8 row planter 6 row head

Pull 2 boxes off the planter.If it is 8 row wide and you have a narrow head, it might lead to trouble???


Edited by CTuckerNWIL - 14 Mar 2012 at 4:32pm

Been there done that, for over 10 years. It works ok but your "guess" rows can get wide or narrow so you have two rows that won't quite match every other through. Not a big deal most of the time.

I have planted with a two row and picked with a three row for years. I think this year I'll plant with a four row and pick wirh a three row.

The only problem I see is that it is a John Deere planter! LOL! Just kidding, Deeres are almost as good as Allis. Darrel

As long as you can follow the marker you should be good to go.  The guy I farm with is dead on with his guess rows.  If we end up off a row combining you don't notice it.  It's all a matter of how good you do planting.  Buddy of mine planted 12 combined 8 with no problems.

It will work as well as long as you can plant straight. We have done it 20 plus years and have done with a 4 row planter and a 3 row corn head JD 45, a 6 row planter and a Gleaner F2 and a 4 row head and a 16 row planter and a new 12 row Case IH combine at work. As long as you plans straight it will run fine through the head and if you don't ya just have to back up and take fewer rows.

We ran 6 row JD 7100 planters for years, with an 8R Allis head, and the guys are right, it all depends on how straight you drive, guess rows will be an issue, but it's not really that bad.  We farm a lot of hill ground in the family, and have no auto steer, and it works fine, may have to slow down once in a while if the guess is really wide or narrow, but it works. 

The markers on my 4 row narrow 7000 planter are too long to hit the tractor center so the SOP is to hit the far wheel track. When I can see the wheel (open tractor) all the time that gets guess rows so precise my custom combiner can't find them. I can by them being off an inch if I get out an check with a tape. Most combine heads allow 4 or 5 inches tolerance. I put the center rib of the front tire in the marker groove. I've adjusted the marker disk angle to be small so it cuts narrow and deep. I don't plant with the wandering hydraulic steering of the 4020, it won't drive a straight line no matter where I hold the steering wheel steady.

I also copied AC using a ball hitch for the planter to tractor and bolt down the draw bar so the markers can't steer the planter side to side in the typical hitch pin clearance. That also improves the precision of the guess rows.

Gerald J.

We've done many variations - plant 4 and pick 3, plant 6 and pick 4, plant 12 and pick 8. All work fine just teaches you to drive a little straighter!