Feltwell Growers has ordered four new Larrington trailers specified with Michelin TrailXBib VF tyres and an AgriBrink central tyre inflation system (CTIS).
Part of the G’s Group – one of the largest family-owned fresh produce suppliers in the UK – the farm had plans to move its entire fleet of trailers onto tracks, as it looked for the best ways to reduce soil damage at its 5,000ha base in the wet Norfolk Fenland.
However, following advice and a subsequent demonstration arranged by Larrington Trailers, it opted to specify a CTIS and TrailXBib VF 560/60 R22.5 tyres, which were supplied and fitted by Michelin Exelagri dealer Bush Tyres.
“We are effectively farming below sea level here and the ground gets very wet, so it’s hard for these big heavy trailers to navigate,” comments Scott Watson manager of the radish division, at Feltwell Growers. “When fully loaded with vegetables they can weigh up to 19 tonnes.”
“We assumed the only thing that would really alleviate soil damage would be to move them onto tracks. But Richard Larrington explained sticking with tyres would save us adding a huge amount of additional weight to the trailers, not to mention a significant sum of money. We agreed to look at the set-up with the CTIS and low-pressure tyres and were blown away with the results.”
The test saw two 180hp tractors, pulling 10t of stone in two identical Larrington tandem axle trailers across a wet patch in the field. One trailer was fitted with standard trailer tyres at 4.0 bar pressure, while the other trailer was fitted with TrailXBib fitments of the same size running at 1.0 bar.
The trailer with the standard tyres got stuck and had to be pulled out by two more tractors, while the trailer fitted with the TrailXBib VF fitments sailed through with minimum damage to the field.
“We pretty much made up our minds there and then,” says Mr Watson. “We now have two of the trailers with that exact set-up up running in the fields with two more to follow shortly – it’s working very well.
“The CTIS allows us to go from 7.0 bar for operating on firmer ground down to 1.0 bar for when we’re out on the soggy fields inside a minute and a half. We’ve been really impressed, so much so that other divisions within the group are now looking to run their own trials with the set-up.”
