Power on the land

from Farmers Guide February 2022

Maize spring planting options for a timely harvest

The AgriBrinks tyre pressure adjustment system for tractors, trailers and other equipment is available from Larrington Trailers

The topic of this month’s Power on the Land is tyres and tracks, brought to you as always by Mike Williams.

Concern about avoidable soil damage is encouraging increasing interest in equipment that adjusts tyre in ation pressures on tractors when changing between road travel and eld work.

This can play an important role in reducing soil compaction while maintaining stability when travelling on the road, and the list of equipment that can make the adjustment now includes the AgriBrinks system from Canada. It is available from Larrington Trailers under an agreement starting last year, and the bene ts it o ers include providing in ation and de ation control for the tractor tyres while also adjusting the tyre pressure on an attached trailer or other equipment such as a manure spreader or trailed sprayer.

Time saving is also an advantage claimed for the AgriBrinks system, which is operated by a single switch and takes only 90 seconds to change the in ation pressure of a set of tyres from the eld to the road setting. Another bene t is that most of the operating equipment is mounted on a frame attached to the front linkage of the tractor, making it easy to transfer to another suitablyequipped tractor.

Trelleborg Wheel Systems is an internationally-established company that o ers a comprehensive range of agricultural tyres and wheels for use on tractors, self-propelled machinery and trailed equipment. One of the special tyre design features developed by Trelleborg is Progressive Traction – a recent introduction on the TM1000 series tractor tyres. Based on a double lug arrangement, its aim is to boost working e ciency and performance in the eld, with the double lugs contacting the soil at di erent times to achieve increased traction progressively. The double lugs also increase the otation on the soil by achieving more even pressure distribution with the bene t of a wider footprint. Trelleborg tyre equipment also includes the TLC device that checks tyre pressures and automatically measures the di erence between the actual and the optimum pressure gures, and then sends the data automatically to a receiver such as a PC.

Last year’s additions to the BKT tyre range includes the new Multimax MP569 series – designed for trucks and other vehicles that are used both in the eld and also at higher transport speeds for road haulage work. The BKT range has also gained extra sizes for its V-Flexa tyre series speci ed for trailers and similar equipment used on farms. Tyres in the latest range feature a tread designed with three belt layers made from steel to give increased strength to the casing, while providing improved resistance to damage. The V-Flex tread characteristics also include an e cient self-cleaning capability in addition to a low level of rolling resistance to improve travel e ciency. The BKT company can trace its history back to the 1950s, and the agricultural tyres are included in the highly successful BKT o -highway tyre business that was established in 1987. The o -highway range now o ers more than 2,700 di erent tyres for agriculture, forestry and for a wide range of industrial and recreational requirements.

Recent developments in the Vredestein agricultural tyre range mean its Traxion Optimall tyre series is now available on Claas Xerion tractors. Vredestein is a major tyre supplier for new Claas tractors and harvesting machinery, and the tyres for the Xerion tractor will include the largest size in the Traxion Optimall series. Vredestein news also includes the addition of more sizes to the Traxion Optimall series for tractors in the increasingly important 160–250hp sector. The new sizes are VF650/65R42 and VR710/60R42 plus the corresponding front tyre sizes, and they o er performance features that include low in ation pressure to achieve a large footprint area as well as e cient traction. The design also includes extra rubber in the centre of the tread to ensure better ground contact for increased driver comfort.

Also new in the Vredestein range are the TraxionVersa Green tyres announced last autumn to o er improved performance for challenging conditions on steep land. They are designed to o er excellent traction, and Vredestein also claims increased stability plus a long working life with good grassland preservation.

Agricultural tyres are an important part of the Bush Tyres business, which has depots throughout Lincolnshire and in Yorkshire, Norfolk, Cambridge and County Durham. It also operates a country-wide delivery and tting service, with more than 70 vans available for dealing with breakdown call-outs. The long-established company, which is still family owned, started as a sales and repair business for bicycles, but vehicle tyre sales and tting were added in the late 1930s, and it was this business that formed the basis for the Bush company’s rapid and continuing expansion. The agricultural business o ers customers the choice from a stock totalling more than 6,500 tyres from 10 leading brands for use on tractors and on self-propelled equipment such as harvesters and telescopic materials handlers, as well as implement and trailer tyres. In 2021, the company became UK distributors for Ascenso Tyres, and will be exhibiting them at LAMMA later this year.

Lodge Tyres o ers a comprehensive range of agricultural tyres including tractor tyres covering all requirements for the agricultural market including low ground pressure, otation and rowcrop tyres for tractors, and these are available from stock to minimise down time during busy periods on the farm. It also stocks a range of tyres for other farm equipment including self-propelled machinery, such as harvesters and sprayers, and for trailers and other machines. Lodge Tyres is based at Fakenham, Norfolk, and operates through a network of dedicated service centres. An important feature of the farming sector at Lodge Tyres is that the sta members include a team of farming specialists, and they are available to o er up-to-date technical advice to customers about all aspects of agricultural wheel and tyre selection. Lodge also o ers a special exchange service which can accept tyres that are no longer needed by farming customers who are buying new replacement tyres. FG