Farmers making tracks to tyre alternative

We’re more accustomed to seeing them on the battlefield than down on the farm, but tracked vehicles are said to be gaining popularity on agricultural vehicles. Farmers Weekly reports they are increasingly finding a place in conditions such as damp fields where tyres would struggle.

The publication opines that a shift to using tracks over tyres is occurring as expanding acreages are placing farmers under heavy pressure to harvest large quantities of grain at low moisture contents in ever-tightening weather windows. These are conditions when tracked vehicles are said to come into their own. A major stated advantage is that tracks can cut soil compaction by as much as 65 per cent and reduce overall transport widths to as little as 3.2 metres.

The first agricultural machinery manufacturer to offer in-house fully integrated rubber tracks on its vehicles was Claas, which began selling its Terra-tracs range in the UK in 1998. Britain is now said to be the largest market for this product, although sales are also climbing in Western Europe. Last year, John Deere and New Holland also announced they would begin producing tracks in-house.

Answering the traction question, Farmers Weekly quotes research conducted in 2007 by Professor Richard Godwin at Harper Adams University College. According to Godwin, a track generally gives double the pull of a tyre, yet on very greasy surfaces tracks become less effective because they have a lower penetrative force compared with a tyre. In moist conditions, the occurrence of scuffing or smearing when turning at headlands was also described as a “concern”.

The farming publication pegs UK sales of tracked vehicles as being around 75 to 80 per cent of all sales of Claas’ 750-770 hybrid rotary combine, while 1,000 Terra-trac units have been sold here to date. New Holland anticipates 75 per cent of its range-topping CR9090 to be sold as tracked vehicles, but just 20 per cent of the smaller CR8080. Deutz only unveiled its first track-equipped combine at last November’s Agritechnica show in Germany, and thus hasn’t yet made any UK sales. Several manufacturers also sell retro-fit options.

But it isn’t all bad news for the humble tyre – tracks are paired with a couple of major drawbacks. The most obvious of these is price. Farmers Weekly comments that retail prices for tracks range from £25,000 for New Holland’s SmartTrax to £50,600 for Tidue tracks on Deutz combines. And once a vehicle is fitted with this pricey rubber, getting from one field to another is a much greater issue than for its tyre-shod counterpart. The UK Highway Code states that tracked vehicles with a width of 3 to 3.5 metres require an individual dispensation order or police notification, and are restricted to a maximum speed of 20mph, while those with a width of 3.5 to 4.3 metres require police notification, an escort vehicle and are restricted to a top speed of 12mph.