TORION 1812
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King of the clamp The arrival of the first TORION wheel loader to be sold in Scotland has revolutionised Ian Evans’ silaging operation and the clamp management in particular. “It’s pushing power is awesome,” says Ian of his large frame TORION 1812, which was supplied by GORDONS. “To see it go up behind a large trailer load of grass tipped end-on and just push the whole lot up without hardly changing engine tone is amazing.” The ability to achieve this is thanks to the TORION’s 195hp 4-cylinder Leibherr engine which develops a massive 1215Nm of torque at just 1100rpm. Drive is through a CMATIC transmission and the engine is also fitted with DYNAMIC COOLING. Having previously always run two large tractors with front buckrakes on the clamp, Ian made the move to replace these with the TORION in order to simplify clamp management and keep well on top of the grass coming in from his JAGUAR 950. “Most of the time we are running three large trailers and the TORION, which has a 14ft folding buckrake, will put away a trailer load in just two pushes, giving plenty of time to then roll,” comments Ian, who is based near Wigtown in south west Scotland. “I reckon with a full load she weighs in the region of 26 tonnes. I am really delighted with the compaction we are achieving and looking forward to seeing some of the results. “Features such as the self-greasing system is a great selling point as I don’t have to worry about whether it has been done. We have also had problems in the past with tractors overheating due to dry grass blocking the air intakes, but being able to reverse the fan on the TORION will avoid this. Also everybody who has driven it has commented how good the visibility is from the cab and having the rear view camera is also a good feature.” For clampman Douglas Kiltie, the TORION 1812 is a considerable step-up from the AXION 820 he previously used on the clamp. “The TORION has made the job just so much easier. With two tractors on the clamp you were always having to keep an eye out for where the other tractor was, especially on smaller clamps. “The TORION is fantastic to drive and it didn’t take long to get used to it. It’s power and torque are unbelievable. In two pushes it will do what took at least four with a tractor, so it just makes the job effortless and relaxing, and gives me far more time to roll and level the clamp. Fuel consumption has consistently averaged 11.5 litres/hour, which is about the same as the AXION, yet it is comfortably doing the work of two tractors. “It’s comfortable, the cab layout is good making it simple to use and its really responsive. Also for a large machine its really good on the road. I love it!” he concludes.
Ian Evans | Contractor | Wigtown HarvesTimes