FARM CLASSICS: Armchair viewing in John Deere’s 5730

The mid 1980s saw John Deere tractors and equipment go from stride to stride. 1986 saw the popular 40 series tractors replaced by the 50 series which went on to be hugely successful. Furthermore, both combines and forage harvesters were updated – the 5720 and 5820 silage harvesters replaced by the 5730 and 5830.

Launched in 1986 and marketed under the buzzword of ‘Precision’, the John Deere 5730 forage harvester was a more refined version of its predecessor, the 5820.

In fact, the overall look and appearance of the harvester had not changed much since its inception in the early 70s. Powered by a 225hp John Deere 10.1L engine, and although dated, the technology of the 5730 was tried and tested.

The harvester has a four-speed transmission, knife sharpener, and can be fitted with a kernel roller for maize harvesting.

Grass enters the harvester through a narrow 2.14m pick up reel, where it goes through four feed rollers and is then chopped by the segmented 55.9cm wide knife drum. The grass is then augured back through the infamous ‘coffin box’, pushed out sideways into the four-paddle blower and up the shoot, which has no fold down function. Drive for the header, drum, and blower comes from three matched C section belts with a hydraulic tensioner.

Interestingly, the segmented knife design was much more forgiving in the event of foreign objects entering the drum in comparison to the full knife design of some of the competitors in the market, such as New Holland.

The 5830 features a SoundGard2 (SG2) cab which is constructed with an impressive amount of glass for its era. A wide opening door, a curved windscreen provides a clear view of the header, while to the right, the window hinges outward.

Sitting in the armchair-like operator’s seat, the steering column provides great adjustment, with a small digital ground speed or rpm display.
Yellow-handled header and blower clutch leavers are located either side of the steering column.

Conveniently, positioned to the right of the seat is the hydrostatic control level featuring two rocker switches on top, controlling the shoot and spout while a forward-facing switch raises and lowers the header. This was a stark upgrade on the 5820 where all of the controls were lever-operated.

5730s were no stranger to modifications as owners sought to ever increase output. Shoot support frames were commonly fitted by Irish dealers, with many variations seen across the country. Tower extensions were also common to give extra height as trailer size grew. Furthermore, newer, wider 630 pick-up headers we often fitted from 10 series harvesters.

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