Case IH is launching a new range of row-crop versions of its tracked Steiger Quatrac tractors – the RowTrac – for 2013. The new machines are aimed at the North-American market and will make their public debut at the Farm Progress Show in Iowa at the end of August.
Bigger planters, sprayers and tillage equipment in the row-crop sector have created a demand for higher power and Case IH has developed the RowTrac to meet this demand.
“There are advantages of the four-track design,” Steiger tractor marketing manager Mitch Kaiser said. “The tracks are always under power, and the design means you don’t get a berm when you turn.”
Although similar to the Quadtrac, there are some significant differences on the new tractor. The first is that the main track drive wheels are much larger.
“We’ve increased the size by 43 per cent,” Mr Kaiser says. “We have 13 lugs in contact with the drive versus eight lugs on the QuadTrac, so this is a positive power system.”
To prevent the larger drive wheel elevating the new tractors above the Quadtrac, the drive housing is now offset from the drive axle to help maintain the machine’s low profile.
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The RowTrac has been designed to pull the larger implements now being used by row-crop farmers in North America. |
There are three machine models available – at 350hp, 400hp and 450hp – and they come with a choice of operating widths and track widths. The standard track centre of 80 inches can be used with row-crop spacings of 20 inches and 40 inches, while an 88-inch setting is available to use with 22-inch crop spacing and a 120-inch operating width suits 30-inch crop rows.
The narrow track of the new RowTrac tractors makes road travel easier, while they can still get their power to the ground for pulling bigger implements.
The new tractors come with Case IH’s suspended Steiger cab that was introduced in 2010 leading to increased ride comfort.
The individual tracks each gimbel by 10 degrees up and down over rough terrain, maintaining consistent contact with the ground. In addition, the suspension for the Rowtrac is different from the Quadtrac as a mount on each end of the roller beam controls pitch roll and yaw, along the with some vertical load, and two mounts in the center handle the primary vertical load. While the tractor is oscillating in the middle, each track moves independently. The new design fits in a very narrow undercarriage width suited to row-crop applications.
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| The wheelbase of the new RowTrac is six inches longer that the Quadtrac. |
To ensure optimum power transfer with the new RowTrac, Case IH engineers have extended the wheelbase to 160 inches compared to 154 inches on the Quadtrac.
The new machine also features a 1/2-inch thick steel frame for heavy-duty pulling and has high-flow hydraulics capable of a 515 lit/min flow rate to operate today’s large planters and seeders.
Naturally the machines leave the factory Advanced Farming Systems (AFS) ready, and their AFS700 displays allow improved operation, and a quality interface to the AFS system.
Maintenance is easy on the new RowTrac too; there’s enhanced access to regular service points, and in addition the roller wheels on each track now have see-through bearing covers for easier checks of fluid levels. To help owners and operators improve their uptime, the machines also have a 600-hour oil-change interval.
For more information visit: www.caseih.com (set region to US/Canada).
