Teles rigid frame vs. bend-in-the-middle???

[Woodbeef]

O.K. just finally got around to reading my latest Profi. They had an arcticle on the JD 3800 tele. Got my pea brain to wondering about the two types of teles,and which is better,and why?

Lee I see that your "spirit" company has one also.

If I could afford one,I think I'd go with the pivot steer myself!

[orange]

Horse's for Course's !!
Well if you are after good reach, stacking bales etc, then rigid is the way to go
For all round visibility then "Bendie ones" are for you  

As for the rest it all depends on the CLOT on the seat

I personally prefer the "bendie" terex, it is a good bit of kit

[[e-mail]]

Bend-in-the-middle (/articulated/pivot-steer, at one point we really should try to establish a common nomenclatura for some of the terms used on this board to avoid confusion) wheel loaders are king over here, more specifically Volvo BM L50. Have been since Volvo-BM introuced Ag-tractor base-loaders many years back. Good machines for many things, expensive and heavy though.

I had the opportunity to check out the JD 3800 telehandler on a certain recent trip. Must say I have a hard time seeing it's merits in favor of the crab steer alternative. Here's my opinion:

Loads less and costs more than the crab-steer (c-s).

Shorter telescopic boom/arm than c-s.

Must become very unstable whit the boom up when turning

Cab is indeed much nicer than c-s.

Quite a bit taller than c-s, wont fit into low buildings and doors.

And, a big dissapointment to me: the view is terribe! The elevated pivotpoint of the arm and the way it is supported blocks the view. Must see it to explain it. I'm a pretty tall guy  (6'4"), any shorter and it get's much worse.

One thing that struck me though: Why not reverse the drivers postion (modify the tranny etc.), remove the section with the arm and you would have a nice platform for a small self-propelled sprayer, fertilizer or something like that?

[[e-mail]]

I'm happy you brought this subject up.  I didn't even know that JD made the bend in the middle till i looked at their european website.  I've tried out a Kramer loader which is made in germany and like the JD bend in the middle and liked them and think they have merit in certain situations.  Also demoed a Cat 908 (a wheel loader not the bend in the middle with the tele capability) and loved it but here's what I find to be the problems.  One when at full turn, you can't push all that well.  Second when at full turn it becomes unstable when lifting all the way up and when going down the road at full speed it becomes bouncy though I don't know if that was because it was articuated design or not.  Now, I've mentioned that we'll be getting a 3400 rigid telehandler in another month and it doesn't have either of those dissadvantages of the articulated design.  It can turn as sharp as the wheel loader and overall rides better at top speed but it does lack visibility because the cab sits off to the side whereas the articulate design the cab is on top and visibility is excellent but is also more top heavy.  Overall, I see each having its own purpose and in most applications I see the rigid design winning out.  

[[e-mail]]

JCB seems to be the machine of choice in Ireland at the moment, particularly the Farm Master. It is articulated but not telesopic.

Previously it was Volvo-BM, (L series and **00 series) and before that the Volvo rigids (641?) and Michigan articulated (now part of VME?)

I've seen one or two Cats, but they seem a little heavy for ag work.

Telescopic are not common on farms, mostly for construction. Again, JCB are the most popular with Manitou a close second. JCB seem favourites with owner/operators, while Manitou are most often seen in Plant Hire (U-drive) operations.

I've only seen the JD and NH models at shows, never in the wild. The Merlo sounds like a good machine, but it hasn't appeared here yet.

Most popular of all with mid-sized farmers is the MF Backhoe (50B, 50D). Good cheap loader with versatility of backhoe for farm maintenance.

[orange]

Laapa

I can understand when you say that the view is very bad on the bend in the middle loader, But at least you can see both sides of the attachment at all times, rather than working blind on one side with a rigid tele

[[e-mail]]

spirit company? - what the hell is that?

I woul ssay that 90% of the pivots in this country are sold to livestock farmers that need to put straw into shed from a central feed passage as from a stand still you can turn and point the boom over the barrier, where as a rigid you cant.

both varities boom the same but normally the pivots have more horse power.

The main player was matbro but since they went under the market has been split between a very good new manitou product and sanderson.

For an arable farm i would go with a rigid one - but for no real reason. I drove a matbro pivot for a year back in 1995 and it was fine - good tool. takes a bit of getting used to though. Its like having side shift back!

[Woodbeef]

Lee over here in certain Eastern Native North American dialects Manitou means spirit,as in "Gitche Manitou"(Great Spirit).Just Thought I'd throw that in for trivia!!

Did you check out my reply on the CVT post?

[[e-mail]]

yep checked out that web site and rang them out of interest.
they said it is going to be increasingly difficult to get new steyr in the uk because the of case and steyr deal. import from denmark is really the only way.

however i 've got loads of time as the 2 5150's have both got to reach 5000 each before a change. ones got 1000 hrs to go so should be ready for a change by summer 2003 and th eother has got 2000 hrs to go. although i am a bit reluctant to get rid of them as they both have been trouble free and pull very well for there size.

[Laapa]

Orange (and others)

My post was just regarding the new JD 3800 telehandler, compared to ridgid cassis JD.
On most articulated loaders I've driven view has been excellent, but JD was a dissapointment to me in this case.