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southwest in | what was the story on the new idea uni systems ?
were they good in there time ? to hard to switch from one attachment to another ?
good or bad ? any experiences ? thanks |
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north-central Indiana west of Fulton | A few miles from us there was a dealer that specialized in New Idea. It was said he was the largest mover of uni system in the Midwest....don't know if that was true or not however. Most of his stuff was shipped all over I believe , choppers and eared corn machines were used locally but not much if any switching them to combines. Didn't go over here and obviously not many places. |
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N IL | We ran a couple of them through the years...sure glad we don't anymore. They were OK in their day, but way too many moving parts that were slightly underbuilt equals lots of breakdowns.
I cried a tear of joy when I watched the 708 with 4 row and a superhusker pull out of the driveway!
Hope I didn't offend anyone:)
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| Dad ran through several models when I was a kid. Good 4-6 row machines. Ran your butt off keeping up picking. I think switching from the picker to the combine took a couple hours, maybe half a day or so. There is a Facebook group of guys that still run them.
AaronSEIA |
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| Years back we ran a 708 power unit with a 3 row silage chopper and a 4 row(15 foot table) combine. They worked fine. You just had to know your limitations with the power supplied by the unit. The combine was excellent for cleaning grain. They were pretty easy to work on. Once in a while it would be easier to pull the combine off and work on it that way. Switching units was not a problem. You just learned the tricks to backing in under the chopper or combine. |
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S.C. Minn | The vegetable companies used them around me for picking sweetcorn and punkins. I went to Plainview Mn the other day and saw a huge bone yard of unis |
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Northeastern Pa. | A farmer near us has one with combine attachment and 6 row head. They have had it a long time. Doeblers seed corn company had a fleet of them to pick with at one time. |
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| Minneapolis-Moline had the idea of the uni system with the first ones being sold in1954 or 1955. They had various attachments including a picker, sheller, combine, and a chopper at first. Later, a baler and swather were made. A company made a manure spreader for one with it being mounted backwards on the uni tractor. The implements were changed using a hoist to remove the implement from the tractor and then set on a cart to move the implement. Three bolts held the implement on the tractor and two pins were used to attach the lift arms. IIRC 2 people with experience could change implements in about an hour. New Idea bought the Uni system from MM about 1965. Most of the same attachments were available and a corn head could be put on the combine to shell corn. They also started to produce stripper plate corn heads. A three point carrier attachment was made and some used it to plant crops with, put a snow blower on, or spray with. The implements had jacks that were used to support the implements to change them. Three bolts held the implements on the earlier models but am not sure about the later production. If everything worked smooth, 2 people could change implements under an hour. The tractors had more power and nicer cabs with changes made at different times. Many Uni systems with husking beds were used to harvest seed corn. Both MM and New Idea Uni systems did a decent job of harvesting crops but I believe that the combines performed better than competitors makes at the time of production and the husking beds were not quite as good as the competition of the time. Dad had 2 MM uni systems and I owned 2 New Idea Uni systems. When the New Idea ran, it had good capacity and did a real nice job. The reliability was another issue. A few people had really good luck and very little breakdowns. Most of the people had problems. I learned how to be a mechanic with mine. I am not proud of the fact that I used words that made Jesus sad. It was a good day when I traded the Uni system away. Sorry for the length. Have a Blessed Christmas! Jim |
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68340 | Dad and I had them for maybe 25 years. Picked seed corn. Main/only picker at the time for seed corn. Then people learned/discovered Byron and Pixel machines. In one year Uni pickers could not be given away. Those Byrons on a Uni mule were a dream come true. No husking bed on the Byron. Pick 2-4 times as fast, had a swinging elevator to the side for side loading while picking, all greaseable bearing, think I has one bearing fail in 10 years of use. We just had the Byron 501. Uni were never operated by the engineers who built them. Jacks that were to lift the husker or combine would sheer a pin and fail to work, screen hole size to small around the motor and would let all kinds of trash in in front of the radiator, very small front and rear tires, way to much weight on the left side where the motor was, not enough weight on the right side, very poor in wet conditions, small rear tires would slide instead of turn in wet condition's, the list could go on for ever. Good idea, just never built right. |
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| Uni's weren't a bad idea at the time, but time eclipsed them and they were just too small of everything. The northeast was polluted with Uni Systems. Everyone around me had one at one point or another, seed operations still run them here. They did pick corn tons better than a mounted picker, and way faster than a pull type. The combine worked fine, didn't have alot of capacity. They did make a larger combine with a turrett auger but I never was around one, they might have had more capacity than the earlier ones. The 767 chopper IMO lacked capacity, and the heads stunk, I assume the later 800 chopper and the adapter to run Deere heads would be a ok setup. Never was around a sheller, and never used a snowblower on a uni, but did and do have a NI blower so I assume that would work well too. Run a 705, 708, 709, and was around the later 800's with the Cummins some. IMO I wouldn't want one now unless it had a Cummins in it. Too bad they couldn't have got ahold of Melrose DT international engines for them. That 426 Allis was a good weight for the top of the scrap pile at the processor IMO. |
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ECIL | Low engine placement + corn leaves and shucks = fires. |
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central ohio..between Springville and Millbrook. | Jersey Jim - 12/24/2016 07:36
Minneapolis-Moline had the idea of the uni system with the first ones being sold in1954 or 1955. They had various attachments including a picker, sheller, combine, and a chopper at first. Later, a baler and swather were made. A company made a manure spreader for one with it being mounted backwards on the uni tractor. The implements were changed using a hoist to remove the implement from the tractor and then set on a cart to move the implement. Three bolts held the implement on the tractor and two pins were used to attach the lift arms. IIRC 2 people with experience could change implements in about an hour. New Idea bought the Uni system from MM about 1965. Most of the same attachments were available and a corn head could be put on the combine to shell corn. They also started to produce stripper plate corn heads. A three point carrier attachment was made and some used it to plant crops with, put a snow blower on, or spray with. The implements had jacks that were used to support the implements to change them. Three bolts held the implements on the earlier models but am not sure about the later production. If everything worked smooth, 2 people could change implements under an hour. The tractors had more power and nicer cabs with changes made at different times. Many Uni systems with husking beds were used to harvest seed corn. Both MM and New Idea Uni systems did a decent job of harvesting crops but I believe that the combines performed better than competitors makes at the time of production and the husking beds were not quite as good as the competition of the time. Dad had 2 MM uni systems and I owned 2 New Idea Uni systems. When the New Idea ran, it had good capacity and did a real nice job. The reliability was another issue. A few people had really good luck and very little breakdowns. Most of the people had problems. I learned how to be a mechanic with mine. I am not proud of the fact that I used words that made Jesus sad. It was a good day when I traded the Uni system away. Sorry for the length. Have a Blessed Christmas! Jim
your post made me laugh Jim. my dad had a Uni. he is a very well spoken guy...never uses swear words.
we have a family story that one day when I was about 5 yrs old I was "helping" my dad change a bearing on his Uni. later that day I was in the house having an issue with one of my toys when I blurted out "God%@&& it you ^@_@< piece of %×^@^"!!!
my mom was APPALLED at my newfound vocabulary and said I should never speak those words again. I looked up at her and said "why not?? that's what dad said to the Uni System this morning!"
Edited by HeyhayJCM 12/24/2016 09:27
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north central iowa | Dad traded one of ours for a JD 7700 combine. What a difference! Like night and day. |
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Virginia | They do not float at all. 
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Pierce county WI | That's funny. My dad is one of the happiest, nicest guys you'll meet. He taught me everything I know about over reacting on machinery. He has a short Irish fuse. I remember one of my friends was over when we were probably 16. The John Deere 336 baler decided to take a day off of tying. Dad started putting a red wing boot to the side shields and calling it every terrible combination of words that would make a boat full of sailors uncomfortable. Later on my buddy said that he never believed me about my dad til then... |
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Elizabethtown,KY | We had one when I was in high school with the V-6 GMC, had a chopper and cage sheller for it. Sheller did a nice job, I remember it catching fire at least once and burning the wiring off the engine. |
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WI | My dad started with a 706 in the early 80's shortly after bought a new 708 with a 767 super chopper. Also had a picker with a 2 row head. Later on he bought a used low houred 800 with an 838 husking bed and an 844 head. Shortly after, he updated to an 839 with a 6514 head. In the early 90's he traded the 708 for an 800c with a 6200 chopper, reversing feeder house, 7' hay head with the automatic header height, and a 3 row JD corn head painted gray.
Servicing was a pain. Most fluids had to be added from the top of the hood. Along with the battery. I greasing the idler pulley or, the whole chopper for that matter. I was happy to see them go. I almost forgot, the electric knife sharpener and the cutterbar adjustments were a piss poor design on the chopper. The knives couldn't be sharpened on the field, unless you had a portable generator.
I know some on here hate 5000 series JD but, compared to the uni, I'm much happier with my 5830.
Edited by cih1660 12/24/2016 12:33
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central ohio..between Springville and Millbrook. | yup...we're Irish too :) |
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Southeast Nebraska | That made me laugh and reminds me of a story I was alway told about myself. I was about 3 or so and grandpa and grandma came for a visit. Grandma (VERY prim and proper) asked me where my dad was. My response, out feeding the "sonofabitchs" (pigs). Apparently grandma was not too impressed with my choice of words and was equally unimpressed with grandpas hysterical laughter. I had only ever heard my dad call them sonofabitchs so that's what I called them.
Edited by HUSKERBUCK 12/24/2016 20:09
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Central nebr | Hey. Thanks for the laugh. ROFLMAO |
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ohio | A town near the old new idea factory here in ohio still has one with a big snow blower mounted on the front. |
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ND | Our township bought a new Uni Traction unit with the sno blower & used it for maybe 15 to 20 years, it had the V-6 GM engine, believe it was under powered & slow. It had a 8 or 9' blower with double augers-not sure of the power with the V-6 but probably needed a Dsl for torq. I have 4430 on a 96" double auger snowblower & in deep snow its too much for its power.
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thumb of mi | I worked at a dealer that sold them. Fixed some 705-709s and a newergrey one don't know the number. I hated working on them. One of my first jobs out of college was rebuilding a truflow v6 and a bunch of other things on a 705. It was in the back corner of the shop in the dark and cold. Kinda scared me.
Saw a guy that had one turned into a ditch/tree trimmer out of one. Had a long boom with a rotary cutter on it. Looked kinda slick. Also had a customer turn one into a sp sprayer |
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algona iowa | That makes me laugh also i remember those very same words coming from my father and his uni he had when i was younger |
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wcia | just plain sucked if you couldnt fix everything and anything but its the best we had at the time |
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southern MN | It needed more mass and funding and 'keeping up' behind it.
Was a good idea from MM, but it needed refining much faster than it got. Was always behind. They ended up following the specialty markets of sweet corn and small dairy farm, and just couldn't keep up.
Dad bought a bronze mule system to pick corn back in the day, he actually hated the picker once he used it and it stripped gears on the head we couldn't find any more. He actually liked the combine unit for beans and kept the thing an extra year or two for beans, not corn.
Paul
Edited by paul the original 12/24/2016 15:00
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NC IA | Very bad memories of them here...
About 30 years ago my Grandfather got burned real bad inside the cab/trying to get out of the cab on one with the V6 jimmy gas with a combine unit. For whatever reason it started really hard, and after he got it started he pulled it up to the gasoline barrel to fill and didn't shut it off. A neighbor was helping him, Grandpa stayed in the cab, neighbor on ground filling with gas. The gas fill was directly above the engine. Well you can picture what happened. 50% of body burned and got a helicopter ride to the Iowa City burn unit and spent several months there. That was in the armpit of the 80s.
I remember when we still had a 708 with a 868 chopper around in the early 2000's around the time Bt corn came out. I remember my first experience with Bt silage corn and trying to run that SOB. The perfect slippery plastic-like leaves of that corn and the 'ole Uni drove you to drinkin. Sold it shortly after. Was a very happy day seeing the last Uni on this farm go down the driveway. |
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western iowa,by Denison | hmmn!?
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| So who mounted the steps? Looks like a good idea. |
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ILLINOIS | spudnut81 - 12/25/2016 06:46
So who mounted the steps? Looks like a good idea. -Look like Massey Ferguson |
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NW KS/ SC ID | One task they seem to still do great at is with a mounted loading conveyor to clean out ground piles at grain elevators, our local co-op has one and I have seen another 2 or 3 doing the same task at other elevators around the state and surrounding states.
My dad used to use them back in the day, and small metal bucket fires for block heaters to get the ol v-6 jimmy to fire. about the only thing he did not like about them was the poor traction. Otherwise, he got by great with them.
Of course, 25-30 years after he no longer runs them, he had two diesel RWA units in the yard because "They were so cheap at the sale I had to bring it home"
We sold the newer 5.9: Cummins powered gray one with a 767? Super chopper and a Balzer silage trailer (interesting item by itself, has a sloped floor and a drag chain, kick it in and out to load trucks, zero waste, I suppose enough room to open up the field?) to a guy and he seems to like it.
We still have the 708 with the husker and an assortment of cornheads around that need to find a happy home some day, but if it never happens, I guess we can rig a snowblower on it. :) |
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NW Central Ohio | ...the biggest GMC V-6 was rated at 225 HP at 3400RPM. Torque on those engines were really pretty good. Small diameter carbs and huge bores made for gobs of torque..at lower RPM. I still have 2 in trucks...kind of wish I could find a set of .30 over pistons for a 478...I might rebuild it.
Edited by pupdaddy12003 12/26/2016 06:56
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new idea uni system ?
