Columbia Basin, Ephrata, WA | Jones_ABE'03 - 9/17/2023 08:55
I would look for a 400 to 500hp machine should work well for you. If you truly plan to go to a pile or have a chopper operator that does mind sitting then a 600+ hp machine is usually more cost effective because there are a lot more of them. Deere vs Claas I would go with favorite dealer who you know will look after you the best. On a Deere probably wouldn't recommend anything before a 7000 series more of an age thing than anything because my 6750 was a pretty decent machine for what I do. As for Claas, I have a 493 series and the electronics start to get a little more complex over a 492 series. Which the 492 seem to be really popular as a dependale machine but are starting to get a lot of hours on most of them.
I have purchased both of my machines from Vanko machinery in Iowa. He runs a custom chopping business and has refurbished machines to sell. If I have a problem he can usually walk me through it. Especially nice in the beginning as you start to learn the machine.
There are only something like a half dozen 493 machines in the states, so that’s interesting that you had one. IMO they were a small step backward from the 492 series.
And yes, the 492 are excellent but getting aged. If I were in the OP’s shoes I’d be looking hard at a 496. Newer and slightly improved version of a 492, what little improvement is possible. An 860 (it was dumb for them to reuse the 491 model numbers) would do everything he wants without breaking a sweat.
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Looking at going to a sp forage harvester
