John Deere Specs: Read the Rating Before Comparing

Updated October 24, 2026

Before comparing John Deere lift capacity or engine power, copy the complete rating from its source. Keep the machine identity, document edition, units, test standard and equipment conditions beside the number. Two figures headed “capacity” or “horsepower” may describe different things.

Use this worksheet when a brochure, listing or quote leaves those details unclear. It helps you identify which figures can be compared and which need a better source. It does not establish an operating load, attachment fit or a procedure for testing a machine.

Identify the machine and the document

Record the complete model designation and machine family first. A tractor with a fitted loader, a skid steer and a wheel loader need separate identification records. Add the machine PIN or serial number when known, plus the loader and attachment identifiers relevant to the question. If an identifier is missing, leave it unresolved rather than filling it from a similar machine’s listing.

Save the source page or link, document code, revision or edition, page number and regional context. A seller’s abbreviated specification needs the underlying source before it can serve as a matched comparison. Distinguish the date you retrieved a document from the edition printed inside it.

The worked example here uses Deere’s 318G brochure, DKAGSS318 (24-03). Its footer identifies that edition. The figures below illustrate how this particular table is organized; they do not verify the configuration or applicable limits of an unidentified machine offered for sale.

Keep the engine-power label and standard

On PDF page 6, the 318G brochure lists net power as 45.6 kW (61 hp) under SAE J1349 / ISO 9249. It separately lists gross rated power as 48.5 kW (65 hp) under ISO 14396. Both rows give 2,600 rpm.

Those are separate rows for the same model in the same document. Copying only “65 hp” leaves out information needed to interpret it. Copy “net” or “gross,” the standard and engine speed along with the figure; do not choose the larger number as the default description.

The brochure’s page 7 note also distinguishes the equipment basis: it describes net power with specified standard equipment and states that gross power excludes the cooling fan. Keep that qualification with the example. This is a source-reading distinction, not a conversion formula between the two figures or evidence of fuel consumption, productivity or lifting ability.

For another machine, retrieve its own power row and notes. If one listing gives net power and another gives gross power, mark the comparison unresolved until equivalent information is available.

Separate capacity, tipping and breakout rows

The same 318G brochure lists SAE rated operating capacity: 1,945 lb. and tipping load: 3,890 lb. on PDF page 7. The counterweight subrow gives 2,095 lb. These labels and conditions must travel with their values.

Do not relabel tipping load as lift capacity or present the counterweight subrow as the base-machine figure. The table is useful here because it shows why the word “capacity” alone is incomplete. It supplies no authorization to load or test a machine from the numbers in this article.

Breakout has its own distinctions. The brochure separates boom breakout force from bucket breakout force, then gives different rows for foundry and construction buckets. In the bucket-breakout rows, it lists 6,000 lb. with a foundry bucket and 4,250 lb. with a construction bucket. Copy the force label and bucket condition together. Neither row should be substituted for the rated-operating-capacity row.

Keep the general specification note too. Except where otherwise stated, this brochure bases its specifications on standard equipment, a full fuel tank and a 79-kg (175-lb.) operator. It also warns that regional availability and specifications can differ. These are conditions attached to a document, not a description of every used 318G or a checklist that establishes a safe setup.

Read hydraulic and dimension headings literally

Preserve each hydraulic row’s complete label. The 318G table distinguishes standard pump flow from system pressure at the couplers. Reporting a flow figure without its flow option, or pressure without its stated measurement location, removes part of the specification. A hydraulic table by itself does not confirm an attachment’s requirements or compatibility.

Dimensions need the same treatment. This brochure separates length without a bucket from length with a foundry bucket. It also distinguishes height to the hinge pin from dump height with a foundry bucket. Copy the named point and fitted equipment rather than reducing either pair to “length” or “lift height.”

A brochure dimension is not a verified measurement of the particular machine and attachment in front of you. When the question is bucket sizing, use the separate John Deere loader bucket-size worksheet. Keep that sizing decision separate from deciding what a rating means.

Copy a comparison record for each figure

Use one record per rating. Keep two source records separate until their labels and conditions can be matched. A blank or unresolved field is more useful than an assumed match.

Preserve the original units before making a conversion. If a conversion is needed, show it separately so the manufacturer’s stated value remains recoverable. Unit conversion does not resolve a difference in rating label, test basis or fitted configuration.

For example, a 318G record headed “SAE rated operating capacity” cannot be matched to another record headed only “capacity” until the second source supplies the missing label and basis. Likewise, two breakout entries need the relevant bucket conditions; a shared model name is insufficient.

Request the information that prevents a match

Stop the comparison when the source is missing, the machine or attachment is unidentified, or the labels and conditions do not align. Do not infer the missing value from horsepower, a photograph, another model’s brochure or an advertised maximum.

A focused request to the seller or dealer can read:

Please identify the machine, fitted loader and attachment for this quote, including the available PIN/serial and attachment identifiers. For the stated rating, please supply the applicable source document, edition, region, page and complete row, including its units, standard, measurement point and equipment notes. Please identify any unresolved configuration difference from the machine being offered.

Keep the reply with the source record. If it supplies a missing identity but no matching rating basis, the comparison remains unresolved. Keep either a traceable figure with its conditions or a specific unanswered question to resolve before making the comparison.