JOHN DEERE 6600 Combine on Steel Tracks Harvesting

[@3frogltd987]

I was a JD dealer in Wisconsin during the 70's and 80's. The 6600 was a surprisingly capable and productive combine. It's successor the 6620 was awesome. JD did not offer tracks for 6600's, the tracks in the video were most likely made in Michigan (can't remember mfg's name); we sold dozens of those tracks in the late 70's and 80's. Farmers said they were too expensive until their neighbor bought a set and started harvesting corn when all the other neighbors couldn't get into their fields. We also sold dozens of 4WD conversion kits for 6600 and 7700 JD combines, Deere was slow to react to the needs of Midwest farmers during those exceptionally wet falls

[@joelawrence56]

MF offered these tracks as factory fitted option for rice harvest...did Deere?

[@hammyfarmer8111]

Those look like Crawler Rebuilders tracks from Hudsonville, Michigan. They used an undercarriage mount. Grip Track in nearby Ravenna Michigan also built tracks but used a final drive mount.

[@combinelover8988]

You are correct about the tracks! They were an aftermarket option. I literally learned to cut with a 1975 Model 6600. It's still a very good combine, today!

[@StanDieckmann-xh8ti]

I would guess this is a farmer not buried up to his eyes in debt. Way to go!!

[@kevintheilen9643]

Well... I did notice he hadn't repaired the rotary screen drive and also the rubber boot on the unloading auger. Possibly the latter has something to do with clearance over the grain cart. To his credit he is running a much newer corn head. Gotta do what ya gotta do...

[@ClayHylton]

I wish I could have a time machine to go back to the 70s and 80s to see these amazing machines brand new

[@hokie9910]

Oh to go back ….for many reasons

[@brianzybura8633]

I love this farmer's combine and tractor.

[@WNYFarmer]

I ran a 1660 years ago that we had a set of steel tracks for it. Pulled it from field to field on a dolly with a box car magnum. Thing would walk on water

[@benclark3626]

I learned how to operate combines on a 7700. Took the operators manuel to school and read it cover to cover in study hall. Dad always said you know this machine inside and out and how to maximize it's production.

[@combinelover8988]

I think you are my lost fraternal twin brother! LOL! During high school, I did just that, too! In fact, my hobby at the time was collecting combine operators manuals and technical manuals, just so I could learn as much as I could about these amazing machines! The books I read cover-to-cover, were the operators manuals for the John Deere 6600 and 7700 (one book), Massey-Ferguson 750 and 760 (also one book), Gleaner F, Gleaner L, International Harvester 915, New Holland 1500 and New Holland TR 70! I really cherished my library, too! I graduated high school in 1978, with the career goal of becoming a professional custom harvester! Though that never materialized, I enjoyed five years of work as an apprentice in the field, and I just STILL LOVE anything and everything to do with combines, except for the bloodsport of deliberately destroying these beautiful and valuable creatures!

[@ScottPykare]

As wet as that field is it's great that this combine has tracks. You can see how much better flotation it gets! Great combine for sure!👍🏻😊

[@StormLaker]

That field has to be a hunter's dream with all the waste grain on the ground from these machines. Today's machines are a lot more efficient at capturing every kernel than these machines were in their day. We have one field we hunt that is owned/farmed by an 85 year old man who uses old equipment like this. The pheasants, ducks, geese, etc LOVE that field and so do we, lol. Thanks for sharing this video, the sounds of that combine take me back to when I was a kid helping relatives on their farms during harvest time. I was the kid driving the open cab tractor with the gravity cart keeping up with the combine. Then I progressed to driving the Inernational grain truck (warm and comfortable). We've come a long way since tthose days!

[@joescheller6680]

Thst machine will save kernels just as good as today's machines. And do a better job better sample on the tank

[@joeplunk141]

I ran 2 4400's and one 6600 in my teen years and early 20's. Great machines, and great memories.

[@bigtractorpower]

The New Generation combines were stand out machines in their day.

[@clinkerclint]

The sound of that hydro brings back a lot of childhood memories!

[@waylontimlick2792]

Merry Christmas!

[@SomedayTooPulling]

Great video, that's the area I grew up.. I always pay attention to the background to see familiar geographic references. The ground is worked was always sloppy in spring n fall. One of the farmers I worked for, George, had two 90' Harvetstores, he ran a Gleaner and in mid 80s it was so wet he bought aftermarket tracks. They worked well in the field but road travel they could throw a track. Come spring, tilling those rutted fields was not fun, slow rough job.

[@HeavyMachinery2207]

Wow, it's impressive to see the John Deere 6600 combine with steel tracks in action! The smooth movement on tough terrains and the machine's performance are truly remarkable. Technologies like this surely boost harvesting efficiency and save time. Thanks for sharing this video, I really enjoy watching how the combine operates and the powerful sound of the engine!

[@CurtMcElvain]

Great video! I remember the 44/6600 combines very well, great reliable machines for sure. Watching that 693 head bounce ears off brings back memories. Nowadays they look for kernels. Tracks probably don’t help with fine adjustments from the cab…. Love it

[@williamhalpin6713]

Yes we ran tracks on 6600 fall of 1977. Also in 1992 to get the wheat harvest done. That's just a few years for example. We ran tracks on 7700 in 1970. In fact our dealership sold many track sets. I made a trip to Harvester works fall of 1977 to get 2 sets for customers.

[@brianwideman2342]

Boy, I'll bet the deer hunting on that farm is trophy class with all that corn being left behind.

[@marks_sparks1]

For sure, lots of cobs left behind each pass.

[@kevintheilen9643]

@@marks_sparks1 Sigh... "Cob" is the part of the ear the kernels are attached to. The whole purpose of a combine is to take the grain kernels and leave the cobs behind. I'm sure this farmer would have preferred to harvest his crop much earlier, when the stalks would have held their ears better, but weather dictated delay. Very possibly he took off most of his crop elsewhere long before he had to resort to such extreme measures.

[@DeBa1226]

We enjoyed both a JD 6600 and 7700 without the tracks and it got the job done.

[@LackoFarms]

We ran two 7700s up until 2004 then 20 series, now 9610. When I was a boy we had a JD 95 & JD 105 Diesel great video 👍

[@edh8144]

I saw a combine like this last year near Lyndonville, NY. Like you said, close to lake Ontario. It can get pretty wet. They used to put tracks like these on New Idea Uni's with Byron sweet corn pickers when it got sloppy too. One local guy built a trailer that he ran the tracks onto and towed it from field to field that way. Someone in the cab to steer the machine while they trailered it. Thanks for the video!

[@peewee.3138]

$4000+ dollars for the rear wheel assist and $2200+ dollars for the tracks, what would the total approximate cost for that machine in 1978? Thanks, Jason! Probably a couple thousand less than a new one today!

[@michaeldamhoff884]

Were the metal roofing shields also an option offered by Deere?

[@seth1704]

I ran a 6600 for 20 years I had a couple with the 329 engine and then the last one I got had the 404. The 404 engine handled the 20 ft Bean platform a lot easier than the little 329. I upgraded about 6 years ago do a 6620 and like that quite a bit better with the hydrostat, I just picked up a spare 6620 at a consignment auction last Saturday for $2250

[@bryanbishop8973]

I live in hillside country. If I recall they were all hydrostatic drive. There were some gas engines early days. The diesel powered machines were all 404 cubic inch. In 75 thru 78 they were turboed. In 79 the last year they they were built they had a 466 turboed motor. That was the case thru the 6622 were discontinued in 83 or so. Good reliable machines.

[@Thewaywefarm]

Been quite a few years since I’ve seen a combine running on steel tracks. We have rubber tracks for wet falls now in western New York. Great video.

[@douglassellers7528]

Still doing a great job!

[@jamiecollins1220]

I never saw one with tracks on it looks nice. But in our area of north ga tracks aren’t very popular. Also it is doing a Jam up job in that corn field those are some pretty extreme conditions.

[@remmiemax3624]

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

[@Husker3435]

Ran a 66 on rubber with 4-38” header, really thought we hit a home run, especially coming from 2 JD 95’s👌🏻

[@clintonstubbs2319]

That is a wet corn field! Pretty interesting option to have steel tracks in the late 1970s, similar to those Camso rubber tracks today on many big 4wd tractors and combines.

[@bigtractorpower]

Muddy snowy corn harvests were very common in WNY in the 70’s. Almost all the farms regardless of brand I grew up around had a set of steel tracks for those extra bad years. It was a great opportunity to show how harvesting looked in the mud 50 years ago.

[@zugzwang747]

Thank you, its just this stuff letting me follow this channel. Great machines with real farmers work needed. Nice patina as well, I have seen that hood on the big john ❤️ Keep up filming this stuff and let others film the stuff we can see on each other field these days. This is farming the way where the heart knocks meet the hard rocks.

[@David-j2w7o]

I have a 4400 just bought a 6620 4 wheel drive good video

[@brianzybura8633]

To BTP, and all of you in this comments section, hope all of you have a merry Christmas.

[@bigtractorpower]

Merry Christmas.

[@douglasfarwell6379]

We ran across these old tracked machines back in the Rice fields in Texas

[@harvestingharrolds1086]

I ran a 7700 the first 2 years i farmed. It had good capacity but I replaced it with a 1460 and that was a much better combine. Growing up there were 2 4400s a 6600 and 7700 in my neighborhood in the 90s.

[@piperdoug428]

The John Deere of the 70's n 80's made a full line of equipment that can still keep a farm going today which most brands cant say. Merry Christmas Jason and family

[@bigtractorpower]

Merry Christmas. These machines were built to last a lifetime.

[@dustinwillis113]

Got a 4400 with 216 flex head. Used it to cut fescue. Haven't used it in 5 yrs now

[@paulthegreat3521]

I absolutely loved this video, I have a 78 model 6600 with rear wheel assist. Please keep making these videos.😊

[@tammygurke7482]

Wow that field 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

[@leonardpetherick]

ya the price of corn he should have just left it till freeze up or spring did more damage to field than he gained in grain 😂

[@LissanFarm]

Your harvest looks amazing

[@johnnyhomegrownholmgren9999]

Merry christmas and a happy new year. ☃️🎄 Thank you for this year, Jason. Best wishes from a ❄️ Sweden.

[@marks_sparks1]

Lovely video. Happy Christmas BTP

[@SimonKL11]

That are some tough conditions, but the 6600 gets it done nicely😉👍 Merry Christmas to you and your family Jason!🎉👍

[@Hinesfarm-Indiana]

That’s really cool to see, great video Jason 👍👍

[@williamgreenway9893]

Have drove one but we when with the 6620!😊

[@King_Randy]

Very neat find!!

[@joescheller6680]

Had that same track on a 9500 only stuck it once got high centered on a frozen snow bank.

[@406farmer]

Great video!!

[@douglasfarwell6379]

The 6602 machines I ran leveled on a 45 slope and had a 20' header. This machine would slide but not roll over.

[@FarmHand25]

Talk about mudding it out!!

[@kygreenskeeper8326]

I need a older unit like this Jason..... Would work great for me

[@paulofrancisco565]

Parabéns eu sou seu fã amo seus vídeos e seu canal sucesso sempre 👏👏👍👍👌👌🚜🚜🙏🙏🌹🌹

[@ihguy2113]

used to have a 6600 great machine not a good idea to do corn without the chopper or spreader in those wet conditions leave a heave wind row of trash for next year

[@johnkoster7910]

Very cool! Used to drive a 6600. Looks like a brute to steer with the Tracks.

[@bigtractorpower]

I’ve always heard that the steel tracks do not provide the most comfortable ride. They do look cool and they definitely get the Crop out of the field.

[@TravisGaither-o4o]

We ran a 1979 7720 and sold in the late 80's or early 90's today we have a 2014 s670

[@timadams7467]

Man them were some final drive eating sum beeches in rice country 😳

[@noehueber6602]

Hey this is a great vidéo Jason and great equipement from jd 70s combine I have a 4420 jd combine is a very good model old school us equipement is the beast 💪😊👍

[@kevintheilen9643]

Not a Deere pusher axle. Mud Hog and Gilcrest were popular aftermarket add-ons.

[@frankscruggs4749]

Good video.

[@rugerfarming5387]

That is a neat setup. You dont see them here in NE Missouri.

[@1oddtech]

Customer had good 7720 burn to the ground this season so he pulled a 4400 out of the fence line and finished harvesting.

[@davehughesfarm7983]

I learned on a 4400 at 10 years old..We also had a 6600 and 6620..

[@bigtractorpower]

Very nice combines.

[@joescheller6680]

We rented our tracks to a guy with an 8820. He got stuck all the time because he had smooth implement treadcon back tires. We had bar tread like in the picture only stuck in once

[@justinmulhern3071]

Rice special!

[@farmboy2848]

We harvest 100 acres a year with a 3300 and a 300 husker on a 2955 in NC. Deer corn . Would make a good video

[@seth1704]

Make some videos of that, and I'll subscribed and watch them

[@ih1206]

I just want to flag him down and tell him the rotary screen isn’t turning. We always had to keep an eye on the 4400. We painted a stripe on it so it was easy to tell if it was turning or not from the mirror.

[@EDBZ28]

so cool....what a find. What part of WNY? What awful sloppy conditions...was this taken this fall?

[@brianzybura8633]

BTP said that this farm and this area of western New York borders with Lake Ontario. That very area experiences a lot of lake effect rain and snow. That's the reasoning for the steel track.

[@Blackwellll3066]

Cool combine for sure does it get hauled from feild to feild cuz of the tracks

[@JamesChristy-t2n]

Cat 🐈 should get into combine business

[@404nitro]

Those tracks look very much like the ones OFB66 put on his White combine last year.

[@bigtractorpower]

Ethan had a nice set with his harvest. I enjoyed seeing the Field Boss move the combine.

[@Hinesfarm-Indiana]

How smooth does it ride with steel tracks on it?

[@kevintheilen9643]

You can see the dividers bouncing as it makes the turns, so not so great.

[@Hinesfarm-Indiana]

@ ok yeah 👍

[@kevintheilen9643]

@@Hinesfarm-Indiana Hope you don't take my comment as a slam. It's an observation, not an editorial. There's a reason (beside the cost) that the old steel tracks were not a popular option...

[@Hinesfarm-Indiana]

@ oh yeah makes sense.

[@CountryTesla]

New to me, combines on factory tracks was a 50yo happening. Light machine, big surface, bet it has little effect on yield.

[@waylontimlick2792]

Can you film a 7700 Combine?

[@StubProductions]

Did you buy a tractor at the auction?! 😄

[@curtiswolf313]

I've ran a 4400, 6600 turbo & 7700 turbo

[@bigtractorpower]

Very cool. Great combines.

[@josephtaylor1169]

i had a 4400 bought it used and never had a bit of trouble with it. just had to be sure and keep trash away from engine.

[@montgomerypoulos6076]

Wouldn't you have to load the have to load the combine on a low boy to transport from feild to feild? Cause I know I asphalt and steel tracks are not a good combination

[@bigtractorpower]

Most farms I knew that used these tracks had a caddy trailer. You drive the combine tracks up on the caddy and the rear tires on the pavement and tow the combine down the road with a tractor. This farm was harvesting right by the grain bins so they didn’t have to trailer it.

[@davehughesfarm7983]

All ya need.....Farm 500 acres and be happy..But he should have started a month ago.

[@luisnunes7933]

Hello! Steel tracks offer better performance and need less maintenance. And are cheaper...

[@kevintheilen9643]

Just don't try them going down a steep, frozen hillside...

[@icelineman]

I hope this one is a diesel model the gas engine was kind of weak.

[@timothyedmiston8756]

Man, that’s a wet field

[@joescheller6680]

Barely gets the auger over the side of grain cart.

[@robertyagel2157]

Isn't that something

[@ridhobaihaqi144]

GTA san andreas player: 🤭🤭🤭

[@katskratchkustumz]

Their drying cost must be atrocious

[@duggydo]

Good grief

[@strangefruit8776]

With the way they’re building houses on the best farm ground all over the place, I guess we need to get used to this type of farming.

[@mitsnevets]

wonder if its got a 404 in it or the 329

[@seth1704]

I'm sure it has a 404 because that engine was rated at 128 HP, the 329 was only rated at 100 HP. I'm sure if it was running in those kind of conditions the 329 would be quite underpowered

[@3frogltd987]

​@@seth1704 I agree, I was a dealer in the 70-80's and don't remember any 6600 with 329 engines, maybe in the first couple years.