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In a move that will be welcomed by many, Austrian manufacturer Pottinger appears to be following a trend of bringing its machines down from the technological high-spec offerings seen over the last few years and offering them to customers in a more userfriendly format.
The company says that by doing so, it hopes such machines will appeal to farmers themselves, rather than just contractors, who tend to be more focused on operating sophisticated machinery. Of course, any corresponding reduction in price is also likely to be appreciated.
At a recent release event for new grassland products, the company offered the first showing of the Jumbo 5000 forage wagons that follow the adopted trend.
Using the same body and chassis components as the 7000 and 8000 machines, the 5000 Series is relieved of features that might only bring marginal benefits to the operation of the established range, such as a move to mechanical drive of the pick-up reel, rather than the current hydraulic format.
The driveline of the new series has been retained from its larger siblings, enabling tractors of up to 360hp to be used, although 160hp is being suggested as the minimum requirement.
The latest design was to keep the wagons compact, offering maximum volume via a minimum footprint. This has been achieved by keeping the drawbar short and bringing over the moving front panel/bulkhead arrangement, allowing crop to be packed into the space above the pick-up reel, said to offer an additional 4.3m³ capacity.
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