Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 361 i Farms and Farm Machinery

Operators are going to notice a significant difference in the ride comfort – one they won’t find on any other track tractor. AGCO brand Challenger has unveiled its next-generation MT700 series of track tractors. In typical Challenger yellow, the new MT700 series is designed to deliver a new level of track tractor performance, ride comfort, operating efficiency and on-board intelligence to boost farmer profitability and productivity, the company says. The MT700 series comes with a range of fresh features such as a new engine, cab, transmission, undercarriage and hydraulics. “Today’s producers demand more than just power and floatation from their track tractors,” AGCO product manager Tim Oldaker says. “Challenger continues to deliver production-enhancing features and onboard technologies that help producers better manage their farming businesses and increase profitability.” ENGINE &…

Morris has unveiled its new Quantum air drill designed to be 154 per cent stronger than previous drills. Launched at the Canada Farm Progress Show, the Quantum drill has been labelled a ‘game changer’ for Australia. McIntosh Distribution’s director of national distribution for Morris, Cam McIntosh, says the Quantum’s interlocking frame technology makes it 154 per cent stronger. Combined with increased weight and stronger openers that feature 205cm chrome pins, this allows farmers to confidently dig deeper. “In Canada, the Quantum was initially torture tested over 800 hectares of stony country without a fault, and so far in Australia this season it has undergone rigorous testing over nearly 10,000ha with a similar result,” McIntosh says. “Due to the dry start of the season this year, it was some of the…

2018 4X4 UTE MEGATEST Nine of Australia’s top-selling work utes. Seven of Australia’s pre-eminent car, truck and machinery reviewers. Four days of arduous testing on and off road, loaded and unloaded. Which one came out on top? Check out all the action captured on video – including individual video reviews of all nine contenders! 2018 FARMFEST FIELD DAYS If you missed the 2018 FarmFest Field Days in Toowoomba earlier this month, you can now catch all the highlights captured on video here – including individual videos on key exhibitors including New Holland T9 Series featuring SmartTrax II; McCormick X7 series tractors; Manitou MLT 737-130 PS+ telehandler; EZ Machinery SF1500 skid-steer mulcher; Great Plains 607 Spartan II seeder; Krone Big X 580 forge harvester; and Gessner stick rake. KUBOTA RTV X900…

South Australia’s Kelly Engineering has begun contract manufacturing its Diamond Harrow tillage machines in Stolpen, Germany to meet growing European demand. The company has been selling its Australian-made tillage machines in Europe for several years but managing director Shane Kelly says building the systems in Australia and shipping them half way around the world resulted in long lead times and other inefficiencies as volumes grew. “So we revised the business model to source a supply chain locally while still running our IP and management out of Booleroo,” he says. “For instance, the majority of what we sell in the US is now made there and we manage the supply chain from Australia. “That model then is replicable for Europe because it’s a much lighter load on working capital and lead…

The Navara D23, tagged as the NP300, arrived in mid-2015 and was a significant departure from the outgoing and successful D40, which had been on sale for the better part of the decade. All but one dual-cab D23 featured a coil-sprung live axle at the rear, a feature unique among the mainstream utes in this class. In what Nissan said was response to “feedback from customers and dealers”, changes were announced a little over a year later in October 2016 and implemented for the 2017 model year. This included the dropping of the NP300 tag (replaced by Series II), the introduction of a new work-spec model and, critically, new coil springs at the rear and new dampers front and rear. Then, early this year, the suspension was revised again with…

The Amarok is the oldest ute here (2010), although it only gained its three-litre V6 diesel in late 2016. For its part, the V6 engine actually dates back to 2004 and is a VW family (Audi) design used in various Porsche, Audi and VW models. For use in the Amarok, it’s been detuned and, at the same time, strengthened in the bottom end to help accommodate its new ‘working’ or commercial vehicle role. The V6 is only available with an automatic transmission and single-range full-time 4WD at this stage. POWERTRAIN AND PERFORMANCE Detuned is, however, a relative word here, as the Amarok’s V6 still cranks out at least 165kW (221hp), and as much as 180kW (241hp), if you wish. (Compare that with the next best power figure: the 147kW of…

Italian tractor manufacturer Landini unveiled five new tractors at its dealer conference in June. Held in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley, Landini unveiled the new 4-series, Rex 4, 90F and two Powerfarm 110 high-clearance hydraulic power-shuttle RPS tractors (in a cab or ROPS). 4-SERIES The new 4-series comes in two configurations: a vineyard/ orchard model and a utility farm tractor. The 4-series features an integrated loader joystick, instructor seat and high-visibility roof. The modern, spacious cabin has Landini’s latest curved roof design that allows for outstanding visibility when working with a front-end loader. Under the bonnet is the latest Tier 4 engine that pumps out 393Nm of torque; the tractor also features an electronic engine RPM control (EEC) to ensure engine RPM is maintained under varying loads. In terms of…

This is the single most innovative development of the compact tracked loader since its launch 20 years ago. English manufacturing giant JCB has launched a tracked version of its Teleskid loader to help farmers and foresters get to those hard-to-reach places. The new tracked model is manufactured to handle loading and re-handling tasks where conditions underfoot are delicate or especially demanding. This little Teleskid 3TS-8T is unique among compact tracked loaders as it has a telescopic boom that adds to the machine’s capabilities and gives it enhanced performance. It has all the benefits of the highly manoeuvrable large-platform compact tracked loader on which it is based, but with the advantages that come with a telescopic boom, such as: being able to load into higher-sided bulk trailers and spreaders; stack and…

Welcome to Farms & Farm Machinery’s 2018 Ute Megatest. Here we have gathered all of the popular 4x4 dual-cabs to put through their paces on road – with and without a 900kg total payload – and off road. The last time we gathered all the utes together was in late 2016 for our Max Load and Tow Test. Since then, four of the nine utes have undergone significant mechanical revision, or are new. Only the HiLux, Ranger, Colorado, BT-50 and Triton are effectively unchanged mechanically, although all have undergone equipment or styling changes in that time. The Mercedes-Benz X-Class is all new to this class, although, at the same time, a little familiar as it uses the Nissan Navara as a starting point in its design. Then there’s the Amarok,…

In designing and developing this generation Colorado for release in 2012, GM didn’t piggyback off Isuzu as it had done for all its previous Rodeo utes and even the original Colorado. Instead, GM marshalled its global resources to design a ute from the ground up with its VM Motori four-cylinder diesel coming from Italy, the six-speed automatic from GM in the US, and the whole thing pulled together by a design team headquarted at GM Brazil. The trouble was that it wasn’t quite right on many fronts and was tweaked in 2013 and then again in 2014 before being pulled right apart – almost down to the last nut and bolt – and put back together with a host of new or revised parts for its 2017 rebirth. Australian Holden…

This is Mazda’s new-look 2018 BT-50, complete with a front-end styling treatment that, quite unusually, is exclusive to Australian models. It comes with extra equipment, especially for the entry-level XT, but also includes the addition of the popular smartphone apps across all models. This refresh follows the MY16 upgrade that also comprised a front-end restyle and equipment additions. This ongoing restyling to the BT-50’s front end says what every Mazda dealer in the country was thinking when the BT-50 and the co-developed Ford Ranger first arrived here in late 2011, namely: “Bugger … wish our ute looked like their ute!” Despite being as good as mechanically identical when they both first arrived, and still very similar following their respective MY16 upgrades, the BT-50 has never sold in the numbers of…

Mitsubishi’s fifth-generation (MQ) Triton arrived in Australia in mid-2015, replacing the MN that first went on sale in 2009. In designing and building the MQ, Mitsubishi didn’t attempt to match the notably bigger size of the new-generation utes led by the Ford Ranger and VW Amarok, but instead reworked what it already had in the MN, which means a smaller ute. The main changes from the MQ centred around an all-new Euro 5-compliant 2.4-litre four-cylinder diesel, a new six-speed manual gearbox, a revised five-speed automatic (available on all models and not just the Exceed), various chassis changes and a re-styled body. Thanks to very sharp pricing and ongoing factory discounting, the Triton is only outsold by the HiLux and Ranger. And, if you want a less-expensive ute than the Triton,…

The Hilux comes into this contest as Australia’s best-selling ute and best-selling 4x4. Throw in the 2WD models and it’s Australia’s best-selling vehicle, bar none. Not that HiLux has had it all its own way, as last year it was pipped by the Ford Ranger as the best-selling 4x4 ute and bestselling 4x4, which has prompted Toyota to tweak the model range with the addition of SR+ models and more kit for the SR5+, among the key changes late last year. Last year, Toyota also launched the TRD variant and has, more recently, introduced the accessorised Rogue, Rugged and Rugged X models. This generation HiLux first appeared in late 2015 as the eighth-generation HiLux and was effectively all new from the ground up, although not notably bigger than before. It…

Now you have the choice of 360 or 600L in a compact but fully featured machine without having to worry about how it’s going to fit. Blending a passion for farming and innovation, Rapid Spray’s core values have always been to improve and make the lives of farmers easier. The company was founded in the early 1990s by Michael Firth, who merged his engineering expertise and love of farming and created the first rotomoulded poly trough, having a firm belief in the benefits that poly has for farmers. As the business grew steadily and the applications for poly increased, the first poly tanks were manufactured, proving their durability again and again over the years. With the benefits and resilience of poly becoming clearer, this opened the door to a whole…

Sprayer giant Hardi Australia has launched its new compensation technology H-Select for wide spray booms. The company says H-Select can save farmers between five to seven per cent in chemical usage. H-Select uses four head nozzle bodies arrayed in individual or selected boom sections. An autonomous controller manages each section’s speed against the set spray rate, and then switches the nozzle heads on and off rapidly in order to achieve consistent spray delivery across the turning boom. Hardi says that switching between nozzle heads means the flow rate can be continually adjusted without ever compromising the size or speed of the droplets produced. By using H-Select’s in-cab monitor, operators can set and change the nozzle droplet size on the go. This means the farmer can adjust their target droplet size…

Designed and developed here in Australia as part of a global Ford effort and arriving in late 2011, the Ranger has gone on to do the near unthinkable: challenge Toyota’s iconic HiLux for Australia’s most popular ute. In fact, last year, it knocked off the HiLux as both Australia’s best-selling 4x4 ute and best-selling 4x4 overall, only falling to HiLux in overall ute sales thanks to the popularity of the HiLux 4x2. What we are testing here is a Ranger nearing the end of its life cycle, as, before year’s end, the next-generation Ranger will be here. Among other things, it will offer the option of a far more sophisticated and more powerful 157kW (211hp)/500Nm engine, but very much smaller two-litre four-cylinder bi-turbo diesel that will also power Ford’s upcoming…

This generation D-Max first arrived here in 2012. Most notably for a manufacturer with a long history of designing and building its own utes, this D-Max wasn’t a 100 per cent Isuzu product – unlike its predecessors. The starting point for this D-Max was, in fact, a GM design, at least in terms of its basic chassis and body shell, even if Isuzu engineers were involved in the design process from early on. Taking the basic chassis and body shared with the Colorado, Isuzu then added its own engine, gearbox, transfer case, rear axle, suspension springs and dampers, interior fitout and exterior body panels, grille, lights and other details to end up with what is a very different ute to the Colorado. Things stayed much the same until 2017 when…

It’s no secret that Mercedes-Benz’s new X-Class is based on Nissan’s Navara, but don’t think for one minute that it’s a Navara carrying a ‘three-pointed star’, as the X-Class has been re-engineered from the ground up. You’d expect nothing less from a car company that prides itself on engineering excellence. Were Benz’s engineers happy not starting with a clean sheet to design a dual-cab ute? Probably not, but with pressure to come up with a market-ready product as soon as possible, using the Navara as a starting point saved two or three years of development time. Mercedes-Benz has a technology-sharing agreement with the Renault-Nissan alliance, so the Navara was readily available. In creating this X-Class, Benz’s engineers took a Navara and removed the body and the powertrain from the chassis,…