REPORT: Dutch contractor van Diepen has taken drastic action to ensure a better tractor weight distribution when applying spring slurry. A Fendt tractor forms the basis of the novel self-propelled concept
Located on the outskirts of the village of Spanbroek, an hour’s drive north of Amsterdam, Gerjan van Diepen, one of the owners of the business, long pondered a way to lighten the load when applying slurry with an umbilical system.
While the trailing hose is already lighter than a slurry tanker, there is still a lot of weight being carried on the tractor’s back axle with an umbilical system. For instance here are some of the stats for the contractor’s Fendt 716. With the 2.0t of hoses carried on the front linkage unrolled, all the weight of the 12.0m wide rear-mounted slurry kit (4.0-5.0t) is carried on the tractor’s rear axle.
After considering all commercially available options, the contractor reckoned the solution he was seeking just wasn’t available, so he took the decision to make something in-house that would transfer more weight to the front of the tractor. The machine he had in mind needed to offer good visibility, include a buffer tank for increased capacity, transfer more weight from the pivoting hose arm to the front of the tractor, and at the same time remain road legal.
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