2024 Will Not Be Remembered as the Year of Corn, Whether for Grain or Silage. Heavy rains and resulting waterlogging delayed spring planting, sometimes necessitating replanting. Even second sowings were postponed, causing further drops in final yields. North of the Po River, for example, corn yields fell by 15 to 40 percent compared to 2023, with only the province of Mantua managing, in some cases, to limit declines to within 10 percent. Given the increasing unpredictability of growing seasons, a shift in management approach is overdue, broadening the range of machinery and equipment beyond traditional solutions. In this respect, multifunctional transport trailers can be an effective alternative, especially under variable weather conditions during harvest.
Functional Volumes Up to 52 Cubic Meters
In support of this, Krone has developed a wide range of trailers over time, with the “Gx 440” and “Gx 520” models, offering 44 and 52 cubic meters of capacity, respectively, standing out as the most versatile solutions for transporting various materials. Besides silage, whether from corn or fodder cereals, the Krone “Gx” series trailers can also transport different types of grains and, when paired with specialized harvesting equipment, even industrial tomatoes, potatoes, beets, legumes, wood chips, and vegetables. These are versatile machines, further evidenced by their ability to carry bulky items like straw bales, big bags, and even pallets of goods, as long as they are suitably bagged. Italian farms, with smaller average sizes than their Central European counterparts, require less capacious but more maneuverable machinery and equipment.
For this reason, Krone has expanded its product line downward with the new “Gx 360 Plus,” a model with a usable volume of 36 cubic meters, making it especially suitable for medium and large farms as well as third-party operators working on fragmented plots. Additionally, thanks to the “PreSelect Ds 50” preselection system, the “Gx 360 Plus” can be paired with tractors that don’t use ISOBUS protocols, further widening the potential market for this model, considering that Italy has one of the oldest tractor fleets in Europe.
Almost Tailor-Made Performance
This solution appears tailored for Italy, aided by the fact that, as mentioned, lower load capacity translates into greater compactness, thanks in part to a main frame that ensures high stability even when fully loaded, maximizing payload when side panels are used. The technical-functional features are shared with the more advanced models of the “Gx” series, including a conveyor belt made from a highly durable rubber fabric laid in multiple layers, along with a transparent front panel for optimal loading control.
Real-Time Adjustable Speed
The belt is hydraulically operated by two chains that move the material towards the wide rear door, with continuous speed modulation possible by adjusting the tractor’s hydraulic flow. This feature ensures smooth and gentle handling of products, appreciated during loading due to the elasticity of the belt, which cushions falls, making it especially valuable when collecting fragile items like tomatoes, tubers, and vegetables. The new “Gx 360 Plus” models can also be equipped with optional dosing rollers, useful during unloading for evenly layering corn or grass silage. If the rollers are not needed in certain situations, two pins allow them to be raised out of the way.
Standard Comfort and Safety
The new “Gx 360 Plus” trailer comes standard with a foldable, hydraulically operated drawbar, simplifying hitching and unhitching while allowing load adjustment on the tractor axle and increasing ground clearance by up to 70 centimeters. This feature eases movement over swaths and unloading in trenches, while a shock absorber provides high driving comfort both in the field and on the road. Additionally, the tandem axle with an 18-ton capacity can be optionally replaced with a hydraulic suspension axle, raising the load capacity to 20 tons. Overall job site safety is enhanced by a hydraulically foldable underrun bar, allowing for safer maneuvering by preventing material deposits during loading and unloading, thus reducing potential spillage during transport.
Title: Krone “Gx 360 Plus, transporting it all
Translation with ChatGPT
