We plow on KAMAZ, fertilize on GAZon

It would seem – why create such hybrids? After all, there are specialized tractors and cars, and each of them successfully solves its own problem. The reason lies in the economic effect of using technology in agriculture.


The fact is that some cars are idle at certain periods of the year: for example, when the fields have already been sown, and the new harvest has not yet arrived. It would be beneficial for any farm to have equipment that is loaded not in individual months, but all year round. One of the ways to increase the efficiency of transport is to use it not only for transporting goods, but also as a traction unit.

From Soviet history

The idea of ​​using cars to carry out agricultural operations is not new and was implemented back in the USSR. True, we are mainly talking about cars that applied fertilizer to the fields. These are cars of the ZIL-130 and extended ZIL-133 brands.


They differed from the serial ones by having a body with a fertilizer spreading mechanism and larger tires with a “passable” tread. They also used Urals and KrAZ trucks.

Today

Someone might say: why not do the opposite - turn a tractor into a car? There are many difficulties here, primarily the need to rework the suspension, control system, brakes, etc. The price of such a “super station wagon” will become astronomical.


It is much cheaper to “take a closer look” at off-road vehicles. Of course, few people are going to plow in trucks and SUVs (although this is possible). However, there are many agricultural operations for which such equipment would be suitable.

AGROMASTER

This is a Russian engineering company from Tatarstan, which has been producing agricultural equipment and tractors since 2014. The product range also includes equipment based on domestic trucks, adapted for agricultural operations. It is called a “tractor-technological tool”. One of these is worth considering in more detail.

AUTOTRAC U-260

The universal machine is developed on the basis of the serial KAMAZ-65115. The first thing that catches your eye when looking at the unusual equipment is the large rear wheels 28.1-26: they are taken from the giant Kirovets. The rear axle was redesigned for them, receiving a reinforced structure (like the entire frame) and a new gear ratio of 1:22. The manufacturer claims that this technical solution allows KAMAZ to work with trailed agricultural implements. The front axle has regular wheels from a production truck.


The gearbox is also standard, standard – 5 forward speeds and one reverse. The 740 liter engine of the “11,8” model develops 260 “horses” with a torque of up to 1080 N*m. At the rear of the vehicle there is a self-unloading body of the AGROMASTER design, designed for 7,5 tons. It is possible to tow a twenty-ton trailer. AUTOTRAC U-260 is equipped with a tractor linkage powered by hydraulics.


This allows you to attach a disc cultivator, seeder and even a reversible plow behind the body. Any of these weapons is controlled by three special levers installed in the cockpit. The operator controls the tillage process using a video camera. The length of the “machine tractor” turned out to be 6,63 m – less than that of the K-730 from the “Standard” line.

Agrator

These are seeding complexes (three varieties in total), produced by the same company and designed to work in conjunction with trucks. The first two models with the indexes “8500” and “9800” have a working width of 8,5 and 9,8 m, respectively. They can work together with KAMAZ-43118 and KAMAZ-65224 vehicles.


The third Agromaster-10000 Auto-P seeder is distinguished by an increased grip, reaching a width of 10 m. To carry such an agricultural implement, you will need a KAMAZ-65221 with an engine of 400 “horses”.


This is a truck tractor with all-wheel drive and three axles with single wheels. Compared to a standard seeder, the hopper of which holds no more than 10 cubic meters. m, a capacity of 21 “cubes” is installed here. What other trucks are adapted for agricultural operations?

MXA-7

In the 80s, an interesting Ural-5557 dump truck was produced, characterized by a powerful diesel engine and a slow, “creeping” transmission. Thanks to her, the car moved at a speed of 2 to 4 km/h. Instead of a body, a bunker equipped with equipment for applying fertilizer was installed on the truck. The new equipment, which by the way has proven itself well in tests, received the KSA-7 index. Success in this direction inspired the designers, and they created an improved version on the same chassis - MXA-7.


Here, inside the tank bunker, two centrifugal disks were used instead of one, and the sides were beveled so that the fertilizers did not stick. The container was tilted backwards for ease of unloading. The so-called. arch tires, which are distinguished by a rough tread pattern and the ability to operate at low pressure. All this added up to improve the truck's cross-country ability.

Also, Ural-5557 is often combined with a fertilizer spreader of the PRT-7 type (there are also later modifications PRT-7A, PRT-10, 11, etc.). This is a two-axle semi-trailer (bunker body) on four wheels with a mechanism for introducing chemicals into the soil. Its advantage is that it can work not only with trucks, but also with wheeled tractors of any type: for example, “Belorus”.

MHS-10

Plowing and cultivating, even with a passable vehicle, is still problematic - compared, for example, with a caterpillar tractor. Especially if it is black soil. Another thing is the application of agricultural fertilizers. This operation requires less horsepower. The MHS-10, based on the MAZ 631 705-264, is designed for just such a “case.” They make such equipment in Belarus (Bobruisk).


A bunker is installed at the back of the car, holding up to 12 tons of chemicals. If necessary, it can be removed. A special metal hose (like those on combines) is used to apply fertilizers. In transport position it is installed vertically. When working – horizontally. The working width can be different and ranges from 8 to 32 meters. The productivity of the equipment when applying lime compounds is up to 3,7 hectares per hour, mineral – 20 hectares per hour. The mechanism of the machine uses rod and centrifugal throwers. The vehicle speed during operation does not exceed 12 km/h, when driving on public roads – 60 km/h.

GAS

If you search, you can find another fertilizer spreader on the agricultural machinery market, made on the Sadko chassis (GAZ-3308). This GAZ differs from serial vehicles (except for the body) in its large wheels, fenders and additional control levers in the cabin.


In addition to a hopper with a mechanism, this machine can be equipped with a sprayer with a 2-ton tank. In this combination, the car covers a 24 m strip.

Prospects?

Managers of companies producing similar equipment say that orders for “machine-tractors” and trailed seeders like the “Agrator” described above are rare. Nevertheless, there is still a demand and the manufacturer, for example, the same AGROMASTER, is not yet going to curtail the production of this unusual “mixture of a bulldog with a rhinoceros”. The state of affairs is approximately the same with similar equipment in the West: it is there too, but is not in great demand, but is still produced.