Irish trailer manufacturer Smyth Trailers has launched a high-capacity silage trailer to service the needs of modern day agricultural contracting. The trailer was custom fabricated at the company’s Garryhill, County Carlow base in response to customer demands for a larger trailer to move more material more efficiently.
Smyth Trailers founding partner Sam Smyth said customers had been enquiring about a trailer that could carry more material to tackle the problem of longer hauls during the busy silage season.
“The main issue that arises when you produce a large trailer is that manoeuvrability suffers,” he added. “We’re always listening to our customers’ needs and are ready for an engineering challenge. We contacted Cathal Deacon and Colin French from Distag QCS, who developed a bolt-on forced steering tri-axle system for us to keep manoeuvrability in line with that of a standard 20ft trailer.
“This system not only steers while travelling forward, but also steers in reverse, further aiding its manoeuvrability.”
The trailer is based on the company’s popular SuperCube range, that features a sloped front design for extra capacity. The trailer is 7.6m and 2.55m wide with an overall height of 3.9m, which gives it a capacity of approximately 50 cubic metres. Other sizes are also available to suit customers’ needs.
The entire body is manufactured from high-yield steel and features removable silage sides, as well as a hydraulically controlled tailboard at the rear. The body is tipped by two high-capacity hydraulic cylinders that are chrome plated to reduce seal wear and increase reliability. All this is fitted onto a high-strength chassis manufactured from 250mm x 150mm box section steel in conjunction with 100mm x 150mm box section steel floor runners.
The chassis is fitted with Smyths own heavy-duty spring suspension that reduces flex and improves stability. The design is also capable of handling greater weights than the old type torque arm system used in some other trailers. The suspension system is tried and tested, having being on the market for the past four seasons, and to date has never broken a single spring.
For added stability and load carrying capacity, three high-speed (105km/hr) commercial axles are used that feature 420mm x 180mm brake shoes for maximum braking efficiency. The front and rear axles are equipped with forced steering systems in order to maximise manoeuvrability and reduce tyre scrubbing.
The forced steering works in conjunction with a “mini ball” located next to the tractor’s hitch that, in turn, is connected via an adjustable push rod to the steering’s hydraulic system. The push rod forces oil to enter the left or right hydraulic cylinders depending on the direction the trailer is being towed. As it’s a closed pressurised oil system the displaced oil forces the steering axles to turn in ether forward or reverse with the front and rear axles steering in the opposite direction of each other further reducing the turning circle and keeping it in line with the tractor’s track.
Connecting the trailer to the tractor is a spoon hitch for added safety and load carrying capacity. Mated to the axles are 560/60-22.5 low-ground-pressure tyres that reduce soil compaction and increase the trailers’ weight carrying capability and stability. Completing the package, a single-leaf parabolic spring is fitted to the drawbar for improved operator comfort and reduced hitch wear on the towing vehicle.
All Fieldmaster trailers are fitted as standard with full LED lighting, which includes double LED tail lights at the rear, with single LED tail lights fitted to the top of the hydraulic door option. Amber LED side lights and white LED front marker lights complete the package. Standard LED reversing lights, that consists of two lights fitted to the rear and one each side up front, are fitted to improve safety and for ease of use in the dark. These lights are engaged automatically when the body is raised once the parking lights are switched on. For safety, a warning LED strobe light is fitted to the rear, along with reflective markings on each side and the rear.
For added safety, all trailers come as standard with a safety prop for working under the raised body, and hose-burst valves are fitted to the hydraulic rams.
The trailer is finished in-house by shot blasting, which is followed by priming and a two-pack polyurethane paint to the customer’s chosen colour, which is then baked on to improve durability.
Wexford-based agricultural contractor Aidan Wickham, who had the trailer out on test, said the biggest problem he faced was that dairy farms were getting bigger and land was becoming harder to find for grass.
“This means that silage ground is often fragmented and we have increasingly longer draws back to the pit,” he added. “A larger-capacity trailer is exactly what we need, but it has to be just as manoeuvrable as a standard 20ft trailer.
“This new tri-axle with the forced steering system does exactly that; it can easily get around anywhere the standard trailers are going, but will carry up to 35 per cent more each load, reducing costs and time for me and helping to increase efficiency.
“The main stand out features for me personally has to be the manoeuvrability, even when reversing, as well as the stability when fully loaded making it safer during transport.”
For more information visit: www.smythtrailers.com.
