MF 7485 Triggers New Thinking on Haulage

Hauler extraordinaire: Willie Prinsloo with his MF 7485.

A South African maize farmer has stepped up the efficiency of his haulage operations with an MF 7485 tractor equipped with Dyna-VT continuously variable transmission.

Bothaville-based Willie Prinsloo’s advice is simple: “Do your own haulage and use a tractor and trailer combination instead of a truck.”

Willie spends six months of the year hauling 24,000 tonnes of maize over a distance of 190 km to silos at Kroonstad. For five months of the year he also transports lime to Bothaville from Christiana, a distance of 160 km.

He says that a good tractor plus trailer costs about the same as a truck capable of hauling the same weight but the costs – such as insurance – are more reasonable.  “Long wait times at silos also mean that we can only transport one load of maize per day which further impacts on the profitability of truck transport,” he says.

The MF 7485 and trailer combo is boosting Willie Prinsloo’s maize income.

Willie carried out extensive tests to establish the costs of using different machines hauling the same load. His findings showed that the MF 7485 clocks an average 2 km/litre – significantly better than the other rigs he evaluated.

Indeed, the MF 7485 used 37% less fuel than a competitive CVT tractor. He also compared the MF machine to an interlink truck and here the tractor used 11% less fuel. “To cap it all, the MF 7485 is as profitable with soil preparation and planting,” he adds.