John Deere 644J and Komatsu 380

[Young James]

I mostly run a smaller deere loader for my particular job, and the loader I used most frequently was a 624H, which is nice for the job. We are currently looking at new loaders so I get to try out a few as demos to test them. I had a 07 644J For a while and fell in love with it right from the start. It had decent power for the size, looked nice, and was decent overall. A few gripes about it tho was that the bucket was a tad bit too slow when it came to dumping fast, the buttons were annoying for wipers, lights, etc (had to cycle through all modes before you could turn them off) and just a few smaller annoyances. That loader went back today and I received a brand new Komatsu 380 with only 5 hours on it. The paint was still on the bucket. I got into it and after a few minutes of figuring stuff out, I was on the go. This was the higher model with ride control, quick coupler, etc. At first, it was a big change and hard to get used to (first new komatsu I was in). The movements was so quick, the loader was extremely smooth, and the most important thing was the cab is extremely comfortable. The seat can move in any direction, and the tilt/telescopic steering wheel makes it all the better. There is tons of room to move around. I only had it for a few hours so time will tell on how it is. One thing I don't like off the bat was the turning radius, which was rather small. I will post some pics when I get a chance and keep adding to this little review as time goes on. BTW, I've been only operating for around 3 years now so my experience with other machines is really limited, so I post what I know. Any comments on either loader, please post!

 

[Young James]

I also must add that komatsu had better service too. Deere just drooped the loader and went on. The guy from komatsu came out, showed me all around the machine, gave me the manuals, a pair of courtesy company gloves and stayed there until I got familiar with everything. I was really impressed with that and imo, good service is almost as important as a good machine.

 

[Countryboy]

Welcome to HEF Young James! :drinkup

 

[pwrstroke6john]

if youre Komatsu came with the fingertip controls, how do you like them. I used a WA380 this past summer and from using my old DoMor with the 2 lever controls i found myself grabing onto each loader control.I'm sure with time they would be nice, but at the time they felt like a step backwards from the joystick.

 

[farm_boy]

Any comments on either loader, please post!

I have operated both of these machines and have some observations that might help in the decision making process of buying a new loader.

First of all....:IMO production is king with efficiency (tons per gallon) a close 2nd. After all, its these two things that pay the bills and keeps the most amount of money in your pocket.

A few months ago I had the opportunity to run these machines head to head in a truck loading application. The only thing that either machine did was v-load trucks with a 3" breaker run with fines. The 644J was able to average a little over 800 ton per hour while the WA380-6 was only able to manage about 650 ton per hour. Not saying that you will find these same results, but this is what I found. While producing quite different numbers, both machines used about the same amount of fuel. This means the efficiency of the 644 was much better in a tons/gal aspect.

Putting production and efficiency aside I'll try to share some of the other "+"'s and "-"'s of both machines that I found.

Deere Positives:

• Cooling package - This is the best I have ever seen. Not only is it easy to clean by the fin spacings are wide enough that it doesn't plug. This machine had a reversing fan that reversed a couple of times per hour.

• Power - Engine response was really good and allowed the machine to get a full bucket each time without a lot of extra effort in the pile.

• Diff lock - I liked the ability to lock the front axle when needed instead of spinning a one wheel wonder.

• Controls - I liked the shorter levers of the Deere and felt that I had better bucket control with them.

• Visibility - I liked the visibility out of the front and rear of the 644 better. I liked how the glass went all the way to the floor in the front.

• Daily serviceability - I liked all of the daily fluid levels on the left side of the machine and the fact that the transmission had a sight gage as well.

Deere Negatives:

• Noise - Although pretty quiet outside of the machine, the inside of the cab had an annoying hydraulic buzz that drove me nuts.

• Steps - The steps and hand holds were not as good as the 380. My biggest beef was the first one to climb up on the machine as a person almost needs a step stool to reach it. The large Deere loaders have a much better set up here.

• Wiper/Lights - YJ...I agree with you here in that cycling through all functions to shut the lights and wipers off is a frustrating.

Komatsu Positives:

• Noise level - This machine was super quiet, both in the cab and outside.

• Seat - This machine had the best seat of any loader that I have been operated. Multiple lumbar adjustments, high back, lots of travel fore and aft plus heat:thumbsup

• Steps & platforms - I liked the wide steps and hand holds all the way around the machine. Much easier to clean windows on.

Komatsu Negatives:

• Cooling package - With stacked coolers, limited space to get to them and way tight fin spacings that are prone to plugging this is the biggest down side to this machine that I saw.

• Power in the pile - I had a hard time consistently getting a heaping bucket full each time in the pile. The boom stalled way too easy and it took lots of working the bucket in order to bring it up through the pile.

• Daily service checks - I didn't like having to look all over on both sides of the machine to check fluid levels. Also the fact that I had to pull a dipstick to check transmission fluid.

• Steering - I found the steering to be weird. If I turned the steering wheel really fast it took something like 8 turns lock to lock. If it was turned slow it only took 3.5 to 4. I had a hard time getting used to this, especially in tight v-cycle truck loading.

• Transmission levers - I didn't like having two levers to control the forward/reverse and gear shifting. I kept shifting gears when trying to do a direction change.

These are just my observations and opinions. After the evaluation that we did the better value for the operation was found to be the 644.

Hope this helps.:cool2

 

[bordercollie]

the 380 should have a F-R switch in the loader controller joystick and a rocher switch on the guage panel to your right as you are sitting in it.

put the column mounted shifter in neutral, activate the rocker switch and you now can control direction of machine from the loader controller.

engine has to be running before switching the rocker switch or else it will not go into joystick shift option.

there is also a fan reverse switch on the right hand side.

shut off engine, move fan reverse rocker switch, restart engine, fan blows in reverse, shut off engine, move rocker switch to normal position, restart engine. Pretty sure there is a light and alarm sounding when in fan reverse mode. I would have to check the ones at work when I get back there, going to be gone for a few days whitetail deer hunting.

 

[Young James]

was on the 380 again all day. Overall, it's a nice machine. My particular job (what the loader will be used for) don't require heavy buckets, fast movement or anything too serious so comfort is a big issue to me. The 380 is by far the most comfortable loader I have sat in, since the seat is adjustable in pretty much any way. A few more cons about the machine tho is I can't stand the transmission. Say if you hit a stockpile ramp in 3rd gear, half way up when the auto tries to change, the loader comes to a stop and starts rolling back down by the time it downshifts to 2, while the 644 done it no problem at all. I also don't like the fact that you have to downshift to 1 while digging into a stockpile, while the 644 went down to 1 automatically. A few more small gripes but nothing major. I'll see by the end of the week what I think!

 

[dayexco]

, gave me the manuals, a pair of courtesy company gloves .

you got a sales pitch. don't get bought off from a salesman bearing a free pair of gloves

 

[Young James]

I'm not the one buying so that don't influence me

 

[Young James]

komatsu is gone back but there's 3 644J's are on the way fully equipped with snow blades/wings and fully loaded. It's going to be a great year!

 

[farm_boy]

Just curious YJ....where are located....eastern or western Canada?

 

[Tigerotor77W]

komatsu is gone back but there's 3 644J's are on the way fully equipped with snow blades/wings and fully loaded. It's going to be a great year!

Anything clinch the decision? Or just overall impressions?

 

[Wulf]

A few more cons about the machine tho is I can't stand the transmission. Say if you hit a stockpile ramp in 3rd gear, half way up when the auto tries to change, the loader comes to a stop and starts rolling back down by the time it downshifts to 2

Somethings sounds wrong there James and the transmission may need tuning... hopefully you mentioned this to the dealer.

I also don't like the fact that you have to downshift to 1 while digging into a stockpile, while the 644 went down to 1 automatically

That's in the design - the loader is designed for fast loading in 2nd and when the going gets tough downshift to 1st is just a matter of pushing the button on the bucket control lever.