Drawing Silage

[ollie989898]

We fill to the right I’m not arsed either way can do both just as well nice doing whole crop or maize you can do both

Do you use GPS/autosteer tentacles in maize/wholecrop? At least with that you don't have to concentrate so intensely steering the thing.

 

[kiwi pom]

I’ve never tried it on the right, but I can imagine it feeling very odd. Everyone round here fills to the left.

Some chopper drivers will fill whole crop or maize off both sides, swing the spout over on each run and work the field off one side instead of blowing holes. Works ok if the trailer doesn't have a high side or canopy.

 

[Sharpy]

A lot fill on the left with foragers here perhaps because of right hand drive trucks as I mentioned above.
No idea why combines were originally designed with the auger on the left.

Because everything else like balers, binders, mowers and trailed combines you have the unworked ground to your right and cleared gound to your left.

 

[ollie989898]

Because everything else like balers, binders, mowers and trailed combines you have the unworked ground to your right and cleared gound to your left.

That sort of makes sense. You are going to look over your right shoulder for most trailed machines which are offset to avoid the tractor running on the crop, so to unload on the right would mean another machine running on the crop also.

 

[killie_cowboy]

The Scottish way is to have the trailer on the choppers right. I like it that way, but have had the odd load on the other side and both are fine, just what you're used to, but if I were a chopper driver, your controls are to your right and carting off the left should seem awkward.

 

[Munkul]

Our old self propelled machine was DIY built by my uncle, it was based on a Mengele drag chopper with the spout offset to the left and the cab in the centre just behind it - therefore we loaded with the trailers on the left.

When that time passed, our first contractor also loaded to the left - cant remember whether he always did it, or if he just did it because our trailers had a high left side.

The next contractor who we have now used for years, insisted on loading to the right.
It was a pain the first season until we swapped the high sides from left to right. But the two chopper drivers they have are absolute pro's, they always fill a trailer nicely regardless of what the trailer driver is doing, and never leave any heaps of grass in the field.

That's the standard I expect all contractor chopper drivers to be at, if they can't leave a clean field or if they can't load trailers properly then what good are they

 

[KB6930]

The Scottish way is to have the trailer on the choppers right. I like it that way, but have had the odd load on the other side and both are fine, just what you're used to, but if I were a chopper driver, your controls are to your right and carting off the left should seem awkward.

Definitely nowt to do with being Scottish.

When we had our own trailed we loaded on the right with the chopper tractor straddling thr swaths. Then when we used a contractor with a trailed he loaded on the left then we changed to a different contractor with SP and they load mostly on the left but will do either way.

 

[ford 7810]

Don’t blame the copper driver for spilled grass, some trailer drivers just do not pay attention wondering all the place over you just need to look down yeah they’re on the phone, The worst offenders are the farmers themselves and older they get worse they are they will just do not keep up with forage harvester I don’t mean doing stupid speeds they just hang back you can only tell a man, so many times where you want him to run ,within a load its back to the same place , stop,wave him forward thumbs up, that’s where you need to be. Yeah next load back to where he was ,and on corners, may as well be in a different field, The next idiot comes along. You start slowing down, thumbs up your full spout at the front of the trailer and he’s off like hell grass all over the ground behind the trailer. it’s a pleasure to work with good trailer men and we have a few, but we do get some that just make hard work.

 

[smcapstick]

Ask the guy on the chopper where he wants you and stick to it.

 

[fingermouse]

When I started chopping everything was trailed and the trailer was towed behind
Back then the main gripe with ferry lads was dropping empty trailers nowhere near the chopper or the odd ones who committed the cardinal sin and dropped the empty behind the full one you’d just unhitched and then spent an eternity faffing about in the way
When we progressed onto a chute extension and side loading I always had them on the right just much easier to stare at reel and glance up at trailer ( slowly drifting further and further away from you )
Wasn’t many days where a few fs weren’t used
Can’t comment on s/p as never drove one

 

[nails]

Ask the guy on the chopper where he wants you and stick to it.

And that is why i jumped in the river.

 

[kiwi pom]

Don’t blame the copper driver for spilled grass, some trailer drivers just do not pay attention wondering all the place over you just need to look down yeah they’re on the phone, The worst offenders are the farmers themselves and older they get worse they are they will just do not keep up with forage harvester I don’t mean doing stupid speeds they just hang back you can only tell a man, so many times where you want him to run ,within a load its back to the same place , stop,wave him forward thumbs up, that’s where you need to be. Yeah next load back to where he was ,and on corners, may as well be in a different field, The next idiot comes along. You start slowing down, thumbs up your full spout at the front of the trailer and he’s off like hell grass all over the ground behind the trailer. it’s a pleasure to work with good trailer men and we have a few, but we do get some that just make hard work.

Mate of mine said when it comes to the farmer being on the trailer, the position they take is directly related to how they are charged by the contractor. On the hour, way out in front, on the acre lagging behind
Most just need some instruction, just like new drivers.

On the other hand, it doesn't matter where you sit, the chopper driver will fill the front, back, middle, top and then for good measure blow 50 metres of feed onto the floor to "top off" the load.

 

[Sausage]

When I used to work for a contractor a farmer we went to lined his cab up with the forager front wheel, so the trailer was well behind. Come night time he’d ride alongside with all work lights on, despite everyone else turning them all off.

 

[AftonShepherd]

How long before technology allows the chopper to commandeer the auto-steer on the tractor and trailer while alongside?

 

[ford 7810]

When I used to work for a contractor a farmer we went to lined his cab up with the forager front wheel, so the trailer was well behind. Come night time he’d ride alongside with all work lights on, despite everyone else turning them all off.

That’s where I like the trailer men to run tractor back wheel in line with forager front wheel . Are used to use mirrors, but I have a camera on the spaut now.

 

[Agrijas]

How long before technology allows the chopper to commandeer the auto-steer on the tractor and trailer while alongside?

Is that not already a thing? I’m sure it is on jd combines

 

[Sheep]

How long before technology allows the chopper to commandeer the auto-steer on the tractor and trailer while alongside?

Is that not already a thing? I’m sure it is on jd combines

It's already a thing. There's also the option to 'auto fill' where the harvester will fill the trailer itself using sensor(s).

 

[Blue.]

How long before technology allows the chopper to commandeer the auto-steer on the tractor and trailer while alongside?

It wouldn’t be hard to have the forager give a speed signal to the cart tractor,that would be more use than steering.

 

[ollie989898]

When I used to work for a contractor a farmer we went to lined his cab up with the forager front wheel, so the trailer was well behind. Come night time he’d ride alongside with all work lights on, despite everyone else turning them all off.

Fudging work lights- all they do is blind everyone. No need. And those fudging beacons can be off as well. Drives me nuts seeing people using them in the field.

 

[collywol]

The Scottish way is to have the trailer on the choppers right. I like it that way, but have had the odd load on the other side and both are fine, just what you're used to, but if I were a chopper driver, your controls are to your right and carting off the left should seem awkward.

Let the trailer man look over the wrong shoulder for 10 mins an hr rather than me for 60mins. Best rake or trailer man is an ex chopper driver who’s got pee'd off with all the know all trailer monkeys, I think I’ve had my share over the last 30yrs!