Equipment carrier

Fendt implement carrier

An equipment carrier is a commercial vehicle that is mainly used in agriculture . It is a modification of the classic tractor . Equipment carriers should be universally applicable; This goal is to be achieved through the possibility of agricultural implements in the front, rear and mid-axle areas, i.e. H. in the driver's field of vision.

Device carrier tractors that have no mounting space in the area between the axles are referred to as system implement carriers. In contrast to equipment carriers, you can use the mounting space above the frame more flexibly.

Development and production

"Mole" device carrier RS 08/15 with multiple device draws the squares for the potato nest planting process (1954)

The Erfurt engineer Egon Scheuch developed the concept before the Second World War ; the war prevented implementation. After 1945, different manufacturers developed models based on the same idea. Scheuch himself built several test models that differed in details: the "spider" and the "mole". The mole was presented at trade fairs from 1948/49 and was produced in a small series.

In 1945 Albert Friedrich developed a "motorized universal device". The result was an all-purpose tractor that became known as the "Universal Motor Device" ( Unimog ). Series production began in 1949.

In 1948 , Allis-Chalmers began manufacturing the Model G with a 9-hp engine in the USA . The engine was in the rear, so the model was similar to a two-wheel tractor . By the end of production in 1955, almost 30,000 units had been produced.

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the Ruhrstahl company presented its Ruhrstahl equipment carrier in 1951 , the Henschel engine of which was installed in the rear. In the same year, Lanz presented the first Alldog - " motorized implement carrier ".

After a thorough revision of Egon Scheuch's mole, the Schönebeck tractor factory in the GDR launched the two models RS08 and GT150 on the market from 1953 . The construction had been partially changed, the engine had been relocated. Originally it was attached above the front axle, now it has been combined with the transmission to form a drive set on the rear axle. In 1954 the RS08 was replaced by the improved RS09 .

In the following years, other tractor manufacturers presented their implement carriers in Germany, such as Ritscher ( Multitrac , production from 1954, later marketed with different paintwork and own engines by Güldner and Deutz ), Eicher ( Kombi , from 1955), Fahr (from 1955 until 1957, with engine above the front axle), Wesseler ( WLG , from 1956) and Fendt ( Fendt GT , from 1957). Also Claas built 1957-1960 with his piggyback an equipment rack, on a combine harvester could be grown.

In the UK, David Brown offered the 2D from 1956 to 1961, which was similar to the Allis-Chalmers Model G.

In 1966 the Eicher Kombi series was replaced by the Unisuper series. These models were also offered by Deutz with a Deutz engine and green paintwork from 1967 to 1968. In 1967 the Schmotzer company presented their Kombi Rekord implement carrier, which resembled an ordinary tractor. This was produced until 1974.

The GTP 100 was a device carrier, which was built in the 1980s by the breeding and experimental field mechanization in Nordhausen in about 80 copies.

The last “classic” implement carriers in Germany were built by Fendt until the beginning of the 21st century.

Allis Chalmers G (GRV)
Lanz Alldog with loading platform
David Brown 2D
Ruhrstahl equipment carrier with front loader
Eicher G250 (1969) with hood
Fendt implement carrier with mulcher in municipal use
T-16MG equipment carrier from Kharkov / Ukraine

System tractor as the successor to the implement carrier

From 2004 onwards, Fendt no longer built implement carriers. Subsequent tractors with several attachment areas have not been referred to as implement carriers since then, as Fendt owns the trademark rights to the name. Various concepts that have been offered since then are called system tugs .

In 1995, Fendt itself offered the Xylon as a system vehicle for agriculture, landscape maintenance and municipalities. It was called a system vehicle because it was supposed to combine the advantages of standard tractors and equipment carriers. The Xylon had four possible mounting spaces: front, rear, above the rear axle and above the front axle. In 2004 the production of the Xylon was stopped.

In 1993, Claas presented the Xerion system carrier vehicle . Like the Fendt Xylon , this tractor has four attachment areas, all-wheel steering, all-wheel drive, a stepless drive and an engine output of 184 kW . The swiveling and rotating cabin is a novelty. This means that larger devices can also be attached. For example, semi- mounted beet harvesters , liquid manure spreading technology or special semi-trailers were used.

The Holmer company also built a system vehicle from 1999. Holmer presented the TerraVariant WA back in 1996, but at that time as a pure spreading vehicle for liquid manure. The new design offered two mounting spaces above the frame and at the rear. With the swiveling three-point and all-wheel steering it was possible to work with the axles offset, in crab steering . The production of the Terra Variant was stopped in 2001 due to low demand. Due to better sales opportunities, Holmer presented a new edition of the Terra Variant in 2006 . The new model has the same features as its predecessor: all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering, swiveling three-point. The innovations include the hydraulic front axle suspension, the automatic powershift transmission (18/9 gears), the ISOBUS connection, the disc brakes and the two engines with 360 or 450 kW .