[SWFarmService]

If this crop turns out as good as it looks I think its time to walk away from my Miller Nitro 4365.

I called up a Hagie sales person the other day and wow do they have good sales pitch.

There is a good share of things I like about them but I really want to know how they hold up, how the parts department is, and everyones thoughts on the ride and overall simplicity.

The sales guy told me to give him a call in advance and they would fly me to the factory to take a peek, got to admit I thought that was pretty cool, didn't even get a cap from the last guys I bought a new piece of equipment from.

Thanks in advance

PS, don't be afraid to tell me what ya don't like, cause this is what I really need toknow

 

[bent]

Are you the fellow that bought what Miller's service department described as the "Nitro from he11"?

 

[James Slykhuis]

I can't be of much help on the new equipment part but I do know that their parts people have been a big help with our ancient 284. Always courteous and ready to help even the small guys like us.

 

[Trent]

I like my 284. The front boom is a great feature. I have not used many parts, but they were knowledgable and helpful.

 

[SWFarmService]

Are you the fellow that bought what Miller's service department described as the "Nitro from he11"?

Yep you got it, original dealer dissolved, my local dealer don't even want to talk to me cause I didn't buy it from them even though I have given them over 40,000$ in parts and upgrades I have purchased from them.

I gave pics to the dealer of the frame breaking, even though they don't seem to care they did say that it shouldn't be that way, mother miller replied that the original owner was hard on it.

Running something with zero customer service sucks, they look up the vin and the help stops.

Getting all the bugs out of it but I am done with miller.

 

[SWFarmService]

I sure like hearing the words helpful and knowledgeable!!

 

[712alberta]

I wish they had more dealers in Western Canada. I think they would be worth a look, if the closest dealer wasn't 7-8hours away. There is one guy who runs an old one locally. Seems to do a good job. Small and light, don't know that I have ever seen it stuck, between him and the original owner. They sure have come a long way from there first sprayers.

 

[SWFarmService]

There is a dealer up there? Thats kind of interesting, in the US you buy everything right from the factory, witch I think has its ups and downs, the down is that sometimes a dealer has parts on hand, rare but sometimes. The up is that there should always be enough knowledge at the factory if a problem occurs, so it should eliminate dealer to dealer problems.

I think they are enough of a component machine that there should not be too many things to worry about, same goes for any sprayer I just wish we had a raven or even an ag leader dealer the knew witch way was up or down. Seems the dealers here don't seem to want to push GPS and rate controllers and all the stuff that goes with it. I have often considered hiring someone to sell this stuff and set up variable rate mapping and things of that nature to fill a large void in our area.

It seems electronic problems are what stops most sprayers. IMO and its just someones knowledge to get ya back in the field

 

[712alberta]

There website shows Ag World equipment in Kinistino Saskatchewan as the only dealer in western Canada. They also have a sales guy listed, the number is out of Iowa, I think.

I find it surprising that your dealers aren't pushing the GPS and rate controller equipment. I think quite a few dealers up here have someone who is dedicated to that stuff. Both Case dealer groups (future ag and rocky mountain) have Precision Ag specialists, Deere has a guy and the Moody new holland guys do as well. I'm sure that our Agco guys have someone who looks after that as well, I think he came from Canpro when they shut down there operation in Olds. This Gps stuff is almost like crack it seems. Once you get a little bit of it around, seems like a lot of guys around here have gone whole hog, Base stationed RTK. And we aren't even row crop up here.

 

[meskie]

Yes. Agworld is the dealer for hagie. They stock some parts never had to wait real long for something There are a few running around here with not many problems. We are running the STS16. 120' 1600 gallon I think on the 3rd full season with it. Sprayer works good but a few weak spots boom looks strong but has required some welding on it some due to poor factory welds. actually most problems have been the booms and a couple sensors. The front legs needed some welding due to cracks forming. The new ones have been redesigned and beefed up so may not be an issue along with redesigned booms. We demoed a new style one last year but I never drove it but was told cab wasn't as loud and controls were improved a bit. Only thing I didn't like on the new one as much was the sound of the engine. Ours is straight piped off the turbo and sounds mean while spraying. hahaha can't hear it in cab just outside.....new ones have a muffler. Cooling system redesigned also making the radiator plugging issue better. We have the reversible fan but stuff seems to stick on outside screen and requires cleaning if working hard. Any questions I can try to answer them.

 

[SWFarmService]

Don't worry about the muffler, I replaced the one on my miller with a 6" chrome pipe, fine in the cab but wicked outside!!

How is the overall customer service? I rarely need help as I am a mechanic by trade but when I'm down with the sprayer I get nervous and if I could get a tip here and there while I am still learning the machine it would be priceless.

I really am curious how they ride compared to the competition, for the suspension on my miller I feel it should ride better than it does. Does not look as the hagie has a lot of suspension travel but it looks to have a lot longer wheel base.

How is the boom folding and unfolding? Is it smooth? Or are they bouncing around or twisting?

How are the hydraulics?

I think that's the majority of what I am curious about, he said there was no good chance I could drive one, I guess he has 60 people ahead of me.
He recommended a 14 or newer as many changes have been made. Anything that might stand out in your head that would make one a make or break deal?

Thanks so much for the help, I have only walked up to one like 7-8 years ago while it was raining so I know little, the owner of it is on here somewhere, I think he goes by the name of weed killer.

 

[meskie]

The ride isn't bad but it isn't that great in my mind. Don't have a lot of hours in many other sprayers but have rode in a couple...... I'm not the main sprayer operator on the farm. The boom folds out smooth but they have changed that on newer ones from what I've seen it isn't any problem. I would agree buy a newer updated one. Nothing really wrong with ours but the changes would be worth it in my mind. The one feature that everybody likes after driving a hagie is how the throttle and hydro speed is connected so it will only rev up as much as it needs. Can't think of any make or break the deal things.....except I think you should be able to drive one before buying. If you can't demo you could come up here and demo ours for a day or two.

 

[SWFarmService]

Thanks for the good info, I think I can do like a yard drive at the factory so I will be looking forward to that, I just want to make sure I won't be suckered into something when I call him to send the plane

Looking at their YouTube videos and their website it seems like a no brainer, if what they say about listening to customer input is true I would be pretty sold on that alone, they really seem to put a lot into innovation,them tracks look pretty sweet.

I didn't know the engine speed hydro bit, sounds sweet

Thanks again

 

[cptusa]

Cousin has a STS 12, gets long great with it. Nice power, balance, and hydraulic response. I've done a field drive on one, but not actually spraying. They seem to be a solid machine and a decent ride. Wanted to go to the factory tour with him when he was looking at one, but couldn't make it. He had a sts 10 before but said it was under powered for that unit. Also had plenty of gps troubles with that one, but had an idiot doing that work for him. Nice machine if you like the front booms. I could get used to it, but still prefer rear.

SWFS, I know your love for 86 series IH tractors. I am thinking saddle tanks, 3pt boom, and drive in reverse.

 

[SWFarmService]

SWFS, I know your love for 86 series IH tractors. I am thinking saddle tanks, 3pt boom, and drive in reverse.

Why not mount it to a du-all loader on one? LoL, you could lift the booms really high and tram line the corn planter to spray headline at tassle, haha

Wait that sounds just as good as my miller for a lot less money!

 

[SWFarmService]

Took the sts12 for a spin up at Big Iron yesterday, it was amazing! I couldn't believe how much better it was, controls in the cab are state of the art, handling was amazing at all boom hights, turning corners the booms were very smooth, booms and machine floated right across ruts, powered through the soft spots like it was concrete.

It was well organized, clean and simple!

The boom rack is what made it awesome, and oh yeah, you can see where you are driving

Can't wait to send the Miller packing!

 

[MountainviewTruck]

I have a customer with an older Hagie, a 284. Loves it, I've done repairs to the planetary hubs for leaking seals but that's about it.
Everything seems well thought out and sturdy. Off the shelf components instead of proprietary components sure makes repairs easier.

 

[meskie]

SW did they beef up the legs that extend out for adjusting the track width? Just curious if they fixed that problem on new ones. Haven't looked real close at the new sts hagie

 

[SWFarmService]

Yes, he showed me how the first 10 they made broke and how they fixed it and still had a little more trouble but and showed me how they went about curing it completely and it looks very solid. They also changed some gussets on the legs and steering.

They also said they had some troubles with the pump priming and showed me how they cured that, wasn't real sure how that made a diff but he made me aware of it.

I couldn't believe how they were willing to tell me what was wrong at the get go in case I was to find a used one and chose to go that rout, they were willing to admit their mistakes and that was worth a lot to me, way better than the Miller abuse excuse we have never seen that before

 

[meskie]

Good to hear. Not fun one one of those cross beams decides to fold up.