Farmers should use smaller tractors,

[buickanddeere]

In North America we don't realize the old world still uses the same roads that were built for ox carts thousands of years ago.

 

[Industrial Toys]

One of our farmers bought himself a Fendt. Couple hundred grand. He starts it and has to wait while all the computers boot up. Guessing the one in the article didn't come with the collision avoidance system. Or is that the stability control system?

 

[MHarryE]

Having lived in Europe many years, I would not call the tractor an overly large one. Rather typical. Granted the country roads can be narrow in places but farmers get along quite well. Much higher travel speeds than in North America - although living in an outer suburb of Paris, it was not unusual for me to meet farmers hauling their sugar beets into the processing plant while I was on the way to work in the morning, tractors and wagons equipped with a lot more safety equipment for their higher speeds and operation in more densely packed surroundings. I believe tractors needed to meet the same safety specs as our construction equipment - like a supplemental steering system for machines that can travel over 20 km/hr. In our case a electrical driven hydraulic pump that automatically kicked in if the steering pressure dropped below a certain point, and a stack of accumulators to hold brake pressure for multiple stops in the event of hydraulic power loss to the brakes. My Kubota WSM for my M135GX covers 3 series, North America, Europe, and Asia due to the differences like that. European requirements are a piece of cake compared to the Japanese. So it pays to have region specific versions instead of worldwide with all the bells and whistles.

 

[Egon]

That is interesting information.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It pays to know your machine. I thought I had brakes without engine running on my 12 ton zoom boom coming down a very steep hill. That is, until the accumulator ran out of pressure. The machine was still on propane at the time, and I ran out, going down the hill. Fortunately, I nothing in my way, still had (some) steering and kept control.

 

[D7E]

a 50kmph tractor with a teenager at the wheel texting his girlfriend !

 

[Looking4new]

It pays to know your machine. I thought I had brakes without engine running on my 12 ton zoom boom coming down a very steep hill. That is, until the accumulator ran out of pressure. The machine was still on propane at the time, and I ran out, going down the hill. Fortunately, I nothing in my way, still had (some) steering and kept control.

fixed it for you,
of my bowels

 

[Renze]

Yep, Europe. Their roads suck. That is a very large tractor there. That's why some of the comments mention it.

No thats an average arable farm, or contractors tractor in Europe.
Especially in the UK (and parts of northern France) in the grain areas, articulated tractors are not as uncommon as you might think. Its just that most of US agricultural land is suitable for grains only, so there are a lot of large scale farms that use big machinery. Crops that need a more intense working regime, are therefor grown on smaller farms with standard size tractors. Wherever the land is too good for dairy grassland, and not good enough for root crops, you see articulated tractors. In France, Germany and the UK. But most of northwest Europe generally has highly productive soil on which grains are only grown for crop rotation.

Indeed, especially in the UK the roads are very narrow, and are surrounded by stone walls. They should have torn them down 40 years ago like they did with the hedgerows here, when folkloristic treehuggers werent in the majority yet.

 

[Renze]

a 50kmph tractor with a teenager at the wheel texting his girlfriend !

Since this year, youngsters need their T-class drivers license. When i got my tractor license, we had to show we could start a tractor, hitch up a trailer (dont forget the locking circlip on the pin) pull into the road whilst watching over your left and right shoulders, and back the trailer up around the corner. Filling in paperwork took 10 minutes, coffee took 10 minutes and the actual exam took 10 minutes.

These guys were driving 50kmh with 50 ton at age 16, and no clue what inertia could do...

Nowadays the T drivers license costs about 1000 to 1500 euro and its quite comparable to the commercial license, just that with C you have to get C-E to be able to pull any trailer, but with T you are allowed to pull any trailer behind a farm tractor.

The days of driving day and night with a Ford 5000 and an 8 ton silage trailer are over. Nowadays its a T7.270 with three axle 30 ton trailer, preferrably with a kid on it that will drive a big tractor for minimum wage. Anyways, its good that with these combinations, there is some education for the drivers.

 

[ovrszd]

Indeed, especially in the UK the roads are very narrow, and are surrounded by stone walls. They should have torn them down 40 years ago like they did with the hedgerows here, when folkloristic treehuggers werent in the majority yet.

Oh,,,,, you have those too?????