CLAAS releases JAGUAR TERRA TRAC

Agricultural machinery heavyweight CLAAS has just released its new JAGUAR 960 TERRA TRAC, a forage harvester with the benefits of a factory-integrated crawler track assembly.

According to CLAAS Harvest Centre Product Manager – CLAAS JAGUAR, Luke Wheeler, the new model, first revealed at Agritechnica in Germany last year, sets new benchmarks for harvesting performance.

"CLAAS first released TERRA TRAC for use in combination with LEXION combine harvesters in 1996," he says.

"This technology has revolutionised grain harvesting by significantly reducing soil compaction, improving driving comfort and improving field access."

The TERRA TRAC system is available in track widths of 635, 735 and 890mm. The 635-mm wide tracks have a contact area of over 1.3 square metres – more than twice that provided by 800-size tyres.

"The intelligent headland protection system takes the TERRA TRAC concept to another level," Luke says.

"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."

Combined with the tyre pressure adjustment system on the rear axle, TERRA TRAC will allow improved field access and reduced damage to croplands and headlands, says CLAAS.

"Put simply, this technology means the harvester won't sink into the ground when operating in difficult, wet field conditions," Luke says.

"This makes the going so much easier for the harvester and the transport vehicles following it."

The chassis of the JAGUAR has been extended by almost a metre in order to accommodate the tracked assemblies, which can oscillate 23 degrees upwards and downwards.

"The extended wheelbase allows for a significantly larger maintenance compartment and improved accessibility to the corncracker," says Luke.

CLAAS says the Jaguar 960 with TERRA TRAC is also a highly manageable proposition on the road, with a narrow transport width of no more than 3.5 metres and a top speed of 40km/h.

CLAAS says it JAGUAR 960 with TERRA TRAC will be available in Australia and New Zealand for 2019 delivery on machines equipped with Tier 4 engines.