John Deere debuted the 524L, 544L and 624L L-Series utility wheel loaders.
The L-Series includes improved cabs for comfort and visibility, electrohydraulic (EH) loader controls for easier operation and redesigned near-parallel linkage, and enhanced performance buckets.
“Our next generation of wheel loaders improves upon the legacy of the John Deere wheel loader line,” says Chris Cline, product marketing manager for utility wheel loaders at John Deere Construction & Forestry. “The L-Series boasts several improvements over previous models designed to positively impact productivity, comfort and visibility, resulting in increased profitability.”
The cab is the most notable change to the L-Series, John Deere says.
The heavy-duty air suspension seat is heated, ventilated and designed to offer additional legroom with more storage. The HVAC performance is also enhanced, now including rear defrost, increasing air flow while reducing noise. Three standard 12-volt auxiliary power ports in the cab enable the operator to charge multiple devices. Optional remote-heated, adjustable mirrors increase jobsite visibility.
Behind the wheel, EH loader controls with integrated third and fourth function auxiliary hydraulics provide faster cycle times, John Deere says.
Two multifunction buttons integrated into the hydraulic controls allow the operator to assign each button a function. The loader also has an ergonomically designed, seat-mounted right-hand joystick with a standard forward-neutral-reverse switch and fully integrated auxiliary hydraulic controls. A throttle lock option removes the need for the operator to push the throttle pedal to maintain engine speed, the company adds.
Improvements to the machine boom structure directly result in increased productivity, increasing visibility to the coupler, bucket or forks, reducing overall cycle times, material spillage and equipment damage. Additional bucket options include enhanced production buckets with integrated spill guards, profiled side cutters and greater rollback, improving bucket fill and material retention, the company says.
A new shaft-style fork design offers more visibility and tine length options, including 48-in., 60-in. and 72-in. Smoother boom and bucket hydraulic kickouts reduce operator fatigue, while new standard parallel lift linkage improves load leveling, limits bucket spillage and increases fork operation speed.
Return-to-dig settings can now be set from the cab for both directions of the bucket, allowing operators to return to dig from any position without having to adjust the bucket to dump position, John Deere says. Boom and Bucket EH metering rate aggressiveness allows the operator to choose a setting – low, medium or high – for quicker hydraulics or reduced response in precision operations for improved comfort. Attachment configuration settings can be saved, allowing the operator to assign and save settings to an attachment.
The 524L, 544L and 624L are available with optional High Lift (HL) and High Lift Plus (HL Plus) selections. There is also a tool carrier option on the 524L and 624L models, the company says.
The HL Plus option features hinge pin heights that are 12 to 13 in. higher than current HL pin heights, allowing the operator to dump into higher trucks or wagons. The tool carrier option provides the best center-line visibility to the coupler or forks.
John Deere adds that the 524L, 544L and 624L feature fuel-efficient Tier 4 Final John Deere diesel engines and boast 152, 166 and 192 net peak hp, respectively.