Combines John Deere Hillside combines

[hank]

the 6622 was the last hillside that jd made at the factory.

 

[John_W]

The JD 55H, 95H and 6602 thru 6622 were hillside machines made in the Deere factory. Deere had Rahco in Spokane Washington put levelers under about 100 7722's and then got out of the business. Since that time all the levelers for Deere 9600's on up have been made by Rahco_M Squared in Spokane Washington, Joe Rea, a Washington farmer and by Hillco in Nez Perce Idaho. Earlier, Deere had a hillside pull machine the n36 which was basically a Holt or Caterpillar combine which Deere got when they bought out the Caterpillar_Holt combine line in the 1930's.

 

[Red_Painter]

In addition, I think before the 55H factory hillside was introduced, there were one or more machine shop levellers put on in the early 50's by local inventors. My uncle had a Dave Neil leveller (possibly made in Garfield, Washington) on his first 55 which was originally a level land machine. The header swiveled where it met the cylinder instead of where the header auger met the lower part of the feeder house and I think the back wheels did not tilt and stay vertical on the hillside (made fun steering I guess with no power steering). It had a levelling cylinder only on the left side unlike one on each side like on the factory produced leveller. There may have been another leveller developed by another inventor too;maybe in Moscow, Idaho though I'm not sure. In the pull combine days, John Deere also had a smaller 33(I think) which was smaller than the big 36. The photographs on this site have a picture of that combine also. See Jim Marples Hillside Photos.

 

[willis]

Don't forget the 55H and 95H both would level to a 45degree slope, where as the 6602's and newer would only go to a 32 or soIJIJ not sure. Cut my teeth on a 95H late model gas machine with a 16 foot head. Those old combines were the queen of the hillside machines i thought. Internationals only had one leveling ram instead of the two on each side. But the 453's did have a four way level side to side and up and down in the rear to keep the walkers and shoe level. Might have been also on the 403's not sure. Willis Kinder Bliss, Idaho

 

[John_W]

Not to be fussy, but hillside combines are rated in percent slope they will correct for not degrees. A 45 degree slope is a 100% slope and no combine is going to stay on that. So 45% slope or grade is actually 24.4 degrees. Also as was mentioned there were some "blacksmith" levelers put on JD 55's in Moscow Idaho by the Moscow Machine Shop. I think the owner was named Farber, he also had a patent on the header swivel that he claimed that John Deere stole from him. Some of these machines used a rack and pinion with the pinion driven by a hydrualic motor for leveling instead of a hydraulic cylinder, and the leveling was manual. You had a big spirit level to look at, that must have been pretty hairy.