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NW Ohio | First, I am a Trimble dealer, so I do tend to lean that way.
I would say, if you have no other GPS components, i.e. starting from scratch, both AL and Trimble have very good products.
You will want to take into account the other options of the systems that you will want to utilize down the road, i.e. auto-steer, planting, spraying and yield monitor.
The other factor to consider is what brand of tractor you use. Both systems will work with about any color of tractor but, in my opinion Trimble has an advantage when working with Case IH.
When you start pricing them, price the other options that you are considering so you have the total investment cost. If tiling is all you are doing, you will find they are similarly priced.
They both have PC software associated with them (AL has SMS, Trimble has Farm Works) at an additional fee.
Two functions that Trimble has that I like and use are Field Level II unlock in combination with Optisurface for land planing, and height offset when installing.
If interested in land planing, FLII and Optisurface are GREAT tools.
Height offset allows you to pre-rip using automatic control what ever depth you want above your installed line. This feature is used with our Waterway ditcher continuously. When creating a waterway ditch, your cut can vary from 1" to 2' or more. On a 2' cut, we set the height offset + 1' 6" so we are only cutting 6", turn around and set the height offset to +1' and take another 6" off, Continue stepping down till you reach 0 in the height offset and your ditch is complete.
I didn't make mention of two other systems that I am aware of,AMW (formerly known as AGPS) and John Deere IGrade. AMW is a good system but doesn't have a easy user interface. For full time contractors that are using it throughout the season, it works great. For farmers doing their own tiling, it is difficult to remember how to use from one year to the next.
IGrade simply does not have the abilities of the other three systems. I think it was an offering from JD that they never put any effort or research into.
The other two things I would add is make sure the dealer has knowledge of the system for tiling and how is their service. Ask for references of someone that is using their system and get their input on setup and service after the sale.
Edited by Dogface1SG 1/6/2016 10:00
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Which tile gps system
