Machinery

First look: John Deere’s most powerful tractor yet

4th October 2024

John Deere offers a sneak peek at its new 9RX range, due to arrive in the UK from March 2025.

For some of the largest farming operations in the UK and Ireland, size matters.

Being able to travel when conditions are tough, and having the ability to work at wider widths or deeper depths is essential to getting work done in seemingly ever-shortening weather windows.

And when it comes to size, the John Deere 9RX is billed as the world’s most powerful production tractor.

Launched in January, John Deere has added three models at the top end of its articulated line up.

The Waterloo factory will begin manufacturing the 9RX 710, 770 and 830 in November, with the first machines landing on these shores from March 2025.

Last month a pre-production model of the largest machine was taken to northern Germany for customer and press demonstrations.

Working ex-maize land, the 9RX 830, which can deliver 913hp, pulled a 9m Köckerling Vector with 33 tines at a depth of 33cm up and down undulating heavy soils.

Simplifying size

John Deere does not pretend this machine will be the model of choice for many UK farms.

It’s size, weight and price tag of circa £917,000 means it needs the right environment to operate in, and enough heavy fieldwork to justify the investment.

They cut an imposing outline, standing 3.7m tall and 2.99m wide.

But for those who feel they can utilise all that power – which the company expects to be those with at least 2,000ha – a refined gentle giant awaits.

Deere says it consulted a pool of large-scale farmers throughout the development of these range-toppers, and the result is a strong focus on simplicity.

This is perhaps most evident in the daily service which can now be done entirely from the ground.

Oil sight gauges are at head height around the frame, and the giant hood over the JDX18 engine can be comfortably lifted with one hand.

*^{9RX cultivating with a Kockerling with 46cm chizels at 33cm depth.}*

A ‘catwalk’ around three sides of the cab makes access to the rest of the machine equally straightforward.

Back to the engine, and the numbers are eye-opening. There’s up to 4,234Nm of torque available in the top model.

“There is no other production tractor on earth has a torque figure beginning with the number four,” says Michael Mueller, a John Deere product specialist for large tractors.

“The two starter motors alone have a combined horsepower of 15hp which is pretty amazing.”

Triple hydraulic pumps deliver a maximum flow of up to 636 litres/min and the 1,952-litre diesel tank can be specified with a fast-filling feature which means a full top up takes just four minutes.

Due to the machine’s size, there is no requirement for AdBlue.

The e21 powershift box features 21 gears that can be shifted manually or automatically, and the power is transferred to the tracks to drive the machine which can have a maximum ballasted weight of 38.1 tonnes.

Despite the huge weight, it is well distributed by the rubber.

Deere says ground pressure is a low as 0.58kg/cm² – comparable to the three small models in the line-up.

Cab comfort

As you’d expect, a premium tractor comes with a premium CommandView 4 Plus cab to keep operators cool, warm, or even relaxed thanks to a massaging seat on the top spec option.

Visibility in such a large unit was always going to be a challenge but the designers have done away with as much plastic and metal as possible to allow a clear line of sight right the way down to the rear hitch.

Some clever touches are included when front-facing too.

The giant exhaust is neatly disguised behind the corner post so as not to impede the view of the field or road.

Overall, there is 15% more floor space and 20% more glass area, predominantly to the driver’s right.

This comes into its own when the seat swivels 45 degrees to the right and 20 degrees to left.

A 6.1 sound system and touchscreen radio come as standard with Apple Carplay and Android Auto inbuilt.

The G5 Plus screen comes in base, with the option of double the viewing area with an extended monitor. A new corner post display has also been fitted.

The isolated subframe suspension has been borrowed from the 8RX which significantly reduces the noise and high-frequency vibrations typically associated with road transport.

Tech stack

A new high speed Isobus was fitted to the pre-production machine to demonstrate the direction of travel Deere is going in with regards precision data recording.

“This is definitely something we will need in the future for autonomy,” Michael said.

“Data has to be transferred as fast as possible and a standard Isobus today is able to convey 150kb of data per second.

“With the high-speed implement ethernet is 1GB per second, so that’s a big difference.

“We want to know and record where we put every grain in the field, so if you’re going at 15kph that is a lot of information that has to get to the tractor, fast.”