Farmers jailbreaking John Deere tractors to repair them - video

[MeJasonT]

Big farmers got it - we had 145 acres and was the 2nd largest farm in a 5 mile radius. There were some 15 other farms around us, when foot and mouth struck the area was only left with 3 farms locally. sadly there are only two farms left (the two largest both milk 1000 cows each) we used to have 300 and our direct neighbour just under 300. The idea of driving half way across the state to get to the other side of the farm is mind blowing.
We only ever bought 1 new tractor back in 1982 it was a 70hp Ford 6600 - it got a new engine within weeks of us purchasing it as ford had issues and recalled the engines, technically its a 5610. I am now the proud owner of said vehicle now our farm has gone.
my brother still has the ford 6810 and ford 7600, non of this jolly green giant crap. we led silage with four 5 tonne silage trailer into a clamp and used a new holland 719 forager. At barley time we hired a volvo bm combine with a 12ft cut. The remaining farms around us now use contractors for everything they in turn don't own a damn thing they simply lease everything. We used to spend a week cutting 50 acres of silage now they are picking up an entire farm in a day. Sad really i miss the banter at harvest time.

[Frank S]

My grandpa bought a 1959 John Deere at an estate auction in 61 we called the Dear John because he paid almost nothing for it and never got it home. Too big for us to haul on his old B61 Mack and trailer he decided to road it the 22 miles home the transmission went out in the first 2 miles so it was hauled to the dealership Turned out all 8010s were under a recall notice for transmission problems it was sent from the dealership to where ever and when it came back it had been upgraded then rebadged as 8020 to prove the upgrades had been done. Not that a stupid badge meant anything on its own but that was how the big green did things.
So an virtually no cost to my grandpa we wound up with a virtually brand new tractor complete with full warranty, which he made sure to use it to the fullest extent as long as the warranty was in effect. Turned out to be a great piece of equipment and about the largest thing in anyone's field for miles around much better than the TD24 dozer he wanted the Dear John to replace

[MadTrapper]

Thank you for this information. I own VW and Audi and yes there is a minefield of competing Eastern european software sources to access my own car.
Stealerships are far more numerous than good honest mechanics. Just the way things are going. I like the comments on suits!

[Jon]

Here’s a picture of the highest selling 30 year old Tractor at auction this year…a 1989 model JD 4955 MFWD with 2225 hours sold for $71,000 on a 2/23/19 farm auction in Saint Mary’s, OH.

Tractors manufactured in the late 1970s and 1980s are some of the hottest items in farm auctions across the Midwest these days — and it’s not because they’re antiques.

Cost-conscious farmers are looking for bargains, and tractors from that era are well-built and totally functional, and aren’t as complicated or expensive to repair as more recent models that run on sophisticated software.

More:

https://discuss.machinerypete.com/t/...not-today/1439
For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity - StarTribune.com

[Frank S]

More:

https://discuss.machinerypete.com/t/...not-today/1439
For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity - StarTribune.com

Yep and they wont shut themselves down because they lost connection with the internet or missed a regen cycle because of being in the field trying to complete a harvest before a storm. crops cannot wait 3 to 15 days for a dealership to send out a service tech who will probably tell the farmer once he arrives and has a look at the piece of equipment that it will have to be transported to the dealership to re calibrate the computer that controls the tire inflation and the windshield wipers because it is not allowed to be done in the field without a complete diagnostic
You may think I'm joking but according to some of the cotton farmers things have really gotten so bad that you don't dare operate a piece of equipment with the cab doors open when the air conditioner goes out for fear of the onboard computer sending a fault code that will shut down the machine because the computer overheated

[greyhoundollie]

"Ditto" I have a 1974 Ford 5600 and a 1973 David Brown 996. If I can't work on it myself I don't own it. Yeah they both break down from time to time. But the parts don't cost $1000.00 +++++ I shop for parts locally with a man who still uses all of the "books" to find part numbers not a computer. He has been writing himself notes on each page in his books for 50 years. He gets me the right part the first time he orders, And if he thinks it is too expensive he looks for another source. I can call him on Sunday morning because it is going to rain and I will loose my hay crop. He will get the part from his shop and drive it too me 25 miles.

The guys with the $200,000 tractors and $350,000 combines still break down as often as I do some times once a day. No one brings them parts on Sunday. They have to wait until Monday and Schedule an appointment.

[IAMSatisfied]

Yep and they wont shut themselves down because they lost connection with the internet or missed a regen cycle because of being in the field trying to complete a harvest before a storm. crops cannot wait 3 to 15 days for a dealership to send out a service tech who will probably tell the farmer once he arrives and has a look at the piece of equipment that it will have to be transported to the dealership to re calibrate the computer that controls the tire inflation and the windshield wipers because it is not allowed to be done in the field without a complete diagnostic
You may think I'm joking but according to some of the cotton farmers things have really gotten so bad that you don't dare operate a piece of equipment with the cab doors open when the air conditioner goes out for fear of the onboard computer sending a fault code that will shut down the machine because the computer overheated

And to make matters worse, the companies that manufacture these pieces of farm equipment that require proprietary software have aggressively gone after (i.e., legal threats,etc.) anyone trying to repair these on their own (not unlike how Tesla motors has treated those who attempt to repair their own cars, and how Apple computer has tried to shut down or otherwise hinder aftermarket repair services).

[Frank S]

And to make matters worse, the companies that manufacture these pieces of farm equipment that require proprietary software have aggressively gone after (i.e., legal threats,etc.) anyone trying to repair these on their own (not unlike how Tesla motors has treated those who attempt to repair their own cars, and how Apple computer has tried to shut down or otherwise hinder aftermarket repair services).

Well if they didn't manufacture inferior products they would not have to be so paranoid with their proprietary software's and parts

[MeJasonT]

That also goes for microsoft and google when it comes to being paranoid about protecting inferior products.

[MeJasonT]

Is anyone following the John Deere jailbreak story. does it still have the same momentum.