Plastic hoods and fenders instead of steel ones

[Mech]

Hi Mech,

I see you have an eagle eye as you are on the market for a 3520 !
Here is what I know from my Deere dealer :
"The new Deere series will be introduce to EC dealers on August 7th in Manheim Germany."
I asked him many times if there will be a new 3000 series and he did not confirm (I am on the market for a 3000 series, so it may be a commercial strategy to sell me an "old" model !) but said "there will be offers on the new models and on the old models because they are not Tier IV compatible".
He added that "the 2000 series will be discontinued".
I found this last statement strange as the 2000 series is still here in US under the name "2 family" even if the tractors have not change really.

Be sure I will post here what I will learn when he will be back from Germany around August 15 th. (it is a one week meeting as I understood).

Phil

My 3520 Cab is at the dealer waiting on the loader and 4-in-1 bucket and my 790 is sold and gone, so I can't really do much about that. Just wanted to know what new goodies I will be missing out on.

 

[dfkrug]

The plastic hood does eventually become brittle over many years & will break
if you brush up against bushes, etc. (my JD 445 hood did).

Here is a STX38 lawn tractor that was traded to me. The owner's dealer had done some maintenance
on it and accidentally broke the hood. A new one was $200. You can see the brighter green and the
missing logo on the front. That was one unhappy dealer, as the tractor, in great shape, was only
worth $750.

Two plastic hoods I bought for 4300s were closer to $300 ea, but the tractors were worth 20x as much.

 

[Katahdin]

Thanks for the European Yanmar info, its great to compare notes! Likewise its hard to get good commercial secrets here.

I believe all the U.S. Yanmar parts are made in Japan as well and the tractors are assembled at a large plant in Georgia and distributed from there. Here is a video of their USA operation: Take a Closer Look at Yanmar - YouTube

The 40+hp HST Yanmars in the U.S. have two pedals on the right for forward/reverse. Dual brakes are on the left. Above the forward/reverse pedals is a lever that toggles the "Syncro-throttle" feature which I would best describe as similar in function as the "Auto Throttle Advance" on Kubotas with HST+. When the Syncro-throttle is engaged you control both engine RPMs and speed with the forward/reverse pedals. That said, you can still set higher RPMs with the throttle lever located on the steering column if desired. The Syncro throttle can be engaged either by hand or by slightly tapping it with the right foot. I'll edit this post later and post a picture of it.

Edit: Here's a pic of the pedals on my HST Yanmar with the syncro throttle switch.

 

[fieldman12]

I think plastic will be idea once they figure out how to keep it from getting brittle as it ages. Our JD GT235 garden tractor has a few cracks in the hood and it has been stored inside all its life. The bumper has had to be replaced twice. The second time it never lasted a week and no it never ran into anything. On my 5055e it appears to be painted green because under the hood you can see white around the edges. I don't think the hood is thick enough either because a few times I have bumped my head on it when doing an under hood inspection and you could see it flex much easier than a metal hood wood. For now I would prefer metal. My machines never set outside so rust is not than big of an issue.

 

[roush9799]

PLASTIC IS GUARANTEED!




not to rust

Actually, our hood on our 8430 had a stress crack form up the side panel. Deere sent us a new hood free of charge. We haven't taken it out of the crate yet. Waiting for the crack to worsen before we change it out.

 

[EuroYanmar]

I think plastic will be idea once they figure out how to keep it from getting brittle as it ages. Our JD GT235 garden tractor has a few cracks in the hood and it has been stored inside all its life. The bumper has had to be replaced twice. The second time it never lasted a week and no it never ran into anything. On my 5055e it appears to be painted green because under the hood you can see white around the edges. I don't think the hood is thick enough either because a few times I have bumped my head on it when doing an under hood inspection and you could see it flex much easier than a metal hood wood. For now I would prefer metal. My machines never set outside so rust is not than big of an issue.

Yes Fieldman, I think those cracks may have been induced by UV rays under the hard sun.
At least an important point is the cost of replacement of hood or fender.
I am afraid the cost of a plastic hood is as high as the cost of a metallic one.....

Phil

PS : when I wrote the plastic was very thick and mass coloured I was speaking of the fenders of a 3520, the only place where I could estimate thickness and quality.

 

[ajd187]

I like the plastic.

It's lighter, and feels like it's more advanced than using steel.

The plastic on my 3 year old X320 is like new, minus the scratches from mowing between pine trees. It's garaged though, so the sun fade doesn't effect it at all.

 

[Katahdin]

I'd like to think the durability of the plastic used on hoods and fenders has improved since they first debuted a decade or so ago, like shown in this YouTube video for example.

 

[troutsqueezer]

My B21 wouldn't be a B21 if the hood was made of plastic. There is a reason it is made of thick steel, built to work in and around construction sites. When I bought it, there was a substantial dent in the hood, one that would have decimated a plastic version. I got out my Harbor Freight dent-fixing tools and now the hood is good as new. Cost to repair: $35 for the tools plus a little more for the paint.

 

[EuroYanmar]

Thanks for the European Yanmar info, its great to compare notes! Likewise its hard to get good commercial secrets here.

I believe all the U.S. Yanmar parts are made in Japan as well and the tractors are assembled at a large plant in Georgia and distributed from there. Here is a video of their USA operation: Take a Closer Look at Yanmar - YouTube

The 40+hp HST Yanmars in the U.S. have two pedals on the right for forward/reverse. Dual brakes are on the left. Above the forward/reverse pedals is a lever that toggles the "Syncro-throttle" feature which I would best describe as similar in function as the "Auto Throttle Advance" on Kubotas with HST+. When the Syncro-throttle is engaged you control both engine RPMs and speed with the forward/reverse pedals. That said, you can still set higher RPMs with the throttle lever located on the steering column if desired. The Syncro throttle can be engaged either by hand or by slightly tapping it with the right foot. I'll edit this post later and post a picture of it.

Edit: Here's a pic of the pedals on my HST Yanmar with the syncro throttle switch.

Thanks for the picture.
Those pedals are exactly Deere style...
I like this LX4500 HST.
How many ranges has it got 2 or 3 ?
I would like to know where are the loaders made (if you own one, of course) ?
It must be a 4 cylinder is'nt it ?
Last question, how many HST models over 30 HP have you got in US ?

Phil