Our new CLAAS ARES 557ATX tractor from the German combine company CLAAS: 105hp 4.5L DPS (deere power systems) inter cooled turbocharged 24x24 speed power shuttle transmission built by GIMA it has 4 ranges with 6 power-shift levels in each range (very flexible tranny) Linkage controls are designated TCE-15 (dont know who makes these) but it is also fully electric and very easy to use. nice little extras like fender mounted 3PH and PTO control, side tilting seat so you dont have to tweak your neck so much monitoring rear mounted implements full air suspended seat by grammar, AC etc. first modern tractor on the farm, it sure is nice to use but unless its matched up with implements for its size its a deisel guzzler and our last complete oil/filter change (after warranty) cost us upwards of 1000euro new technology is real nice but we'll see about that if or when the electrics start going...
Pretty fancy.
Thanks
I'm surprised to hear it has a Deere engine. All the Claas equipment I have seen around Indiana has Mercedes power. Claas North American headquartes is just 40 miles from me.
i was also surprised, further research came up that CLAAS purchased their tractor line by buying out Renault in france, ever since they changed to deere motors (a positive change) and just some cosmetic touch ups to CLAASify them if you know what i mean.
in the end my dad decided on this machine because of how simple it is to operate, just set the transport and work height for the 3PH through the TCE-15 terminal and then just flip a button to switch between the two when entering or exiting the headland. driving it is verry easy too, the tranny is fully electronic so you never have to touch the clutch, even between ranges, the whole tractor can be controlled by the orange stick you can see in teh second pic. moving the lever forward or backward changes the engine RPM's the + and - buttons switch up or down one level and between ranges, if you want to make a bigger change in speed just hold in the trigger while pressing + or - and it will switch down a whole range all without the clutch. as easy and comfortable as it is, i come from the old days of tractor, this is are first "modern" machine and i just wonder how the electrics are gonna hold up
We were a Claas dealer back in the 80's when no one in Indiana knew who they were. I did many field demos of combines and hay balers. We also had the New Holland dealership and I quickly learned to NOT take a Claas baler to the field if you really wanted to sell the customer a New Holland........ and A Class combine took a back seat to no one.
you know, im not that much of a combine guy, in fact the unit on my dads farm is an old east-German combine called MDW fortchritt E514 (may post some pics of that once i get back to the farm). but the Claas balers are really second to none, and from what i hear their machinery is really focused around comfort and user friendliness. i wonder if in America they still have some dealerships around?
What a nice tractor you have there. :thumbsup It seems to me that Europe drives the market for new and innovative designs in ag equipment. I have an Antonio Carraro tractor which is not very well known here in the States. The entire operator station swings around from front to rear depending on which direction you want to be facing. A New Holland TV140/TV6070 has the same feature and I believe it is made by Fiat in Italy. I use mine strictly as a utility tractor and have the seat pointing towards the rear 90% of the time. Snow blowing, post hole auger, bush hog, 3pt pallet forks, etc. It's almost like having a skid steer and an ag tractor all in one unit.
that sir is a verry nice feature! something that id definately look for in an operation where you cant afford to have too many machines. and i believe you when you say that your faceing backwards most of the time, visibility is much better. verry nice peice of machinery. :thumbsup
its a globalized market, and what i mean by that is the tractors these days are all a mix and match up of parts, for example: our "German" Claas has an American john deer motor, a French GIMA tranmission, the front axle is Italian built by Carraro, it just takes a good team of individuals to properly utilize each part together as a system
yes, I think you're right, in the same way the truck industry used to/still does utilise a small number of engine manufacturers the Ag industry is the same.....R&D costs are so high it ends up being the most cost-effective solution
precisely, you have specialized company's now like Perkins and Cummins who deal specifically with their product (motors) and concentrate their R&D on their product. its up to the tractor manufactureres to make the right marriage between all components to get the best results
You'd be surpised how many machines use, or will be using, the Iveco (FPT) power plants with Ad-Blue due to the astronomical development costs
although we have an iveco flat bed on the farm im not too familiar with their motors, but as long as they stay competitive with pricing or have a better spec product, then more power to them. its what fuels the modern world to advance at the pace it is. will look into that motor though sounds interesting
Apparently unlike most tractor manufacturers Claas is 100% family owned so they don't have any share holders to pay, and can spend as much money as they want on research and development. We had one of these out on trial, it's a Claas Xerion 3800VC. It runs a 380hp Cat C9 engine, ZF Vario transmission, reversible cab and four wheel steering. The Xerion range covers 330hp to 520hp. Even though it's a big tractor it was so easy to operate and handled like it was much smaller.
There are dealers for Claas hay and forage equipment in the states but Claas combines became Cat combines so now you cant buy a Claas combine unless its painted Cat yellow. I was past Claas North American headquarters today and there are no tractors there. I dont think Claas tractors have found their way to NA yet.
Hey motrack, The two photos above of the Xerion with mowers on, I took at the Empire Farm Days in Seneca Falls NY when I was over there in 2007. I was working on a stand selling peterson portable sawmills from New Zealand but got to have a look around as well, was a really good show.
i didnt know that before interesting. that Xerion is a BAD @SS! they are very rare though, even for europe, but are a very versatile systems tractor, their platforms can hold all kinds of specialized quipment like manure spreaders sprayers, mowers, seed bins etc... if we had more acrage on our farm we'd probobly have bought it over the ares http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVKTUid50NI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC0hhIb5ZjE&feature=related
i take my last comment back, 2009 base model 330hp xerion for 161 151euro befor tax!!!! http://www.korbanek.pl/spolka/pl/ws...rolnicze/claas/ciagnik_claas_xerion_3300.html
HSV127....... Thanks for the info. I need to do a bit of research and see who using these around my area!