The new Cargos 8000 from Claas is a completely new concept in forage wagons for the UK market. A dual-purpose machine, it has been designed so that when it’s not being used as a forage wagon, the pick-up and chopping unit can be quickly and easily removed, and a blanking plate fitted, so that it can be used as a trailer, thereby maximising its use.
Claas has sold the larger Cargos 9000 range for a number of years in Europe, but the new smaller Cargos 8000 features a new, heavier-duty design that makes it ideally suited to maintain high outputs in the heavier crop conditions in countries such as the UK and Ireland.
Three models are available in the Cargos 8000 range, the 8500, 8400 and 8300 which have a loading volume of 41.0, 35.5 and 30.0 cubic metres respectively. The new design features a heavy-duty drive system, with a pneumatically driven pick-up and the option of a hydro-pneumatic suspension system.
From the pick-up, the crop is fed into the cutting and loading system via a 860mm diameter rotor fitted with nine rows of tines in a helical pattern, which are bolted on for ease of maintenance and replacement if necessary.
The chopping chamber contains a bank of 40 double blades that are twin-edged so that they can be easily turned to reduce downtime blade sharpening. The blades have adjustable pre-tensioning so ensuring that a precise chop quality is maintained.
To ensure that high outputs can be constantly maintained and the Cargos can be operated at maximum capacity, the chopping chamber features a hydraulically lowered drop-floor. This is lowered automatically if the unit is overloaded and the driver can remove any possible blockages by simply reducing the PTO speed from the driver’s seat.
The Cargos 8000 also features a new lowered floor conveyor, that can be hydraulically pivoted 90 degrees downwards so that the blades can be easily accessed for changing, or it can be pivoted upwards for improved unloading. To increase efficiency, the Cargos can be fitted with an automatic loading system that works either via the deflection of the front cover or also via a torque sensor on the rotor.
From the chopping chamber, the crop is transferred via the floor conveyor into the wagon where it is built-up steeply to ensure that the wagon can be used to its full capacity.
When not required for use as a forage wagon, the loading system can be quickly and easily removed in about 15 minutes using a carrier frame. A filler plate is then inserted so that the Cargos 8000 can be used as a conventional high-capacity trailer.
Three different control terminals are available for the Cargos 8000, ranging from the Communicator II Isobus terminal, the smaller and simpler Operator terminal or the Isobus cable control unit that allows the Cargos to be used with an external Isobus terminal.
For more information visit: www.claas.co.uk.
