Radical Concept In Tractor Design

Radical Concept In Tractor Design TRACTORS New Tractors 4-6-33 Except for size, basic tractor design hasn't changed much since mechanization kicked the horse out of agriculture 40 or more years ago. B & W Mechanical Handling, of Cambridgeshire, England, has unveiled a 40-ft. wide, 3-ton tractor that may change all that. Dubbed the "Straddle Carrier", the new-style tractor now being marketed in Europe was built and designed by British farmer David Dowler. His radical new concept in tractor design features two support wheels at each end, one a drive wheel and the other a castered wheel. The control "cockpit", as he calls it, is mounted 8 ft. above the ground at one end, along with the 72 hp. engine powering the machine. The engine belt drives two hydraulic motors which, in turn, power two wheel motors. (The Straddle Carrier is similar in design to a 30-ft. wide experimental machine featured in FARM SHOW'S March-April issue earlier this year. That machine, built by Bill Wilson of Woodland, Calif., is not yet commercially available.) Since the wheels can turn a full 180?, the new-style tractor can move endwise down roads or along the ends of fields. According to the manufacturer, the machine causes less field compaction, less crop damage, and provides better visibility for the driver. Up to now, the wide tractor has been used primarily to apply chemicals and fertilizer. Spray tanks or fertilizer hoppers are mounted at the middle of the metal frame. Applicators are hung beneath. Company officials plan to develop specialized equipment for the tractor "to make it as versatile as an' modern lugging tractor." For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, B & W Mechanical Handling, Lisle Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.

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