

Not sure I want to show that to my nephew he has been working his JD 3025E pretty hard and it is hanging in there.
When it snows heavy they use the JD 550G Long Track but it is going through undercarriage work at the moment .

Those tracks aren't exactly light , but the little JD 3025E moved em.

 

[WinterDeere]

Not sure I want to show that to my nephew he has been working his JD 3025E pretty hard and it is hanging in there.

Oh, I'm sure they can do plenty good work. I actually liked the loader controls and visibility on the 3E's better than the 3R's, but the non-removable loader killed even the thought of going with one. I remove my loader at least once per month, if not more, for various chores. There were several other differences, but 5 years after buying, I don't remember what most of those details were.

My response was more aimed at those commenting on Deere quality or design, relating to this failure. This is Deere's Economy line, knowingly and intentionally built much less heavy than their other lines, in order to try to compete with brands like Mahindra and Kioti on price. I suspect those other brands have enormous advantages over Deere, when it comes to cost/price structure.

 

[sd455dan]

Oh, I'm sure they can do plenty good work. I actually liked the loader controls and visibility on the 3E's better than the 3R's, but the non-removable loader killed even the thought of going with one. I remove my loader at least once per month, if not more, for various chores. There were several other differences, but 5 years after buying, I don't remember what most of those details were.

My response was more aimed at those commenting on Deere quality or design, relating to this failure. This is Deere's Economy line, knowingly and intentionally built much less heavy than their other lines, in order to try to compete with brands like Mahindra and Kioti on price. I suspect those other brands have enormous advantages over Deere, when it comes to cost/price structure.

I was thinking about how those JD's are designed and if it is like the 3025E, mainly it just needs the hollow cast iron 'spine' casting replaced- probably some new lines and a drive shaft.
The rear section holds most of the good stuff other than the engine.

ps. No arguments on other brands,

I tried to push him into a Branson 2515H or better yet they had a 3015H lot demo for $16,500 at the time...

 

[Skypuppy]

This poor fellow is having a bad month…..View attachment 852256View attachment 852257

Might could be welded back together ...

 

[WinterDeere]

Might could be welded back together ...

Might/could, but usually cheaper to just replace castings on still-current models. Fixturing that up right for a weld is probably going to cost a lot of hours, and these parts are still readily available.

 

[milkman636]

I do not know what the weather is/was like in Michigan, but if it is/was anything like here in Vermont this year, you can have 6" snow one day and the next day see grass. It is mid February here, and we are lucky to have 1/2" snow on the ground! It was near 60F last week and yesterday it was 13F, 15F today. Insane swings!

It’s a similar story in Michigan. We stayed completely below freezing over the weekend and we’re going back up to 47 tomorrow.

 

[Langanobob]

Even the little Massey GCs are a full frame tractor. Funny, only other time I saw a tractor snapped in half was a frameless Deere

I have a 2018 Massey Ferguson GC1720 and it's a hard worker. I use the heck out of it and has never skipped a beat.

 

[CliffordK]

Some have figured it's photo'd where it happened, but maybe not exactly when it happened.

The first photo was likely taken at the scene within a day of the accident, where the accident occurred. Notice the crisp tread marks going under the tractor, and the bucket in the ground, and the mailbox indicating likely a driveway.

Other photos were likely done after the tractor was moved, and could be several days later. Note grass around the tractor, and bucket no longer stuck in the ground.

 

[woodsguy]

Just can't believe there was enough traction on snow to do this. No chains? My tractor starts spinning its Ag tires on dry ground when I dig into a solid bank or ground. Or I blow a hydraulic hose. But the tractor breaking in half? Call me skeptical.

 

[woodsguy]

Digging a small pond

 

[WinterDeere]

Just can't believe there was enough traction on snow to do this. No chains? My tractor starts spinning its Ag tires on dry ground when I dig into a solid bank or ground. Or I blow a hydraulic hose. But the tractor breaking in half? Call me skeptical.

I suspect a pretty good running start was involved.

 

[mapper]

That's why a sub-frame will make a huge difference!

I noticed that as well, the sub frame transfers the load to the rear axle, not the transmission housing.