THE FIRST forage harvester with a factory-integrated crawler track assembly has been officially released by harvest specialist Claas for delivery in 2019.
First sighted at Germany’s Agritechnica, the Jaguar Terra Trac was awarded a prestigious silver medal for innovation.
Claas Harvest Centre, product manager Claas Jaguar, Luke Wheeler, said the Jaguar 960 Terra Trac set new benchmarks for harvesting performance.
“Claas first released Terra Trac for use in combination with Lexion combine harvesters in 1996,” he said.
“This technology has revolutionised grain harvesting by significantly reducing soil compaction, improving driving comfort and improving field access.
“It is no exaggeration to say Jaguar with Terra Trac is set to redefine forage harvesting performance.”
Mr Wheeler said the system was available in track widths of 635, 735 and 890 millimetres, and power to the ground was not a problem given the 635mm had a contact area of more than 1.3 square metres, equating to over twice that of an 800-size tyre.
“The intelligent headland protection system takes the Terra Trac concept to another level,” he said.
“During turning, the support rollers in each track unit are pushed down hydraulically and the front drive roller is raised, effectively reducing the contact area by about a third.
“This results in the visible avoidance of damage to the grass cover by the shear effect when turning.
“Testing conducted by Kiel University of Applied Sciences in Germany has shown that the soil pressure during headland turns is less than that exerted by a wheeled machine.”
Mr Wheeleer said when combined with the tyre pressure adjustment system on the rear axle, the system will allow improved field access and reduced damage to croplands and headlands.
“Put simply, this technology means the harvester won’t sink into the ground when operating in difficult, wet field conditions,” he said.
“This makes the going so much easier for the harvester and the transport vehicles following it.”
Mr Wheeler said the chassis of the Jaguar had been extended by almost a metre in order to accommodate the tracked assemblies, which can oscillate 23 degrees upwards and downwards.
“This pivoted mounting system allows the machine to be operated in even the most difficult conditions,” he said.
“The extended wheelbase also allows significantly larger maintenance compartment and improved accessibility to the corncracker.”
Mr Wheeler said the Jaguar 960 with Terra Trac was capable of up to 40km/hr road speeds and was straightforward to licence for Australian roads.
“Even the wide 890 mm tracks, the machine remains within an external width of 3.5 metres making it very straightforward to license for use on public roads,” he said.
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