THE John Deere 7010 series requires little introduction, being widely regarded as the one of the best, if not the best John Deere series ever designed, while many owners, drivers and enthusiasts would argue it is one of the greatest tractors of all time.
However, it is often overlooked that the 7010 tractors were evolutions of their predecessors, the 7000 series – which were truly ground breaking tractors in their design.
The John Deere 7800 plays second fiddle to the famed 7810, yet without this tractor, the 7810 would not be acclaimed tractor it is today.
In fact, at a glance, one would hardly notice the difference between the two.
By the turn of the 90s, John Deere’s SG2-cabbed 50 series models not only looked dated in comparison to their competitors but also fell behind in terms of horsepower, lift, and oil flow capacity.
However, John Deere were poised to pull their trump card: the Mannheim (Germany)-built 6000 series and the Waterloo (USA)-built 7000 series.
Providing strength, while saving on weight, the new full frame chassis design was fundamental to the all-new ground up engineering of these tractors.
Unlike previous conventional designs, the engine and gearbox are not structural elements of the frame and bear no load or stress and therefore could be made lighter, while also making the frame very adaptable for front loaders and linkage.
The 7800, (and its 7700 sibling) is powered by a 7.6-litre turbocharged engine producing 170hp.
Lift capacity is rated at 4.5tons with 96l/min oil flow.
Two gearbox options are available: a 19F/7R full powershift transmission, manufactured by FUNK transmissions which had been purchased by JD, and John Deere’s PowrQuad gearbox provided 16F/12R.
However, it was different in configuration than the European-built 6000 series tractors. The far off gear lever selects the range A-D, which the near lever selects F/R and can be moved four steps to provide four clutchless gears in either direction, while also having a park gear.
Fitted with the newly-designed six-pillar TechCentre cab, the 7800 boasts 310 degrees of visibility.
Keen to improve of the niggles of the 50 series, the exhaust was located in line with the front right pillar out of vision of the operator.
Furthermore, the cab is located forward of the rear axle, providing straightforward seamless entry to the two-door cab via three in-line steps – both notable improvements on the SG cab.
Cab layout is excellent, with a full adjustable steering console, easy to reach gear levers, while the side console houses all instruments in an uncluttered and logical fashion.
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