Dealer relationship more than just good buys
It's spring, so harvest season will soon be upon us and shrewd operators will have used the long winter nights to service their tractors and machinery to ensure a trouble-free campaign.
It used to be the norm for the ‘old faithful’ Ford 4000 to rattle along at 30km/h, but everything off the shelf now runs at 40km/h, contractors favour 50km/h for road work, and some manufacturers in the last three years have introduced – subject to local regulations – 60km/h rockets.
Inevitably then, some regulatory body was bound to study the other side of the equation, and the need to regulate to bring these machines to a safe controlled standstill. Step forward the good old EU.
New EU braking regulations will be in 2016, including new, higher requirements for tractors’ braking performance, compatibility, safety standards and stability. And because most of NZ’s tractors are from Europe, these systems are likely to be part and parcel of the vehicles arriving here.
Requirements for compatibility between tractor and towed vehicle will ensure braking distances are shortened, and the systems are optimised for the towing and the towed vehicles. From 2016 anti-lock braking (ABS) will be mandatory on all tractors capable of 60km/h or more. And there is a move to apply this, by 2020, to tractors capable of 40-60km/h. Big spending and engineering changes are needed to meet the tougher rules.
A major challenge lies in the fitting ABS to the hydraulic braking systems fitted to most tractors now available, because ABS currently suits only pneumatic systems.
Uprated tractors for the Euro market will likely find their way to NZ with the technology already on board. The NZ tractor and machinery importers and dealers will need to embrace the technology, and sell its benefits to customers.
For some years we’ve seen more and more European style tipping trailers being sold – humble 5 tonnes up to large tandem axle units 12t and bigger.
Likewise feed wagons: as dairy operations get larger, so do feed wagons; note the number of 16m3 units on the field days circuit.
They shouldn’t be on the road behind tractors weighing 5-7t without proper braking systems, because the ‘tail wagging the dog’ problem is likely.
And let’s not forget the Kiwi favourite, the Quick Hitch: a lump of folded angle iron with a central pin, carried 1m behind the recommended towing point of the tractor, the axle, to move heavy trailers.
Get real, it’s time we embraced proper manufacturer rated pick-up hitches to do the job.
