Anyone Shying Away from the Complexity of New Equipment

[TomSeller]

Man, this thread took a weird turn. .

Tractors correlate to beer. Beer correlates to refrigerators. Tractors correlate to getting your clothes dirty. Dirty clothes correlate to washers and dryers....... It is all connected.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I am a little dismayed how many people think that anything made overseas is automatically no good. I tend to believe you can have practically anything made there, from the very best to the very worst. I suppose much of it is of the worst for simple reasons of economy.

I am replacing 12 volt 7 amp/hour Yuasa gelled lead acid batteries that are forteen years old. The new ones, also Yuasa, don't weigh nearly as much, yet have the same rating. I am only getting three or so years out of them.

 

[ultrarunner]

I am a little dismayed how many people think that anything made overseas is automatically no good. I tend to believe you can have practically anything made there, from the very best to the very worst. I suppose much of it is of the worst for simple reasons of economy.

I am replacing 12 volt 7 amp/hour Yuasa gelled lead acid batteries that are forteen years old. The new ones, also Yuasa, don't weigh nearly as much, yet have the same rating. I am only getting three or so years out of them.

Don't want to mislead in that overseas equals bad... more like made in USA equals good... at least it has for a long time.

 

[NoTrespassing]

The way I see it, technological advances driven by consumer wants and needs are wonderful things. I love my microwave oven, flat screen tv, and cell phone. On the other hand, advances that are purely a result of legislation tend to be less desireable. Take California emissions for instance, that resulted in my 4 stroke string trimmer. Another example for me is the tire pressure indicators on my Hyundai Accent. They were mandated by law and they were the only thing that failed before 100,000 miles. Low flush toilets took years to become usable. What do you do when a CFL breaks, call in a hazardous waste disposal team?

On refrigerators, I like my cheap 8 yr. old fridge. My power usage dropped dramatically when I got rid of the 1970's model.

Kevin

 

[Fastowl]

With the thread covering and generally suggesting that we are all luddites, how about the news this week that hackers have finally used a refigerator to send out malicious emails. I for one don't think I need a refrigerator that can connect to the internet....Smart refrigerators and TVs hacked to send out spam, according to a new report - NBC News.com

Of course this falls on the heels of the the news this summer that hackers can take over your car....Hackers Reveal Nasty New Car Attacks--With Me Behind The Wheel (Video) - Forbes

sometimes we have just a bit too much technology for technology's sake.

 

[Industrial Toys]

What do you do with CFLs? Well, Walmart I suppose is ever on the alert for shoplifters. What they didn't see coming is me leaving my old burned out CFL in their lamp department!

 

[NoTrespassing]

What do you do with CFLs? Well, Walmart I suppose is ever on the alert for shoplifters. What they didn't see coming is me leaving my old burned out CFL in their lamp department!

Seriously?

 

[Alberta Haymaker]

Years ago I worked as an Auto Tech and we made lots of money off them made in the USA/Canada vehicles in the 90's . The big 3 didn't pump out that great of quality in the 80's and some of it was ... just bad. I had a '98 pontiac mini van, nice van to drive and when it worked it worked good but good thing I'm a mechanic as that thing needed a lot of "tinkering" to keep it on the road. Not picking on Domestics as some of the vehicles were very good too. My newest vehicle is made in South Korea and its been flawless with 120K on it a drastic difference from the Pontiac Van it replaced.


As for Tractors and equipment.

Every guy I know it seems lately who got a new tractor be what ever brand has had engine or trans issues that needed the dealer to fool with it multiple times to get it working correctly. I know its under warranty but it makes one wonder about 10 years down the road. They can make auto's pretty darn dependable but they still seem to have issues on some of this heavy equipment.

I like equipment in that "sweet spot" of technology and electronics. Say stuff in the late 90's and early 2000's that still have mechanical fuel injection, and limited electronics in the cab and trans. Still nice and comfy to drive but not all full out electronic throttle and every thing in it requiring software up grades & specail equipment to service it. Therefore its still servicable on farm or indepenendent repair shops. A mechanic friend says the local JD dealer doesn't even rebuild engines anymore if a newer machine has an engine failure/falult. Its R&R engine and ship it back to the manufacture for another.

But the majority of tractor consumers must want all the latest technology as thats what they are building. People want a to jump in turn a key and drive! Turn on the a/c, radio, GPS, auto steer and ... relax

 

[Industrial Toys]

I was watching a trucker channel last night. If I understood the comment, a company said that few owner/operators are showing up with late model equipment, but with a lot of ten year old rigs, on account of the complexity.

 

[art]

I was watching a trucker channel last night. If I understood the comment, a company said that few owner/operators are showing up with late model equipment, but with a lot of ten year old rigs, on account of the complexity.

It depends on what states they drive in as to the acceptance of them! California is a clean state and others are looking at coming aboard.
It will only get worse and tractors, trucks or cars you'd better get used to it.