Looking to Buy A John Deere 915 V-Ripper

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Big Tractor Power is out in the field filming the 2018 fall tillage season. Learn about the John Deere 915 V-Ripper and see 245 to 620 hp John Deere tractors in this video.

[@josephfinklea3650]

I like your program thanks for tractor 🚜 show excellent performance.

[@bigtractorpower]

Thank you very much for watching.

[@lwilton]

Boy, that is a heck of a lot of horses ganged up and pulling those rippers! In that first shot at about 00:19 I had a mental image of that monster driving along, and something like a 1950s Ford-Ferguson row crop tractor driving along right in front of it for a size comparison. That would be a pretty graphic illustration of the amount of progress in tractor design in the last 60-80 years or so!

[@bigtractorpower]

Machines have grown up. Deere wise the 6Rs of today stand bigger than an 8000 from the 90’s. An 8R stands bigger than a 4wd from the 70’s. It would be cool to do a size comparison.

[@markstengel7680]

Exceptional camera work. The closeups and visual clarity is broadcast quality IMHO The ploughing of fields is my favorite as a genre in farming tasks in the in that cycle. A fine presentation 👍🚜

[@willemstoltz1595]

Good stability on the ground not even the soft drink cup tumbled off......☺

[@jamieshields9521]

Great vid👍limestone in Kentucky is different to limestone in Mt Gambier South Australia. Our volcanic soil black is where we get compaction I would be happy having JD ripper hook up to our CaseIH tractor.

[@scottb2712]

I know that with the three point hitch version it makes a big difference on how the third link is adjusted.. The frame should be level.. We ran ours deeper though ..the whole shank was in the ground almost to the bolts..the different tips make a huge difference also

[@jimbernard71]

You say you hope we enjoyed--- I was in HEAVEN watching!!! PURE EYE CANDY😋👍👍👊

[@bigtractorpower]

Very cool. Thank you.

[@jankotze1959]

Stunning video, best video of the after harvest action I ever seen, I can not even imagine the amount of fuel is necessary to rip all the acres, really incredible, tanks very much for all that info

[@bigtractorpower]

It takes a lot of tractors a lot of hours and a lot of work but it really helps the yields in next year’s crop to rip all this ground I’m gonna do another video explaining why they use this tillage practice and how it works in the entire crop rotation.

[@jerryfife2015tacoma]

Awesome video, enjoyed watching

[@kenhurley4441]

If I remember correctly Big Ox was the company that introduced big rippers. 30" deep rippers. Yep they do the job.

[@MJKORK-qg1ot]

yet another awsome BTP production! keep em comming!!

[@bigtractorpower]

Thank you for watching. I am glad you like the videos.

[@MienTayTiVi]

12 wheels, i love this tractor, i love john deere

[@furukama5390]

Nice tractors and very interesting video 👍💪🚜

[@notthatdonald1385]

Cool videos. Here in southern Lancaster PA I see some of the smaller versions of these machines.

[@AgricultureINDIA-91]

Magnificent video!. An amazing Tractor and implement. Thanks for the video. Have a Nice day 👍 👍 👍

[@bigtractorpower]

Thank you for watching. The 915 is a good tillage tool.

[@samrugtiv3839]

Thanks for the great video, sam

[@jonathanskeeles6164]

I didn't know what those did I also wondered, thanks Mike!!

[@karenstipp4305]

big tractor power love your videos f.y.i. I own a 913 v-ripper that I pull with ih5488 that's in mint condition it really works great its not forsale I use it every other yr with very good results I just though I would leave that comment because 915 is the big brother to the 913 AL STIPP STIPP FARMS III

[@BarnyardEngineering]

10:50 - Holy rocks Batman! Reminds me of home. That's pretty much all a V-ripper would do around there.

[@sharpshooter7127]

Awsome video of the rippers working. I'd like to work on a farm like these where you have plenty of acreage to run big equipment . You and your family have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving and may God Bless ya'll.

[@bigtractorpower]

Happy Thanksgiving.

[@tonyburelle6633]

Another great video, love ripping that hardpan

[@bigtractorpower]

Thank you for watching.

[@myselfremade]

Man that Wheelslip is INSANE

[@jfdb59]

WoW. Very informative. Great stuff as always.

[@bigtractorpower]

Thank you for watching it’s always fun to track down this equipment and share it on KZbin

[@jakeadair8292]

What's the difference between the inline rippers vs the v rippers? I know an inline seems to pull harder, but just curious if one is better than another? Also I can say that it is a noticeable loss of power when you pull those rippers on caddies, 7 shank on a 335 ih lost traction often pulling on a caddy vs right on the 3pt.

[@burt24pop]

Very interesting video. Can’t believe how much the 600hp tractors were working.. great video!

[@bigtractorpower]

Working 18 inches deep puts them to work. Saw a 9620R just konk out pulling one.

[@jfdb59]

man I love watching that ripper put the 9620 to work @ 8:52

[@bigtractorpower]

👍

[@brentfarrow8125]

Looks like they have a tire to fix?😎

[@jfiery]

Yeah Deere rippers seem to suffer badly from that. They really beefed up the tires on the new models. We never used more than a 3 tooth one with our 4440 25 years ago so didn't have the issue. Meant a long day in the fields though.

[@adrianchetwynd1334]

I noticed that tire too. The Best way to fix the problem is to install inner tubes.

[@johnlarsen8977]

@@jfiery ,

[@jfiery]

@@johnlarsen8977 don't understand your reply.

[@augustreil]

Those tractors with 3 on each corner look so bad azz !!

[@dwarted]

Known as triples.

[@treeman8881]

I sure like the 6 wheels on the 4x4 on the 9620 hooked up to that 915v ripper

[@bigtractorpower]

It is an impressive tillage team.

[@Jim0i0]

That was super cool.

[@bigtractorpower]

Thank you for watching Doug.

[@scruffy6151]

Thank you BTP. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. I do not anybody that has 915 v ripper.

[@bigtractorpower]

Happy Thanksgiving. The farm found a 9 shank unit in Iowa but they are still looking for more.

[@ginggur17]

Awesome video thanks.

[@bigtractorpower]

Thank you for watching.

[@1crazynordlander]

That would be nice to have the auto reset shanks on a V-Ripper. The one we rented had shear bolts. The five shank we pulled with a 1370 Case. We nicknamed it "The Case Killer"

[@bigtractorpower]

They dig deep. I have watched a 9 shank 915 shut a 9620R down. That’s cool you ran a 915 on an Agri-king.

[@treeman8881]

I ran a 5 shank v ripper for years and across thousands of acres I never did like to run one because of the tool barely able to cover the tire tracks of the tractors I was running it was a 8330 with duals on the front and back I sure loved running the tractor especially when I was running 40' wide implements I sure would of liked to run in those big fields ours were anywhere from a couple of acre patch to a 150 acre field that was our biggest field now our neighbors had the couple of hundred acre fields but our small fields kept me busy lifting the implement and setting it down again lol

[@bigtractorpower]

Very cool. The 8330 is a nice tractor. I know what you mean about the tracks. The farm in this video runs 5 shank 915s on 7210Rs and their duals leave tracks on the plowed pass next to the new pass.

[@JohnDoe-jq5wy]

The traditional convex disk plow will cause hard pan and compaction from large equipment. There is a productive answer to subsoil application; planting canola accomplishes the same process at a significant less cost per acre. The canola resolves disease cycles and builds soil integrate.

[@bigtractorpower]

There is some canola raised here in Kentucky but is not a major crop currently.

[@adamkruskama8455]

Canola has its own issues and can harbor some plant diseases. If you don't get good freezes look what problems it has created in France

[@mirkojurina5255]

On a ripper outside left tire is punctured 1.11-1.21

[@albertafarmer894]

Are those heavy clay soils,wow there is compaction on the headlands lots of slippage there.Do they have the front axle suspension on the bigger 9r's it helps keep power hop to a minimum,but you can only get it on 9520r's and bigger.

[@wagonerjared]

If its stopping a 600hp rig, thats the reason you are out there. Dang. THink I would get back on line and hit it the other direction on the same pass. That's some tight ground

[@formerfarmer1718]

These guys in western Kentucky don’t normally get any 10”-12” of frost in the ground like we do farther north so what deep loosening they do get has to be done mechanically. You do whatcha gotta do…..

[@bigtractorpower]

Never. Rarely does the ground ever freeze over the winter. A few days in January the surface freezes which is a great time to spray nitrogen on wheat with out leaving tracks.

[@Ben-zh8bx]

Have you checked with machinery Pete?

[@banfalvigabor2685]

Seems to be a difficult tillage procedure. Lot of hp needed. Nice video, like always.

[@bigtractorpower]

It is a big job. I plan to make a video focusing on why they do tillage this way.

[@farmerjoe8169]

One hell of a tractor

[@RJ1999x]

I didn't see a Steiger

[@eraaspr1]

Like music in my ears! Hearing the sounds and seeing these impressive tractors and implements gives me a good feeling. Thanks for putting up your videos. Just a tiny question from a non farmer, the rippers goes deeper than an ordinary moldboard plow doesn't it?

[@bigtractorpower]

Thank you for watching. Yes the ripper is running 18 inches where a chisel plow goes 10-12 inches deep.

[@eraaspr1]

@@bigtractorpower Thanks for the answer. Do chisel plows go as deep as the moldboard plow?

[@triadcombat1414]

How does it stack up against Sunflower? You're going to a have a flat tire here and there, but it also looked like the axles were bent or ready to fall off on the right side. Comments on Sunflower? Or some other tillage manufacturers

[@jimmystrain5943]

That was a great video

[@bigtractorpower]

Thank you for watching.

[@andrewt248]

The headlands are no joke.

[@SebastianWarth]

Awesome Video I Like!!

[@bigtractorpower]

Big John Deere tractors at their best.

[@email16v]

I worked in telco many moons ago and we would call a machine like this a cable finder. Many a backhoes have located our burried cables....lol

[@brycekirby1567]

Never had any idea that western Kentucky had such large farms

[@bigtractorpower]

It is a large farming area. The land in WKy is an extension of Illinois and Indiana with a southern climate. It provides a great place to farm.

[@fokkerfokker5412]

Aqui no Brasil nós usamos este tipo de subsolador para o preparo de solo para o plantio da cana de açucar.

[@byronglover490]

They need to fix the flat tire on the ripper they're running now.

[@farmerjakebrake4520]

Hello BTP man I was waiting for a new video

[@ginggur17]

Love to see the tractors scratting. Proper work.

[@bigtractorpower]

Lunch break is always a good time to see several machines in one spot.

[@ginggur17]

bigtractorpower, I’d be in my heaven driving any of them, UK is a bit far to commute though lol.

[@austinthomas5907]

We have a JD ripper, cant remember what model, not for sale

[@clintonstubbs2319]

Hey Bigtractorpower, what kind of Diesel engine does that Challenger track tractor has? I know that the John Deere 9620R has a Cummins QSX15 Diesel. Those tractors have their work cut out for them doing that heavy tillage. Great video.

[@Bgchzz]

That's an Agco power engine. 16.9ltrs 12 cylinders.

[@sharpshooter7127]

I'd like to see how a quadtrac would handle one of the 13 shank v-rippers👍

[@bigtractorpower]

I would like to see that too.

[@mikebonge7206]

Amazing

[@jackgerberuae]

Good video... 👍

[@bigtractorpower]

Thank you for watching.

[@ViciouslyFish]

Wow that challenger was stopped dead in its tracks!

[@krisdieselv6]

Fishingfool2017 its because there is no weight transfer frome the machine to the tractor. 3 point hitch would be better imo.

[@bradmorgan1234]

The challenger has a 11 shank , that will stop even the best ballasted tire tractor!

[@jfdb59]

Yeah I love watching these guys work hard.

[@ChiefAUS]

BTP do they come back to the spots that caused the shanks to trip? Thanks for the great videos.

[@MrMagnum7220]

Not where the limestone is. Lost cause there

[@bigtractorpower]

They do not come back to the areas where the springs were trip it’s only for a second so there’s really not much ground missed. Moldboard plow his work the same way were the blade it’s an optional little pop of the ground and then go right back down. If the ripper pulls up a rock they will come with the skid steer loader with a grapple for the larger stones or rock picker the next spring to get the smaller stones. If they have an area where there are stones just under the Neath the surface they may come in there and dig them out. Often they will just leave the stones under the ground if it’s a big area.

[@samueljoejr5191]

This was cool,Thx.j

[@jrice1091]

Nice video BTP! How often does this farm rip the fields?

[@bigtractorpower]

In ideal conditions I would say 2 weeks starting in late October and wrapping in early November. This year has been so wet they have barely started.

[@billbooth4147]

Happy thanksgiving Big tractor power. Nice video.what is closest town to this farm?

[@bigtractorpower]

Happy Thanksgiving. This is near Hopkinsville, KY.

[@md.fuelkiller1990]

Excuse me, but the triples don't gain traction. they just reduce ground compression, but while that, they reduce grip because the weight is splittet to more surface than with duals. They should go back to duals and try a higher spot to get the weight of the machine to work. proof of that is the same problem you can see on the Challenger. The tracks reduce the ground compression by it's size of contact area, but in the same time it's reducing grip by splitting to this space. they should both be attached in a higher spot, and then put some weights on the front. The Triple is clearly having traction problems, while the three-point attached ones don't because this is putting pressure on the rear wheels, plus they have wheel weights on.

[@tylersharp4949]

How do you know what tractor to put them on? Does it get measured by HP needed per shank?

[@nickeckel6877]

Yes and depending on what kind of tip you run weather it has wings or not

[@danielcorrea87]

The noise on 10:50 is from big rocks or only hard soil?

[@bigtractorpower]

Those are stones. The field is near a gravel pit. You can see auto reset at is best.

[@hummell9]

are they deep ripping their fields every year or just occasionally?

[@nickeckel6877]

I would guess it's a every 3 years or if there has been excessive compaction

[@Trevorl-fo7vr]

Probably relatively often running several combines in a field during harvest plus grain carts etc...

[@DustyLane]

This farms rips the bean ground every year I believe.

[@clarkwheeler8764]

How about showing more detail of the working parts of the machinery you highlight? (ie: the ripper shanks and points). You talk about them without ever showing them. A recent silage cutting video did the same...never showed the actual cutting header detailed "walk around".

[@bigtractorpower]

I would like to do that but often I do not have time. This is a hobby and not my full time job. When I go to film it’s a Saturday and I need to get 4,5 or hopefully 6 farms filmed in a day. If you see a 10 to 20 minute video here on BTP that will represent 2 hours of filming. Allot of time is spent waiting on tractors to make a pass from one end of the field to the other. When I Am filming the machines are running so I can’t ask the farmer to stop work to let me look over the parts. I would like to do more on the parts and did a combine service video this fall. If time allows I will try to work in a closer look.

[@patcb829]

That's my drink at 4:40

[@cowboy4309]

First thing I noticed is the flat tire on the depth wheel

[@jacksak]

That 7-shank ripper hit a lot of stones at 10:51 - How does the farmer know where to come back to for removing them?

[@jmurphy1973]

Jack Sak Yeah, if I'm working that field and I know there's stones and rocks I'm carrying some utility flags and marking that area. Or there's someone on an ATV marking them as we go along. Low man on the totem pole gets to go out and remove those stones before they ruin a piece of equipment. I used to go out with a friend and remove rocks from his Dad's fields and we'd damn near fill a pick up box with rocks from along the river, especially in spring after they've been heaved upward by frozen ground.

[@gacikpl]

You can flag them on greenstar GPS.

[@jacksak]

@@jmurphy1973 Thanks for the reply. I was born on a NH dairy farm in the 1940's and our fields had so many stones of all sizes, it's amazing they were originally cleared. The saying is that if the US were settled first from the west coast, NH would still be a wilderness.

[@jacksak]

@@gacikpl Thanks, I was wondering about a GPS marker

[@jmurphy1973]

Jack Sak We had a very simple method of clearing stones. Friend's dad had a mid-70's Ford 4x4 which we used. We'd put the transfer case in 4L, bungee cord the steering wheel in place so it would go straight and just let it idle in Drive while we walked beside it. It was the perfect speed for us to get the rocks into the bed. At the end if the row, we'd just turn it around and point it the other direction. Along the Maple River in NW Iowa, there were tons of baseball up to football sized rocks that would appear every year.

[@andrewlanman4618]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there more draft on a 3pt than with a caddy

[@gacikpl]

Do you mean drag? I think that drag is the same for the same amount of shanks. For my taste, 3point hitch is more suitable for that kind of work. Subsoiler is pulling down and you can use that force to improve traction of tracktors back wheels.

[@squirrellyboe7421]

gacikpl dont yuo mean wheels.lol

[@andrewlanman4618]

@@gacikpl yea but it causes a lot more resistance and puts a big strain on the engine

[@gacikpl]

@@squirrellyboe7421 jep, big hands small phone.

[@gacikpl]

@@andrewlanman4618 dont think so, tractor is pulling the same equipment but with more wheight (down force) on back wheels, without dead weight of dolly and pulling bar and you have less mess to maintain. For me it is no brainer. I was working with subsoiler but smaller than this and we remove wheels from it and maintain depth only with 3 point hitch. You could See and feel a difference in tracrion.

[@wildturkey5838]

Wish you'd grab a shovel and show us the size of clods that get turned up in those headlands -- when we were using one back in the '70's we'd make clods the size of a dinner plate plowing after letting cattle eat our wheat (when market was down it could be more profitable!)

[@bigtractorpower]

That’s neat on the Cattle. Winter rain mellows the clods. In the spring they harrow the field to smooth it.

[@sean3223a]

Were they able to procure additional rippers?

[@bigtractorpower]

Yes they got an extra 9 shank.

[@tituspullo1957]

BTP. Tell them to check out Tractorhouse.com at least 2 dozen or more listed.From fairly new to old various number of shanks.Enjoyed the video.

[@markward6076]

How are they avoiding the drainage tiles.

[@bigtractorpower]

They are deeper than 20 inches.

[@jayhuff4674]

I don't know where any JD rippers are but have them call Kinder equipment in Frederick Oklahoma

[@bigtractorpower]

Thank you.

[@jayhuff4674]

@@bigtractorpower rhey might have to build them and they will be double frame rippers

[@jimmystrain5943]

What is the shank spacing

[@bigtractorpower]

It is set on 24 inches.

[@JP-uk9uc]

It seems to me there's more pulling power to the ground with 12 tires instead of tracks.

[@bigtractorpower]

Tracks are the best ride and fastest pulling option in tillage. The 600 hp Challenger with an 11 shank ripper will lap the 620 hp John Deere’s with 9 shank rippers. If you are going dual tires to triple tires head to head I would go triples every time. Much better ride.

[@albertusmostert5418]

Do they rip every year

[@bigtractorpower]

Yes all of the soybean ground is ripped each year.

[@codyfarm4539]

I like to see they headquarters

[@bigtractorpower]

It’s a nice farm. I plan to feature their grain bins in a video.

[@kb7722]

Lot of horsepower in this video. Think I'd run that 11 shank on the 960R

[@ignasanchezl]

on a zeroturn?

[@jrice1091]

Yeah it's a very small ripper but it'll pull the front wheels right off the ground.

[@angeloribeiro4929]

👏👏👏Show...👍

[@jfdb59]

How many acres does this farm operate?

[@bigtractorpower]

A bunch. I am not sure on the total. These rippers will run over 11,000 acres of soybean stubble and cover some corn on corn ground. Most of the corn is followed by wheat.

[@DNOWWOLF]

I found several 915 V-Rippers on Machinery Pete, a KZbin channel.

[@bigtractorpower]

Thank you.

[@robertsavage45]

Any more Facebook live videos coming up

[@bigtractorpower]

I have only done KZbin live so far this year. Is their a live topic you would like to see?

[@vanilakung7563]

If the V Ripper is a JD item then why does it have white wheels? Who makes these from the start?

[@bigtractorpower]

The 915 is a John Deere machine. The reason some of rippers in this video have white wheels is that they are replacement parts. My guess is the out side wheels get allot of abuse in tillage as many of the yellow original wheels have been replaced.

[@vanilakung7563]

So replaced by aftermarket? wheels, because they are "cheaper", it just annoys me when the combo dont colour match, like a JD runs a green grain cart with white wheels, thx for ze reply

[@awesomefarmer1153]

Anyone notice flat tire at 1:17

[@Parents_of_Twins]

I wonder why they use the lighter less powerful Challenger to pull the biggest ripper?

[@bigtractorpower]

That MT875E will lap the 9620Rs. The tracks offer more speed at 600 hp than a wheeled 620 hp tractor.

[@Parents_of_Twins]

@@bigtractorpower Really? That's surprising.

[@jacobblackburn6417]

did anyone else see the guys drink on the ripper???

[@muscletractorfan2441]

Seems like allot of tractor for a small ripper. I would like an 8370R or 8400R could get the job done with less fuel.

[@bigtractorpower]

It all depends on your soil type. This is red clay. I have watched the compacted spots stop a 9620R where the engine shuts off in an instant. Running 18 inches deep in clay will work a tractor. I would say an 8400R in this soil would run a 5 shank well. Maybe it could pull 7 shanks but it would struggle just because it does not have the weight of a 9420R.

[@randybreuer1685]

looks like a flat left tire on the ripper

[@LaHaSi4208]

👍

[@stevenhabetz1322]

John deere runs implements so good that a worker left his fountain drink on it and still never spilt

[@bigtractorpower]

I filmed that segment right after lunch break. Whoops.

[@valentusslimroast6716]

that's a lot of passes

[@bigtractorpower]

Lots of compaction from harvesting and spraying to work up.

[@oldfarmer3001]

Should use smaller grain carts so not so much soil compaction.....

[@bigtractorpower]

That would lead to more trips across the field and more compaction. The best way to avoid compaction from the grain cart is control traffic only running the grain cart and certain places again and again.

[@oldfarmer3001]

bigtractorpower they do that once a year ?

[@philippe_Th]

RIP left tyre 😃

[@ralphclinejr2770]

Why go 18” deep no way the hard pan is that deep and keep the rippers out when it is that wet

[@davidstillman4271]

No close ups of the tooling.

[@bigtractorpower]

I would like to do that but often I do not have time. This is a hobby and not my full time job. When I go to film it’s a Saturday and I need to get 4,5 or hopefully 6 farms filmed in a day. If you see a 10 to 20 minute video here on BTP that will represent 2 hours of filming. Allot of time is spent waiting on tractors to make a pass from one end of the field to the other. When I Am filming the machines are running so I can’t ask the farmer to stop work to let me look over the parts. I would like to do more on the parts and did a combine service video this fall. If time allows I will try to work in a closer look.

[@bensnyder719]

Looks like it has a flat tire on the left side.

[@bigtractorpower]

They did. The field is a mile long and the service trucks are on the other end. I am glad you kept going as it’s a long wait between passes to get a shot filmed.