Deere 310sj / sk or 410j / k with the TC or TMC option

Not many of these Deere TLB's with the TC / TMC option around. Looking for a used TLB and came across one with the TC option. In theory it should be great having the superior control functions all on fly by wire controlled joysticks mounted on the seat armrests. My question is are these machines reliable ?? Not many around and obviously they would have been more $ when new so that might explain why so few of them exist. Joystick wire controls are the norm on excavators so is it any different on backhoes. I've been trying to search for reviews / problems of these units but their is almost nothing online about them. Anyone on here have experience running / repairing these backhoes?? Would like to here the good and bad. I don't want to buy a problem machine. Thanks.

Unless you have lots of money to spend, stay away from it. I would imagine they are a nice machine when they are working but when they break, they're expensive. I have one from a customer that I have been working off and on for some time, they loaned it out and it hit an underground power wire. We are now to the point of needing to replace both joysticks and it's looking like $9500.00 for the pair and I have a pretty good idea at least one more component is bad. Every electronic part also has to be programed on the machine by a Deere dealer so you will be paying their time each time you have a problem. A very over engineered machine that was only made for one model series which should tell us something. I realize my experience is not the average everyday one but it does tell you how expensive these machine can be.

excavator said:

and it hit an underground power wire.

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Parts get real expensive on any newer backhoe if you are digging up power cables.

The TC controls were discontinued for a reason mainly that the sales started to fall after 2 or 3 years because of reliability issues and it cost deere a fortune

JL Sargent said:

Parts get real expensive on any newer backhoe if you are digging up power cables.

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I can only imagine. I work for one of the largest auto manufacturers as a Field Engineer. We occasionally get the idiot who jumps starts the car backwards. I had a couple of these this past summer. The repairs were $20,000+ on a car that sold new for $20,000. This was not warranty of course and insurance paid. They were stupid, try to tell them that it could cost this much. Nope they wanted to repair it not total it. The problem is you fix one problem and then that repair reveals another issue. Another idiot paid out of pocket. We tried to tell him to buy a new car. We offered him some trade assistance as a Goodwill gesture but he chose to repair the car for more than a new one cost.

I bet with heavy equipment it would be even more expensive.

I am not all knowing but I'm not sure that I agree with fly-by-wire joysticks being the norm on excavators. I certainly see it moving that way (on all machines) but my 2017 Deere 245G is still hydraulic pilot controls and I think still are today.

edgephoto said:

I can only imagine. I work for one of the largest auto manufacturers as a Field Engineer. We occasionally get the idiot who jumps starts the car backwards. I had a couple of these this past summer. The repairs were $20,000+ on a car that sold new for $20,000. This was not warranty of course and insurance paid. They were stupid, try to tell them that it could cost this much. Nope they wanted to repair it not total it. The problem is you fix one problem and then that repair reveals another issue. Another idiot paid out of pocket. We tried to tell him to buy a new car. We offered him some trade assistance as a Goodwill gesture but he chose to repair the car for more than a new one cost.

I bet with heavy equipment it would be even more expensive.

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Seen a jd tractor struck by lightning it needed completely rewired and all components replaced when done it was about 120 grand it had 400 hrs on it and was more than double that price new

I believe it.

Thanks for the replies. Just looking at Deere specs and it mentions TMC starting at the J series and ending at the K series. That covers quite a few years of production and by the looks of what's on the market for used very few must have been sold with that option . L series makes no mention of TMC as AZIron mentioned it was discontinued.

I had a TMC machine and would not recommend even considering it. They are an electrical nightmare wiring harness issues under the seat, seat location sensors ( three of them), o rings on the cylinder valves. I could go on and on, they are very fast when they work. I had to buy another machine just to keep working while that thing was getting repaired every other month. Lastly the swing is very hard to get used to inaccurate at best.

JL Sargent said:

Parts get real expensive on any newer backhoe if you are digging up power cables.

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I agree but nothing like a total electronic one. I don't think you would be replacing joy sticks on a pilot controlled machine after hitting a power line.

bmich said:

Thanks for the replies. Just looking at Deere specs and it mentions TMC starting at the J series and ending at the K series. That covers quite a few years of production and by the looks of what's on the market for used very few must have been sold with that option . L series makes no mention of TMC as AZIron mentioned it was discontinued.

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I did not realize they went into the K series. Learn something new every day.

I rented one. I put around 40hrs on it. I did not like the controls at all. Had no feel to them and seem to have a slight delay. I couldn’t wait to switch back to my normal 310SJ

Looks like the consensus is that the TMC option is a lemon! Thanks for all the replies. I think it saved me a big headache and a pile of money!