fastrac 4220

[rich8100]

Ok so this year I was asked to demo the new fastrac and compare it with the fendt 724 that the farm currently use. They do have the older better manual gearbox fastrac and last year had the horrible semi auto one but got rid of it.

So i thought I would share my findings and see if anyone else has used one.

I'm not a fastrac fan and I like my tractor to be a tractor. But I was surprised.

On the road hauling grain the fastrac shone. It was fast (obviously) although on country lanes not much difference in speed to store but hit an open road and she flew along. Also no loss of power on the hill as no cltuch or gear change was needed. Just kept pulling. 15t Stewart trailer. Total wheight at bridge 30.600t average.

So.on the road the bonus was the speed but also the suspension, having done away with springs and shocks they have used a hydraulic ram set-up and boy was it comfortable. Stuck to the road over bumps and didn't jump about. But was easy to forget the trailer had leaf spring.

So on the road I was very impressed. So it was then crunch time with field work.

Being a demo machine it had all the bells and whistles. Four wheel steer front pto and linkage. Etc etc.

So pulling the same machine as the fendt. First a 9m Kelly harrows. No difference in power or wheel slip than the fendt. Also same speed and same fuel usage.

Then it was a verdastad 6m double press with tunes. Time to really test it. In deep and still pulled. The only difference was the four wheel steer meant I could turn a lot tighter in the headland. It almost feels like its articulated.

So after some good tests I was asked what I would use given the choice. And surprisingly I would get in the fastrac. They have really gone all out and produced a machine worthy of both field and road use.

So anyone used the new one and what did they think.

Thanks for reading.

 

[warksfarmer]

Ok so this year I was asked to demo the new fastrac and compare it with the fendt 724 that the farm currently use. They do have the older better manual gearbox fastrac and last year had the horrible semi auto one but got rid of it.

So i thought I would share my findings and see if anyone else has used one.

I'm not a fastrac fan and I like my tractor to be a tractor. But I was surprised.

On the road hauling grain the fastrac shone. It was fast (obviously) although on country lanes not much difference in speed to store but hit an open road and she flew along. Also no loss of power on the hill as no cltuch or gear change was needed. Just kept pulling. 15t Stewart trailer. Total wheight at bridge 30.600t average.

So.on the road the bonus was the speed but also the suspension, having done away with springs and shocks they have used a hydraulic ram set-up and boy was it comfortable. Stuck to the road over bumps and didn't jump about. But was easy to forget the trailer had leaf spring.

So on the road I was very impressed. So it was then crunch time with field work.

Being a demo machine it had all the bells and whistles. Four wheel steer front pto and linkage. Etc etc.

So pulling the same machine as the fendt. First a 9m Kelly harrows. No difference in power or wheel slip than the fendt. Also same speed and same fuel usage.

Then it was a verdastad 6m double press with tunes. Time to really test it. In deep and still pulled. The only difference was the four wheel steer meant I could turn a lot tighter in the headland. It almost feels like its articulated.

So after some good tests I was asked what I would use given the choice. And surprisingly I would get in the fastrac. They have really gone all out and produced a machine worthy of both field and road use.

So anyone used the new one and what did they think.

Thanks for reading.

Totally agree. Got a 724 here and drove a new fastrac at a field demo, albeit only for half an hour and like you say it pulls as well as the 724 but much more comfortable. Sort of wishing we could swap but thats not going to happen.

 

[rich8100]

Well going by the farm I reckon there will be one there for next year. Oh and I forgot about the fridge under the dicky seat. Its a proper fridge....

 

[Clive]

Ok so this year I was asked to demo the new fastrac and compare it with the fendt 724 that the farm currently use. They do have the older better manual gearbox fastrac and last year had the horrible semi auto one but got rid of it.

So i thought I would share my findings and see if anyone else has used one.

I'm not a fastrac fan and I like my tractor to be a tractor. But I was surprised.

On the road hauling grain the fastrac shone. It was fast (obviously) although on country lanes not much difference in speed to store but hit an open road and she flew along. Also no loss of power on the hill as no cltuch or gear change was needed. Just kept pulling. 15t Stewart trailer. Total wheight at bridge 30.600t average.

So.on the road the bonus was the speed but also the suspension, having done away with springs and shocks they have used a hydraulic ram set-up and boy was it comfortable. Stuck to the road over bumps and didn't jump about. But was easy to forget the trailer had leaf spring.

So on the road I was very impressed. So it was then crunch time with field work.

Being a demo machine it had all the bells and whistles. Four wheel steer front pto and linkage. Etc etc.

So pulling the same machine as the fendt. First a 9m Kelly harrows. No difference in power or wheel slip than the fendt. Also same speed and same fuel usage.

Then it was a verdastad 6m double press with tunes. Time to really test it. In deep and still pulled. The only difference was the four wheel steer meant I could turn a lot tighter in the headland. It almost feels like its articulated.

So after some good tests I was asked what I would use given the choice. And surprisingly I would get in the fastrac. They have really gone all out and produced a machine worthy of both field and road use.

So anyone used the new one and what did they think.

Thanks for reading.

interesting post , they do look an interesting option for sure. I have been wondering how well one might work with a trailed sprayer

think i'm going to have to try one soon, my only worry is the smaller wheel sizes than "regular" tractors ? what's the biggest footprint you can get under them and still be legal on the road ?

 

[rich8100]

I'm not sure. But to be honest we had two on demo. One from Haynes and one from agwoods. Haynes had small tyres and it was fantastic. Didn't leave a big mark on fields on ploughed ground. The one from agwoods had the biggest tyres on it and it badly affected the suspension as it would thump on the rear axle as if bottoming out. Was just the tyre size that would thunp on the road. It made the ride worse and even with four wheel steer it still didn't turn as sharp. It was appaling to be honest. So my option would be the smaller tyres and just take the hit on the tram lines. But with four wheel steer on the delay setting and a trail sprayer with steering it should turn very nicely at the ends. You would have to ask a dealer on the tyre sizes as I don't know.

 

[Clive]

I'm not sure. But to be honest we had two on demo. One from Haynes and one from agwoods. Haynes had small tyres and it was fantastic. Didn't leave a big mark on fields on ploughed ground. The one from agwoods had the biggest tyres on it and it badly affected the suspension as it would thump on the rear axle as if bottoming out. Was just the tyre size that would thunp on the road. It made the ride worse and even with four wheel steer it still didn't turn as sharp. It was appaling to be honest. So my option would be the smaller tyres and just take the hit on the tram lines. But with four wheel steer on the delay setting and a trail sprayer with steering it should turn very nicely at the ends. You would have to ask a dealer on the tyre sizes as I don't know.

I would always want as much rubber under any tractor as I could legally get, this has always been the weak point but these 4000 series do seem to use a larger diameter wheel so some proper sizes are maybe a possibility - if it would take 710/38's that would be great !

 

[rich8100]

I honestly don't think you would need them that big. It really didn't leave a big mark on the field. Even on ploughed. You could get the change of tyres but again its at a cost of turning circle. The four wheel steer disengages over a certain speed and locks back into two wheel. So if you havk it accross the field it will turn into 2 wheel anyway. There is also no option for rear mounted sprayer anymore. But with that I did manage to reverse out the barn with grain trailer at turn it 90 degrees onto the wiegh bridge. Get one on demo and see what you think.

Also I have to add the controls. I didn't have to touch the clutch or accelerator in the field it acted just like a fendt. All done on the joystick. Revs acted automatically to what it needed. And two cruise controls with one push.

There where a couple of bad points o need to say. Although the speed for changing cruise control was set to 100% it was still delayed. Caught me out at first but soon got used to it. The touch screen was also very bright at night even on its dimmist setting. Maybe some window tint over it.

 

[Clive]

I honestly don't think you would need them that big. It really didn't leave a big mark on the field. Even on ploughed. You could get the change of tyres but again its at a cost of turning circle. The four wheel steer disengages over a certain speed and locks back into two wheel. So if you havk it accross the field it will turn into 2 wheel anyway. There is also no option for rear mounted sprayer anymore. But with that I did manage to reverse out the barn with grain trailer at turn it 90 degrees onto the wiegh bridge. Get one on demo and see what you think.

Also I have to add the controls. I didn't have to touch the clutch or accelerator in the field it acted just like a fendt. All done on the joystick. Revs acted automatically to what it needed. And two cruise controls with one push.

There where a couple of bad points o need to say. Although the speed for changing cruise control was set to 100% it was still delayed. Caught me out at first but soon got used to it. The touch screen was also very bright at night even on its dimmist setting. Maybe some window tint over it.

it's about ground pressure for me in our system, every machine needs to tread lightly so needs to be light and on as much rubber as possible, not cultivating anything beyond 2" focuses the mind on these thing and has ruled out previous fastracs for us - the 4000 does look a lot better though wheels look a lot bigger diameter

 

[rich8100]

The standard ones are bigger. I did get a pic of it next to the old one. They are bigger. Could look into floatation but turning will be horrible. The farm in at is all min till. Unless its new ground that gets ploughed or black grass appears then its ploughed areas. They are not as heavy as they look. The fendt with empty trailer was 12.260t the fastrac was 12.640. I didn't weigh it on its own sadly. Wishing I did now.

 

[Clive]

The standard ones are bigger. I did get a pic of it next to the old one. They are bigger. Could look into floatation but turning will be horrible. The farm in at is all min till. Unless its new ground that gets ploughed or black grass appears then its ploughed areas. They are not as heavy as they look. The fendt with empty trailer was 12.260t the fastrac was 12.640. I didn't weigh it on its own sadly. Wishing I did now.

nothing remotely big footprint on the spec ? I would want no less than 710/38 equ on a 8t tractor in our application, sahme as other than that it looks a great machine, not sure its ideal for a zero-tiller though

 

[rich8100]

On the 9m harrows.

 

[sleepy]

nothing remotely big footprint on the spec ? I would want no less than 710/38 equ on a 8t tractor in our application, sahme as other than that it looks a great machine, not sure its ideal for a zero-tiller though

View attachment 210952

Wouldn't the 540/65 r34 all round be similar to 710r38 on the back and 600r28 or whatever on the front of the fendt?

The big front tyres would make up a bit for the smaller back tyres.

 

[Clive]

Wouldn't the 540/65 r34 all round be similar to 710r38 on the back and 600r28 or whatever on the front of the fendt?

The big front tyres would make up a bit for the smaller back tyres.

Would be an interesting sum to do but gut feel is it would fall short

Not sure how you would calculate it as so many variables with air volume / foot print etc . The 724 has 42's on rear and diameter does give a nice long footprint

 

[FarmyStu]

There is also no option for rear mounted sprayer anymore.

Are you sure about that? I've seen one in the flesh plus plenty of pics on the tinternet.

Not got the spec in front of me but as far as I know the rear platform has a higher capacity than any of the other models.

 

[rich8100]

Hmm when I looked it didn't look like it could take it. But then that is a smaller tank on the back compared to previous rear mounted sprayers. But then the last time I mounted a sprayer was about 9 yr ago. Just didn't look like it had a big enough mounting place.

 

[FarmyStu]

Hmm when I looked it didn't look like it could take it. But then that is a smaller tank on the back compared to previous rear mounted sprayers. But then the last time I mounted a sprayer was about 9 yr ago. Just didn't look like it had a big enough mounting place.

Actually it's bigger. 2500 litres on the rear and up to 1900 litre on the front from Landquip. With 4 wheel steer and good weight distribution I'd have thought it makes an excellent alternative to a SP sprayer. But you could still use a trailed or regular mounted if you wanted to. What's not to like?

 

[rich8100]

Very true. I stand corrected on the mounted sprayer then.

I think its a fantastic machine Even had a very die hard john Deere lover in it, and even he liked it, but I could tell it was hard for him to admit it...

The technology for the four wheel steer is the same they use for the forklifts. So it will be more reliable than previous models. The delayed rear wheel steer takes some getting used to and can throw the back end out.

Not sure the effect on the booms. Might throw them around at a great rate of knots.

Also needed to get used to the quick steer button. Damn it turns fast on that.

 

[Mark C]

What are the GPS steering options on these? is there a steering valve fitted or optional so you can plug in and play with trimble/ JD Starfire etc?
Asked for a demo of one before harvest but nothing shown up yet despite 'we'll bring it out next week' several times Mind you it took a month to get a quote for a new loadall!!

 

[rich8100]

The software is all there. So are the buttons. Just needs the hardware fitted, control screen etc. The valves and controls on steering are there. Well on the demo machine it was. It got sent off to Haynes after I had it to be kitted up.

 

[FarmyStu]

They do have the older better manual gearbox fastrac and last year had the horrible semi auto one but got rid of it.

What were the problems with the semi auto (P-tronic?) gearbox? I assume it was on a 3000 series? I know of a contractor that has one and gets on just fine but I have heard negative comments on the reliability of the early ones.