Combines 1020 vs draper

[Case_Farmer]

From what im told and seen you want a 36 ft draper how good it flex's... Well really good on the far up pricey package but the one below it...works just like your 1020 flex head and for most people it works great.. we have hilly ground and alot of it and never had any problems with the 30ft 1020 Drapers are great for short beans Just go with the draper...lol you will use more of the combine's capacity and you will love the 2388 try to get a 03 and up for the AFX Rotor ive been very happy with it

 

[Red_dog]

How does your 2388 handle the 1020 30'IJ I guess I should ask what yields will it handle with the 30' flex and still maintain a repsectable driving speed i.e. 3.5-4 mphIJ This past summer we cut 95-115 bushel wheat with the entire plant going through and rotor loss was a real problem. This gets me a little worried when looking at a 36' draper header. Basically I would like to run the same head, be it a 30' 1020 or a 36' flex draper in 100 bushel wheat and 40-60 bushel soyabeans. What is your honest opinionIJ Thanks

 

[hop_a_l]

Find a draper somewhere that's running and go look at it, and bring your check book because you will bring one home with you. Everyone that has ran one can talk and talk about it but until you see you won't believe it. Buy the 36' and you will enjoy a smoother feeding, faster cutting speeds and and a 20% bigger head with less loss and less fuel used. my .02

 

[Red_dog]

I wish I could see one in action but there are none to be found in SW Ont.

 

[Case_Farmer]

The 2388 handels the 30 ft head easily No problems.... I do recommend getting the AFX Rotor (started in 2003) on the 2388 and 2366's at the time Its really quiet and does a good job Our next grain head is a 36ft draper head too Expensive but it looks like its worth it..

 

[hop_a_l]

My suggestion is get on the MacDons web page and start calling dealers to find someone who has one running. We drove 8hrs last fall to see one, bought 2 and then bought a 3rd this year. Well worth the trip. I would love to try to explain to you how good these heads work but don't know how. The best way is look at what CornKings said "My son says that if dealers bring this head out for demo they beter have lots of heads cause every body will trade for one". You are welcome to come ride with me but I live in South East Kansas.

 

[Red_dog]

I've talked to my dealer today and he mentioned a 36' Macdon on a 8010 here in the area. He says its the only one in Ontario. We started talking price and he figures a 30' Macdon vs a 30' 1020 would be approx. double the price. Macdon claims on there web page a 20% increase in capacity over a similiar size auger flex head. Now the question remains is this 20% increase in capacity worth the extra $30000 dollarsIJIJIJ What are the general maintenace cost vs a 1020 flexIJ Thanks for taking your time to answer some of these questions!!!

 

[hop_a_l]

let me give you something to concider, what is the bean loss of the auger vs. draperIJ I cann't find the study but was told that a University did just that study and there was a 3 - 4 bushel to the acre increase with the draper. 1000 acres x 3.5 x $6 = $21,000. Now what was the difference in priceIJ The ablity to start eariler and run latter. Maintance.... How many fingers do you put on your auger headIJ or gaurds. I ran a brand new 30 flexdraper over 1,500 acres (rocky ground) and never replace one guard or finger. Yes taking care of the drapers is a little but more work you have 9 grease zerks to grease once a year and I remove the drapers and store them in the parts room, thats so I can clean under them and keep the mice out. This takes me about 30 minutes to remove and 1 hr to install. The extra work is worth it in my opinion.

 

[hop_a_l]

Something else I though of last night, is your ground flat or terracesIJ If its flat you could get away with a 973 MacDon instead of the 974. Essintaly the same head except doesn't flex, and a lot less expencive.

 

[Red_dog]

As a custom cutter, the fields we do are all over the place. I looked at the 973 vs the 974 on there web page but I would need the 974. We just might have to bite the bullet and hope we can squeeze a few more acres through one machine!