
RD40F HydraFlex™ Draper
- John Deere
- Draper Platforms
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Key Features & Specs
- Harvest crops as close as possible to the ground with the HydraFlex™ cutterbar
- Minimize grain loss with a two-speed center feed section
- Enable higher harvesting speed without sacrificing cut quality with a 4” double cut, dual drive, shaft driven cutterbar
- Get more done by eliminating header calibrations
- Width 40 ft.

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John Deere Connected Support™ prevents downtime and efficiently resolves issues with revolutionary technology-based solutions
Connected Support technology
When you buy John Deere equipment, you expect reliability. You also know that problems can happen, and a product is only as good as the support behind it. That’s why John Deere equipment is prepared with technology that senses potential issues and can alert you and your dealer promptly—in the cab or anywhere you are.
John Deere Connected Support is a revolutionary change to support that leverages technology and the connectivity of JDLink™ telematics to prevent downtime and resolve problems faster. These tools decrease downtime by an average of 20 percent, enabling faster responses to unexpected problems and reducing technician trips to your machine. For some issues, unplanned downtime can even be prevented altogether through prediction of the issue.
With your permission, John Deere Connected Support:- Keeps you running by monitoring machine health and promptly alerting you and your dealer of issues
- Saves time by remotely viewing in-cab displays, reducing trips to the machine
- Reduces or even eliminates technician trips to a machine through remote diagnostic and remote software reprogramming capabilities
- Connects experts with the information needed to respond to downtime faster and prevent it altogether
With more than a decade of experience leveraging connectivity to solve problems, no one else has the experience, tools, and knowledge to keep you running as John Deere and your John Deere dealer can. Connected Support is an in-base feature on all John Deere products with factory- or field-installed JDLink.
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Optimize feeding with a two-speed center feed section, increased feed drum torque, and center crop flow divider
Overview
Increase grain in the tank with a two-speed center feed section. A slow-speed setting softens the impact of crop fingers and drum flighting when engaging with crop. This ensures that easy-shelling crops like lentils and soybeans do not get thrown over the feederhouse. Use the high-speed setting in canola or high-yielding cereals to prevent slug feeding while ensuring that the drum does not plug.
Benefits
- Experience less downtime during harvest related to unplugging the header, which will allow for more harvesting time at the highest productivity levels.
- Higher feed drum torque is matched to the capacity of the combine to ensure optimal feed rates into the combine. Higher torque on the front feed drum will allow operators to confidently harvest tough feeding crops like canola.
- Additionally, prevent underfeeding in light crops with the center crop flow divider. When not harvesting crop with the full width of the draper, the center crop flow divider prevents crop from skipping over the center feed section and going on the opposite draper belt.
Toolless shifting on the gearcase
Toolless shifting on the gearcase
Center crop flow divider
Additional details
- The two-speed center feed section maintains a consistent ratio between the feed drum and center feed belt speed.
- Change center feed section speed with a toolless, two-speed, easy-shift handle on the gearcase to the left of the draper feederhouse opening.
Two-speed center feed section (A is pulled out and B is pushed in)
- Feed drum gearbox
- Center feed drive shaft
- Knife drive shaft
- Center feed speed control
- Oil check
- Main gearbox
- Center belt gearbox
- Oil check
Low speed
High speed
Feed drum
200 rpm
240 rpm
Center feed belt
1000 rpm
1200 rpm
RDF
HDR
Feed drum torque
1650 Nm (1217 lb-ft)
2860 Nm (2109.4 lb-ft)
Center belt width
177.8 cm (70 in.)
200.9 cm (79.1 in.)
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Superior ground following with the HydraFlex™ draper system
Overview
Achieve superior ground following when harvesting in a wide range of terrains, crops, and conditions with RDF HydraFlex Draper Platforms. HydraFlex is an industry-exclusive hydraulic float system.
HydraFlex draper system floats with the terrain
Benefits
- Float closely to the ground over changing conditions by controlling the cutterbar ground pressure from the cab – simply adjust the armrest knob to vary hydraulic pressure in the float arm hydraulic cylinders.
Hydraulic float arm
Adjust ground pressure by changing hydraulic pressure in the float arm cylinders
Additional details
- The hydraulic float system features a 19-cm (7.5-in.) float range.
- To lock out the HydraFlex draper into rigid mode, the operator should increase the float pressure to maximum
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Evenly feed canola and field peas into the feederhouse with RDF top augers
Overview
Help bushy crops, especially heavy canola, feed evenly into the feederhouse with an optional 45.7-cm (18-in.) top auger extending the full width of the draper.
RDF top auger
Benefits
- With the crop tucked under the auger, the handoff to the center feed drum enables smooth and consistent feeding to the combine to ensure constant load.
- Achieve smooth headfirst feeding when auger speeds are running slightly faster than the belt speed.
Additional details
- This optional 45.7-cm (18-in.) hydraulically driven top auger has an easy speed adjustment at the right side of the platform.
- It is recommended for operation in bushy or high-volume harvesting conditions such as canola.
- Augers can be turned off for crops like lentils or wheat where they are not recommended.
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Optimize harvesting with RDF Series Draper feed drum, floor, and finger timing
Overview
Appropriately set feed drum height for varying crops during harvest with the RDF dual-position feed drum.
Feed drum and floor
Retractable feed drum fingers
Feed drum controls and slip clutch
Benefits
- In some crop conditions, the crop can hesitate at the corners of the feed drum, and the retractable drum fingers keep the crop moving into the combine.
- Increase uptime through a high-wear life and durable stainless-steel feed floor.
- The dual-position drums allow the operator to select an upper or lower setting of the drum, creating the gap of a 40.6-cm (16-in.) drum and a 35.6-cm (14-in) drum, respectively.
Additional details
- The feed drum can be positioned in the lower position, creating the traditional feeding gap, or can be raised to the upper position, increasing the feeding gap by 2.54-cm (1-in.), the equivalent of a 35.6-cm (14-in.) feed drum gap.
- For bushy crops, such as canola, put the drum in the upper position.
- RDF feed drum slip-clutch torque is 1600 Nm (1180 lb-ft).
Auxiliary top auger
Type | Optional: hydraulic drive |
Size | 45.7 cm 18 in. |
Cutterbar
Knife drive | Double-cut, dual-drive, shaft-driven cutterbar: 10.2 cm 4 in. |
Knife speed | X Series Combine: 520 cycles/min S-Series Combine: 490 cycles/min |
Type | Straight-line knife drive system Cutterbar vertical flex: 190 mm 7.5 in. |
Length | 12.19 m 40 ft |
Dimensions
Overall operating depth | With dividers: 2.74 m 9 ft |
Transport width, field position | 13.1 m 43 ft |
Platform length | 13.1 m 43 ft |
Draper belts
Speed control | Hydraulic from cab (side belts only) |
Center belt reverse | Base |
Width | Side belts: 101.6 cm 40 in. Center belts: 177.6 cm 70 in. |
Belt depth | 101.2 cm 39.8 in. |
Cleat height | 19.05 mm 0.75 in. |
Operating speed | Side belts (variable): 1-3.5 m/s 3.3-11.5 fps Center belts: 211 m/min 692 fpm Low-speed center belt (fixed): 4.2 m/s 13.8 ft High-speed center belt (fixed): 5.1 m/s 16.7 fps |
Feed drum
Drum/auger reverse | Base |
Center clean out door | Base |
Auger finger platform | Triple chevron, retracting |
Number of fingers | 21 |
Feed drum fingers | Heavy-duty and round with breakaway notch and retainer Diameter: 16 mm 0.625 in. |
Finger reach | 152 mm 6 in. |
Diameter | 414 mm 16.3 in. |
Operating speed | Low speed: 200 rpm High speed: 240 rpm |
Header height sensing
Type | Electrohydraulic |
Header height sensing off the ground | Optional: four sensors |
Header height sensing on the ground | Base |
Key Specs
Draper belts speed control | Hydraulic from cab (side belts only) |
Pickup reel operating speeds | 6-70 rpm |
Cutterbar length | 12.19 m 40 ft |
Knife speed | X Series Combine: 520 cycles/min S-Series Combine: 490 cycles/min |
Knife drive | Double-cut, dual-drive, shaft-driven cutterbar: 10.2 cm 4 in. |
Pickup reel
Reel resume | Base |
Height control | Hydraulic |
Number of slats | Six bat poly |
Reel reverse | Base |
Speed control | Hydraulic |
Operating speeds | 6-70 rpm |
Fingers | Nylon |
Diameter | 106.7 cm 42 in. |
Reel fore and aft | 35.9 cm 14.1 in. Fore of the cutterbar: 40.6 cm 16 in. |
Reel lift | 72 cm 28.3 in. |
Platform
Type | Rigid frame flexible cutterbar |
Weight
Approximate weight | 3795 kg 8367 lb |
Additional information
Date collected | 15 June 2020 |
