As you may have heard, Hillco has officially verified that the rumors are true.
The John Deere X9 is now available with Hillco’s Leveling System!
The first Hillside-equipped X9 prototype install began in late April 2025.
The Hillco engineering crew began by removing the stock John Deere rear axle and replacing it with the Hillco drop axle, followed by reinstalling rear hoses, tie-rod, and wheels.
Stock John Deere Axle, Rear
Hillco Drop Axle
Then, our team removed some assemblies for the major front-end work.
This was followed by documentation around the fan housing and rock trap.
With the drivetrain opened up, we moved into the control side of the system with the leveling manifold install, plus hose extension planning/documentation to ensure correct lengths, movement range, and routing.
Then it was time to reinstall the transmission, after accounting for hydraulic hose extensions.
After the critical mechanical and hydraulic work was validated, we put the feederhouse back on and moved on to programming and testing!
There was a key durability jump on the X9 Leveling System design!
Our other levelers use ¾” front and rear undercarriage steel plates.
The X9 uses 1” thick plates.
That extra material isn’t just an upgrade for upgrade’s sake- it was driven by the increased weight of the X9. With more machine mass and higher loads transferring through the undercarriage, moving to 1” plate adds the strength necessary in the areas that take the most punishment in real field conditions.
Phase two was testing, from northern Idaho to the Midwest! Read all about it by clicking the button below!
If you want better control over where grain lands in the cart, the Hillco Pivoting Spout is a practical upgrade for your Case IH combine. From the cab, a foot switch moves the spout through 37 degrees of travel, allowing you to direct the grain stream closer to or farther away from the combine without repositioning the machine.
Quick Answer: Cutting the net wrap or twine off one bale isn’t something a person thinks much about, but a few hundred bales—that’ll get your attention. At Oshkosh Heifer Development in western Nebraska, experienced hay-grinding professionals Marty Zehr and Tyler Schroeder have put the Hillco Wrap Twine Remover through an extreme-use workload, cutting and collecting net wrap and twine while handling the bale—without crawling in and out of the cab upwards of 400 times a day.
