|
| I am currently running a 6 row JD 7000 corn planter that I rebuilt 3 years ago. It's been a good planter, have had a few minor issues such as a few sheared cotter keys, blown hydraulic hose, marker issues, but never anything real big that I couldn't get back up and running quickly. I know the planter well and am comfortable with it. I have the finger pickup seed meters tested every year, they have served me well. I have planted between 200-250 acres per year with this planter. All of my acres are either conventional tillage or strip till.
This year I have bought an additional 150 acres of tillable ground and will now be putting in 400 acres of corn and beans combined. Mostly on my own but some help here and there. I am wanting to step up to a 12 row planter now. I have the tractor for it already, might as well save myself some time planting. If I'm going to upgrade planter size, maybe I should look for a planter with a few more goodies than what my current 7000 has. Here are some of the options I have found locally.
A 12 row JD 7000, box planter, front fold, liquid fertilizer that hasn't been used in years, brand new in the box precision corn meters and working bean meters. This planter probably should have a full rebuild of new opening disks, chains and bearings, probably will need some gauge wheels, seed tubes, chains, some hydraulic hoses are cracked, other small items, and I'd like to put spiked closing wheels on it too. $3,500 for this planter with the new seed meters
I have also found a 1998 model JD 1770 12 row planter with finger pickup meters. I like the looks of this one, I don't feel it is a lot different than the planter I am using now being that it has finger pickup seed meters. I've never been around a vacuum planter and I use older tractors, I probably don't have a tractor that could run a vacuum planter without adding a PTO pump to run the vacuum. This planter has Max emerge plus row units, top drive wheel for the seed transmission, heavy duty down pressure springs and a 250 monitor. It has the same 1.6 bushel boxes as the 7000. This is a front fold planter and has dry fertilizer on it that I don't think I would use. I'm thinking I would still add the spiked closing wheels to this planter and who knows, probably end up putting on new chains, a new hydraulic hose here and there, maybe new opening disks, seed tubes etc in this planter too. The guy wants $20,000 for this planter. Hoping maybe I could get it bought for $17,500-$18,000 something like that. Question is, if this 1770 needs most the same things as the old 7000 12 row would need, am I any further ahead to buy the newer 1770 planter? Or should I stick the money into the older planter and have the 12 row I wanted for much cheaper? Are there enough upgrades or featured in the newer 1770 to justify upgrading at this point?
Any other thoughts or recommendations? I'm open to any and all suggestions at this point.
| |
|
Corn planter JD 7000 vs newer 1770
