UNIQUE MANURE PUMP TRAILER ON A PACTON CHASSIS

4 July 2020 The new remote controlled and steerable manure pump trailers for Van den Broek Mechanisation and Machine Building from Moordrecht, offers an array of advantages.  The so called VDB Slurry Booster is the most advanced system on the market.  It saves manpower and it is highly effective in use.  Pacton Trailers developed and delivered the chassis for the machines entirely made to measure and taking the strict legal demands into account. Van den Broek Mechanisation and Machine building has been specialised in selling, maintaining, developing and building of agricultural machines as well as horticultural and earth moving machines.  Their own engineering and machine building guarantee the optimal attuning of the design to the customer requirements.  Van den Broek designs and manufactures custom made machines in close consultation with the client, ensuring that the finished product meets the requirements set by the client.

Entirely remote controlled

The new Slurry Boosters are entirely remote controlled.  The unique constructed semi-trailers for the circulation of manure, the so-called towing bar, have modular construction.  Van den Broek has built three variants on the VDB Slurry Booster, the 320-C40, 320-T5 and the 320-T12.  The semi-trailers have been equipped with compressors, manure containers, diesel storage (1,100 litres and a tank nozzle) and a water pump among others.  It is driven by a Mercedes 320 horsepower engine.  The size of the manure container in m3 is specified with C40, T5 and T12.  The entire manure pump trailer is not only remote controlled (including the compressor and addition of water if necessary), but can also be driven autonomously according to designer and planner Chris Pont of Van den Broek.  He explains that an autonomous Mover has been built in for this purpose.  This is handy when it comes to precision manoeuvring of the semi-trailer, but also for moving between different manure cellars on a yard.  The driver software has also been developed by Van den Broek for the Slurry Boosters and is considered to be an outright achievement on the part of this innovative company and its 25 employees. Contractor companies are the main purchasers of the Slurry Booster.  Pont explains that it is a high-end system with a multitude of possibilities and large capacities.  Their clients have to have the required volumes for that.  He continues to say that each client of Van den Broek chooses an edition and an execution that suits their working methods and company.  Custom fit according to Pont is inherent in their market.  He explains that each company has their own system for the Sweep Hose and that the machine must fit with that and that means that one standard machine is impossible.

Each semi-trailer custom made 

The machines of Van den Broek are built on a chassis body of the type AXZ.220.S from Pacton.  Pacton supplies more customers with chassis bodies, for example for reefers.  The machines that are developed by Van den Broek are truly unique and that applies to the chassis as well.  Due to the fact that the admission requirements for vehicles, also in the farming business, are becoming stricter, a lot of attention has been paid to it whilst developing the chassis for the self-propelled manure pump for Van den Broek.  The first Slurry Boosters, four axles and a triple axles, was taken into use by the clients of Van den Broek in February 2020.  More recently, two biaxial chassis has been delivered to Van den Broek, which are also built as Slurry Boosters.  Each semi-trailer is completely tailor made. The recently delivered biaxial chassis are 6,25 m in length and 2,5 m wide.  The wheel bases are  4,05 m and the chassis heights are 1,32 m.  They are each supplied with a BPW air suspension and two low maintenance axles with drum brakes and LED lights in the whole.  The gross vehicle weight is 20,000 kg.  The semi-trailers have been fitted with detachable steel light fixtures.  A shunting hook has been placed at the rear end of each semi-trailer.  Pacton delivers the semi-trailers with certificates for the bumpers, shunting hooks and lighting among others.

Approval

Pont relates that it is not easy to get a semi-trailer approved, due to mounting legislation.   It would be a huge challenge for them to have a complete chassis approved for the small amount that they manufacture.  By doing business with Pacton, they overcome this problem.  They have stated their requirements and Pacton has realised it, all the while keeping Van den Broek up to date.  Pont says that Pacton is a trailer builder with experience and also close to home.  Even thought they have never worked with Pacton before, adjusting was easy and quick.