From Self propelled, to trailed, back to Self propelled sprayer

[Chae1]

You had to get cover for £200k for your demo machine, which was the tractor and the demount sprayer attached to it.

However, I’m not sure how other Insurers do it, but with the NFU mutual, all machinery that is or can be attached to any tractor is covered in the tractor policy. Therefore, if you were to buy and insure the Fastrac the demount is/is going to be attached to, that demount is automatically covered by the Fastrac’s insurance, even when it is demounted.

What value would you insure a Fastrac for? One hell of a lot less than £200k, that is for sure.
Whereas any SP would have to be insured for the full (£200k?) value.

It wasn't actually a demo. I wouldn't waste there time. It was for local agricultural show. They wanted more machinery for people to see. I asked jcb rep who dropped it off what it would cost and he told me he tells farmers to insure the outfit for 200k.

Is this okay with you?

 

[Feldspar]

I have generated a lot of pages on this already so will keep this somewhat brief (edit to add: and even failed at this!). We swapped from two very light SPs (Spray Ranger and Bateman) to an 8000l trailed Horsch and a bowser. Buying new you're probably talking about £285k for the current setup against £220k for the SPs. That ascribes no cost of the bowser tractor, but also assumes the Fastrac on the sprayer does nothing else. In reality the Fastrac is on a grain cart all harvest, and has done some cultivations in the autumn and spring.

I spent ages thinking and researching it, but even with all that thought you never really know what it's going to be like until you've done it and it's been interesting. To start with because I wanted to understand the new sprayer I started driving it. At first I was more than a little bit worried about what I'd done. I wasn't getting very big outputs and the headlands and corners were taking ages to do. It felt clumsy and complicated. The old set-up would have been easily able to do more acres in a day spraying than I was doing, and, although repairs bill were much higher, was costing a fair bit less.

The new set-up is complicated, there's no doubt about it. There's a lot of buttons and settings that you have to press and remember to get right, and making a tidy job does require concentration. There was quite a lot of swearing at it to start with as I had forgotten to press a button and nearly sent the thing into a hedge. Due to coronavirus and being unable to share cabs, I'm still driving it exclusively and have had much more time on it. Now it's has become much more automatic and the amount of swearing has decreased. Doing a headland with lots of awkward corners no longer fills me with dread. We obviously had a very wet winter, and such a large setup has made more ruts than we made with the other system, but I've never sprayed in as wet conditions as I did last winter and filling the sprayer half up with tyre pressures at about 13 psi I travelled much better than I was expecting.

Overall, looking back and thinking did I make the right decision, there are a few things that stand out as being particularly important:

1. Because of the tank size, we now have all chemical delivered to our main central indoor spray store which is bunded, insulated etc with a Handler mixing unit. This means all chemical filling is done in a very pleasant and safe environment, whereas before we had spray being delivered to loads of different places and filling in lots of different yards which were not that safe in the case of a spillage. This is a big positive. Because the tank takes 80ha a fill, it means so many fewer fill-ups a day. When you've got to get out 10-15 times a day to fill up, donning all the correct PPE can seem like a real faff. When it's only 3 times a day, and it's done by someone on the bowser who isn't pressured for time, things can be done very much more correctly which is safe and necessary.
2. The new set-up has a BM Air filtration system in the cab which is amazing and far exceeds nearly every other factory spec filtration set-up by a considerable margin. I like farming, but I was not prepared to risk breathing in spray which is what you get with a lot of machines. Again, this is a game changer for me. Obviously new SPs can do this, so this is not specific to at trailed. However, with a swap of filters to standard HEPA filters, the tractor is then set up for dusty cultivation work and harvest work where again you realise how much fine dust is let through into normal tractor cabs. I value my lungs a lot, so this is a big positive.
3. There are a few annoying things about the Fastrac, but the huge, huge difference compared to anything else I've driven is the comfort and the ability to travel at speed in without the engine revving flat out and some very good brakes. I have a bad lower back and again the price I'd pay not to be crippled by back pain in later life is a lot. Driving the 4220 is a dream compared to normal tractors and I would be very reluctant to go back to anything else. Ball hitch and air suspension on the sprayer makes the whole thing ride extremely well on the road. With land spread out over quite a wide area, this is a big change and makes the job less tiring.
4. Gyro steering in the sprayer is very neat and makes manoeuvrability a lot better and I think makes a trailed a lot better. That said, it is a bit of a pain having to swap modes all the time so still is quite a bit worse than the SP.
5. Having a GPS system that allows you to reverse in a straight line is absolutely key to making a trailed OK to drive in awkward fields. Letting the tractor reverse itself whilst tweaking the sprayer wheels makes reversing not too painful. Without this I think I would get quite annoyed as you would have to do those very annoying loops in the field a lot more. I want to get a camera on the back to make reversing even easier, but the GPS reverse feature is the key thing. It's easier to reverse the new set-up than it was to reverse say a tractor with a mounted fert spreader and no GPS.
6. Tyre technology and very tall tyres has made a big difference. I can fill 8000l full with fert and the tyres need to be 18 psi. Half fill it with water and I can go down to 13psi. Run 580s all year round which is working very well. Great not having to swap tyres.
8. Spending a lot of time perfecting A-B lines to miss telegraph poles has been such a good use of time. My brother and I created a spreadsheet that calculated AB lines given two telegraph poles, or a line of them, so that you perfectly threaded through the line of poles if going parallel to them didn't work with the rest of the field. In one particular field with a whole line of poles this has saved so much time. A quick few nudges of 0.3m as you near a pole along with the ability two switch nozzles on the go and slow up with pre-set cruise speeds in the tractor makes going round poles like this very easy, and you can spray so accurately right around them with the gyro steering of the sprayer than I don't think we'll need to go round with a knapsack before harvest to get the brome / wild oats. See the attached for an example.
9. Going from two sprayers to one does lose flexibility. You can't go out and spray your beans and your wheat at the same time. However, the rinse functions on the Horsch are fantastic and make cleaning out and swapping between crops so much easier with everything done from the cab.
10. 4WS on the Fastrac is a blessing and a small amount of a curse, but overall very helpful. It's more buttons to press as the Topcon won't steer properly in 4WS mode (it also won't model a trailed but steered rear implement which is annoying), but it makes backing the sprayer in corners really easy and precise. It also reduces the amount of run down crop, and makes steering the sprayer through tight gateways very much easier so that narrows the gap with the SP.

Overall, do I regret my decision? I have realised what a cheap set-up our old one was that still got the job done. Batemans depreciate so slowly that it makes them very cheap to run. If I wasn't concerned about my health and that of my sprayer drivers, and if they were much further from retirement age, and if I didn't lose sleep about being the person responsible if a big chemical spill in a yard had happened, then the old setup got great output for not much cost. But given I am worried about these things, the old system was no longer acceptable and so something had to be done. The big disadvantage which tech cannot mitigate will be travelling in tall crops. I have yet to do the flowering rape spray, and our beans look like being huge this year, so I think that will remain one big downside of the new system. Output wise, we could do 600ac a day with the other two sprayers in a good summer's day. I did 500ac and 72 cube of fert the other day in rape with the new sprayer at 400 l/ha, which would have taken ages with just the Bateman (the other SP didn't do liquid). Haven't really got going with the bowser just on pesticides with a full tank yet, but I don't think I'll be able to do much more than 600ac in a day at a push, so output is less or about the same I'd guess. A lot of people said a big sprayer and a bowser would give you huge output, but I think those nippy, small SPs were much faster at turning on headlands, faster doing the headlands, and despite going back to fill a lot got a surprising amount done.

Not sure if any of this helps, but those are my thoughts!

 

[Two Tone]

The only downside of gradually refurbing an old machine is that when you've just rebuilt one part, another bit lets you down! IMO you'd want excess capacity with an older machine so you can catch up quickly if you've had a couple of days of downtime.

Good point. However, I am again going to extol the virtues of a Fastrac/demount rig here.
We replace the Fastrac every few years in just the same way as we do our other main tractor.
We service our 1996 demount and it is of course NRoSO tested each year.
The demount sprayer is in fantastic condition requiring very little maintenance. I have never had any In-field down time with it for longer than 2 hours. Usually that might be for a broken/damaged hydraulic pipe, but more often for an electrical problem with the servo valves. This is all stuff I can quite easily fix or temporarily bypass myself.
I’m convinced the main reason why that it so reliable is because of the suspension of the Fastrac it sits on.
And of course those Pommier Aluminium booms that are bomb proof and never rust.

It wasn't actually a demo. I wouldn't waste there time. It was for local agricultural show. They wanted more machinery for people to see. I asked jcb rep who dropped it off what it would cost and he told me he tells farmers to insure the outfit for 200k.

Is this okay with you?

Yes, got you. See what you mean. Hope you didn’t take any offence!
Again, I suppose JCB would also need to cover the whole rig for such purposes.
But, what a cheek for JCB to ask the show to insure it!
You’d think they would be glad to show it off. However, I know JCB don’t normally exhibit at shows, preferring to get customers to the factory of their own farms to see their kit.

I know Richard Abbott, the owner of Landquip very well and I have to say I was / would be very surprised if he would have asked for a potential customer to get insurance cover for demo-ing one of his outfits.

 

[snarling bee]

One thing over looked with a SP compared with a tractor mounted or trailed, is the ability to spray when the ground conditions are not very suitable. Our RB25 will go without making a rut, and 2 drying days later I made a mess with the Fastrac and spreader. I know there are heavier sprayers and lighter tractors, and different soils, but there is a point to be made.
We could never go trailed due to the number of in field obstacles we have, over 50 I believe. Only in 2 fields can we match up sensibly with the tramlines.

 

[Chae1]

Good point. However, I am again going to extol the virtues of a Fastrac/demount rig here.
We replace the Fastrac every few years in just the same way as we do our other main tractor.
We service our 1996 demount and it is of course NRoSO tested each year.
The demount sprayer is in fantastic condition requiring very little maintenance. I have never had any In-field down time with it for longer than 2 hours. Usually that might be for a broken/damaged hydraulic pipe, but more often for an electrical problem with the servo valves. This is all stuff I can quite easily fix or temporarily bypass myself.
I’m convinced the main reason why that it so reliable is because of the suspension of the Fastrac it sits on.
And of course those Pommier Aluminium booms that are bomb proof and never rust.



Yes, got you. See what you mean. Hope you didn’t take any offence!
Again, I suppose JCB would also need to cover the whole rig for such purposes.
But, what a cheek for JCB to ask the show to insure it!
You’d think they would be glad to show it off. However, I know JCB don’t normally exhibit at shows, preferring to get customers to the factory of their own farms to see their kit.

I know Richard Abbey, the owner of Landquip very well and I have to say I was / would be very surprised if he would have asked for a potential customer to get insurance cover for demo-ing one of his outfits.

Is he not Richard Abbot?

I like him too. Normally get a chat with him at shows. Tell him his sprayers are too good as they don't need replaced. Mines 1997.

The show didn't have to insure it. That's what he told me they tell farmers who get a demo of it to insure it for. I normally insure demonstrators.

 

[Feldspar]

I have generated a lot of pages on this already so will keep this somewhat brief (edit to add: and even failed at this!). We swapped from two very light SPs (Spray Ranger and Bateman) to an 8000l trailed Horsch and a bowser. Buying new you're probably talking about £285k for the current setup against £220k for the SPs. That ascribes no cost of the bowser tractor, but also assumes the Fastrac on the sprayer does nothing else. In reality the Fastrac is on a grain cart all harvest, and has done some cultivations in the autumn and spring.

I spent ages thinking and researching it, but even with all that thought you never really know what it's going to be like until you've done it and it's been interesting. To start with because I wanted to understand the new sprayer I started driving it. At first I was more than a little bit worried about what I'd done. I wasn't getting very big outputs and the headlands and corners were taking ages to do. It felt clumsy and complicated. The old set-up would have been easily able to do more acres in a day spraying than I was doing, and, although repairs bill were much higher, was costing a fair bit less.

The new set-up is complicated, there's no doubt about it. There's a lot of buttons and settings that you have to press and remember to get right, and making a tidy job does require concentration. There was quite a lot of swearing at it to start with as I had forgotten to press a button and nearly sent the thing into a hedge. Due to coronavirus and being unable to share cabs, I'm still driving it exclusively and have had much more time on it. Now it's has become much more automatic and the amount of swearing has decreased. Doing a headland with lots of awkward corners no longer fills me with dread. We obviously had a very wet winter, and such a large setup has made more ruts than we made with the other system, but I've never sprayed in as wet conditions as I did last winter and filling the sprayer half up with tyre pressures at about 13 psi I travelled much better than I was expecting.

Overall, looking back and thinking did I make the right decision, there are a few things that stand out as being particularly important:

1. Because of the tank size, we now have all chemical delivered to our main central indoor spray store which is bunded, insulated etc with a Handler mixing unit. This means all chemical filling is done in a very pleasant and safe environment, whereas before we had spray being delivered to loads of different places and filling in lots of different yards which were not that safe in the case of a spillage. This is a big positive. Because the tank takes 80ha a fill, it means so many fewer fill-ups a day. When you've got to get out 10-15 times a day to fill up, donning all the correct PPE can seem like a real faff. When it's only 3 times a day, and it's done by someone on the bowser who isn't pressured for time, things can be done very much more correctly which is safe and necessary.
2. The new set-up has a BM Air filtration system in the cab which is amazing and far exceeds nearly every other factory spec filtration set-up by a considerable margin. I like farming, but I was not prepared to risk breathing in spray which is what you get with a lot of machines. Again, this is a game changer for me. Obviously new SPs can do this, so this is not specific to at trailed. However, with a swap of filters to standard HEPA filters, the tractor is then set up for dusty cultivation work and harvest work where again you realise how much fine dust is let through into normal tractor cabs. I value my lungs a lot, so this is a big positive.
3. There are a few annoying things about the Fastrac, but the huge, huge difference compared to anything else I've driven is the comfort and the ability to travel at speed in without the engine revving flat out and some very good brakes. I have a bad lower back and again the price I'd pay not to be crippled by back pain in later life is a lot. Driving the 4220 is a dream compared to normal tractors and I would be very reluctant to go back to anything else. Ball hitch and air suspension on the sprayer makes the whole thing ride extremely well on the road. With land spread out over quite a wide area, this is a big change and makes the job less tiring.
4. Gyro steering in the sprayer is very neat and makes manoeuvrability a lot better and I think makes a trailed a lot better. That said, it is a bit of a pain having to swap modes all the time so still is quite a bit worse than the SP.
5. Having a GPS system that allows you to reverse in a straight line is absolutely key to making a trailed OK to drive in awkward fields. Letting the tractor reverse itself whilst tweaking the sprayer wheels makes reversing not too painful. Without this I think I would get quite annoyed as you would have to do those very annoying loops in the field a lot more. I want to get a camera on the back to make reversing even easier, but the GPS reverse feature is the key thing. It's easier to reverse the new set-up than it was to reverse say a tractor with a mounted fert spreader and no GPS.
6. Tyre technology and very tall tyres has made a big difference. I can fill 8000l full with fert and the tyres need to be 18 psi. Half fill it with water and I can go down to 13psi. Run 580s all year round which is working very well. Great not having to swap tyres.
8. Spending a lot of time perfecting A-B lines to miss telegraph poles has been such a good use of time. My brother and I created a spreadsheet that calculated AB lines given two telegraph poles, or a line of them, so that you perfectly threaded through the line of poles if going parallel to them didn't work with the rest of the field. In one particular field with a whole line of poles this has saved so much time. A quick few nudges of 0.3m as you near a pole along with the ability two switch nozzles on the go and slow up with pre-set cruise speeds in the tractor makes going round poles like this very easy, and you can spray so accurately right around them with the gyro steering of the sprayer than I don't think we'll need to go round with a knapsack before harvest to get the brome / wild oats. See the attached for an example.
9. Going from two sprayers to one does lose flexibility. You can't go out and spray your beans and your wheat at the same time. However, the rinse functions on the Horsch are fantastic and make cleaning out and swapping between crops so much easier with everything done from the cab.
10. 4WS on the Fastrac is a blessing and a small amount of a curse, but overall very helpful. It's more buttons to press as the Topcon won't steer properly in 4WS mode (it also won't model a trailed but steered rear implement which is annoying), but it makes backing the sprayer in corners really easy and precise. It also reduces the amount of run down crop, and makes steering the sprayer through tight gateways very much easier so that narrows the gap with the SP.

Overall, do I regret my decision? I have realised what a cheap set-up our old one was that still got the job done. Batemans depreciate so slowly that it makes them very cheap to run. If I wasn't concerned about my health and that of my sprayer drivers, and if they were much further from retirement age, and if I didn't lose sleep about being the person responsible if a big chemical spill in a yard had happened, then the old setup got great output for not much cost. But given I am worried about these things, the old system was no longer acceptable and so something had to be done. The big disadvantage which tech cannot mitigate will be travelling in tall crops. I have yet to do the flowering rape spray, and our beans look like being huge this year, so I think that will remain one big downside of the new system. Output wise, we could do 600ac a day with the other two sprayers in a good summer's day. I did 500ac and 72 cube of fert the other day in rape with the new sprayer at 400 l/ha, which would have taken ages with just the Bateman (the other SP didn't do liquid). Haven't really got going with the bowser just on pesticides with a full tank yet, but I don't think I'll be able to do much more than 600ac in a day at a push, so output is less or about the same I'd guess. A lot of people said a big sprayer and a bowser would give you huge output, but I think those nippy, small SPs were much faster at turning on headlands, faster doing the headlands, and despite going back to fill a lot got a surprising amount done.

Not sure if any of this helps, but those are my thoughts!

Having just typed most of the above, I have realised that it is all rather irrelevant to the OP. It's one thing to go from two SPs to one bigger trailed. To do a straight swap from a 24m SP to 24m trailed where you can't lump the cost of 2 into 1 to get better technology / options is a different kettle of fish. On that question, I don't think I'd swap.

 

[Brisel]

One thing over looked with a SP compared with a tractor mounted or trailed, is the ability to spray when the ground conditions are not very suitable. Our RB25 will go without making a rut, and 2 drying days later I made a mess with the Fastrac and spreader. I know there are heavier sprayers and lighter tractors, and different soils, but there is a point to be made.
We could never go trailed due to the number of in field obstacles we have, over 50 I believe. Only in 2 fields can we match up sensibly with the tramlines.

This is a very good point, and worth reinforcing. My 36m 6000 litre trailed & 6215R tractor weighs 25 tonnes when full of liquid fertiliser. An equivalent Bateman RB55 with 5000 litre tank would cover roughly the same number of acres/day and weigh 10 t less, with every wheel powered. It would cost about the same new, I think.

 

[Two Tone]

Is he not Richard Abbot?

I like him too. Normally get a chat with him at shows. Tell him his sprayers are too good as they don't need replaced. Mines 1997.

The show didn't have to insure it. That's what he told me they tell farmers who get a demo of it to insure it for. I normally insure demonstrators.

Beg his pardon. Will/have edited.

 

[marco]

Could you offload the small paddocks to someone else? For what is charged per acre it hardly makes sense to keep that kind of work?

 

[Romeogolf]

Modern tractors have decent linkage suspension systems. You could retrofit hydraulic accumulators to an older machine.

Indeed they do, the tractor in question has very effective front and rear linkage suspension. I would imagine that a front and rear combo would make for a very smooth ride, if having a cultivator on the back and a ton weight block on the front are anything to go by.

Feldspar, Thankyou for your huge input to this thread, and whilst your situation does not mirror mine exactly, you raise some very important points about filtration and safety when filling etc.
Not only is road transport more pleasurable with a trailed, I also know I feel a lot safer in a tractor with air brakes and a pedal than I ever did in the SP full on the road and just the stick to pull back on!
I think a fastrac and demount or Horsch would be a terrific outfit, and certainly one to aspire to in the future but with the way things are to change the tractor and sprayer together to achieve that setup simply wouldn’t add up for me currently, as much as I wish it would!

 

[Romeogolf]

One thing over looked with a SP compared with a tractor mounted or trailed, is the ability to spray when the ground conditions are not very suitable. Our RB25 will go without making a rut, and 2 drying days later I made a mess with the Fastrac and spreader. I know there are heavier sprayers and lighter tractors, and different soils, but there is a point to be made.
We could never go trailed due to the number of in field obstacles we have, over 50 I believe. Only in 2 fields can we match up sensibly with the tramlines.

I have found this to be an issue too, and in fairness the year past has been exceptional I admit but I struggle with the idea that one can travel better in the wet with a trailed than one can with a SP.
With the SP on floats I could put quarter of a tank in to do bits I knew were wet. With my current outfit there have been places I just haven’t dared to go this season that even empty I wouldn’t rate my chances. When you’re on your own, the thought of getting tractor and sprayer stuck up to the axles doesn’t appeal, indeed it doesn’t even with an army of staff!
The result is that there were corners and patches of fields that were not sprayed off before drilling this spring, and that irritates me.

 

[Romeogolf]

Could you offload the small paddocks to someone else? For what is charged per acre it hardly makes sense to keep that kind of work?

I could of course, however much of them are my own and I would dislike getting someone else in to do them! The other grassland is for a client for whom I also do their fert, and generally 2 passes between cuts on the sprayer which adds up to worth having, especially as it rarely coincides with important timings on the cereals it seems.

It’s tempted as suggested to buy a small mounted for all the fiddly work, or even an RB15 or something and then run the trailed as well, lots to think about.

Thankyou for all your input!

 

[Lofty1984]

Well this must be the most civilised thread I’ve read on here for months no bitching or telling the op he’s daft very refreshing for a change,
@Romeogolf have I missed what tractor are you running on the sprayer ?

 

[jjm]

For £40,000 what second hand SP 24 metre represents the best value. 1750 acres of arable , no potatoes, 27 acre average field size with plenty of banks and obstacles , 4 sites spread over 10 miles. .....?!. Currently running a 4000 litre Knight EUA that has been excellent but it focuses the mind when it has narrows put on (today) and it is no good for any other job until mid July.

 

[snarling bee]

Bateman RB25 I would think.
I might have a low houred one for sale in the next few months.

 

[Romeogolf]

Well this must be the most civilised thread I’ve read on here for months no bitching or telling the op he’s daft very refreshing for a change,
@Romeogolf have I missed what tractor are you running on the sprayer ?

I have enjoyed everyone’s input, and perhaps the lack of brand information has reduced the chances of disagreement to an extent! It has been useful to see differing opinions.

@Lofty1984 i’m running a 4 year old claas, I find it very comfortable and have had very little bother with it which is why I’m reluctant to change it just yet.

 

[D14]

I never understand why more people aren't keener on front and back tank mounted sprayers. Other than 28m being the limit on boom width you could turn your 200hp tractor into a self propelled? Although we have a self propelled as part of a joint venture now for 10 years prior to the that I had an Amazone 24m 1200l+800l front tank. On a Fendt 818 it would be better than any SP or trailed on the road between farms. In the spring it could be dropped off pretty quickly leaving the pipe work in place, so much so we used the same tractor for fertiliser as well meaning good use of the rowcrops as well. Some modern variations on the theme mean you could carry 3000l plus these days.

I think Lemken go to 31m mounted now, so 36m isn’t far off. Amazon now have a 1500l front tank so you can get to 3500l plus the clean water tank if your desperate.

 

[warksfarmer]

Interesting question. The answer is yes and no but I wouldn’t swap back to a SP. However I also wouldn’t employ a contractor with a trailed either.

Running a trailed yourself means you can go when conditions are right and your not waiting for a contractor. A contractor with a lightweight SP can go where a trailed can’t.

You can’t beat the simplicity of a trailed sprayer though and I don’t get the argument about taking them on and off. It’s like taking a grain trailer off. 3 hydraulic pipes, air line, brakes, lights and Isobus cable. It takes 60 seconds.

Reversing them is a pain even with steered axles though and you don’t ever seem to get used to it. In field obstacles are no different to a SP because you either circle them or fold up.

There’s less weight per wheel on a trailed setup than a SP but obviously more weight overall. They are also so much cheaper. A 3 yr old 6000l 36m trailed with all the toys was £30k where as a 12yr old 5000l 36m SP was £60k with less spec.

Yesterday it took me 2hrs to spray 25ha though (200l @ 9.3km/hr). The field had 12 headlands and 7 in field objects. An SP would have been quicker even at the same forward speed.

The day before however I sprayed 23ha in 1 hour. 4 headlands and no infield object. Again 200l @ 9.3km/hr.

I considered a Amazon mounted with front tank for quite a while but in the end the probability of either the front tank or back tank top links giving away at some point knocked the idea on its head. It’s to much risk.

 

[2wheels]

I think it’s a very valid point regarding the level of spec on each type of machine. It’s a conscious decision not to list makes and models concerned as that’s a whole different topic and has been largely documented on here!

Current trailed machine has arguably higher spec than the SP it replaced, including Norac boom levelling which the SP lacked - I had hoped this would negate the increased awkwardness of the trailed. However, regardless of numerous calibrations and setting changes, I fail to be impressed with the system. It does enough good to allow you to trust it, and then decides it thinks it needs to take down a pylon or two. I’m sure if I ran a Horsch trailed, i would not be entertaining the idea of reverting back - I have heard nothing but amazing reports of them.
Whilst the tractor is still a power shift, it’s full spec but perhaps a vario would make it more pleasant.
Mounted Amazone setup is something to consider, wouldn’t loose capacity and would gain manoeuvrability, something to think on.

wew had front/rear landquip. it was a good well balanced yoke. a good s/h £35k tractor and you have a self contained unit that you could possibly afford to leave set up all the time.

 

[Romeogolf]

The other thing to consider with the hitching on and off element is, what you’ve had to hitch off in order to hitch it on, and then the reverse.
For example, trailed drill with 4 hydraulic sets, camera connections and electrics takes longer to put on and take off than putting the sprayer on. Additionally, rear tyres need to be down to around 8psi for drilling and rolling, whereas with a full sprayer on the road I wouldn’t want less than 16 psi in the rears. Without central tyre inflation, this adds 10 minutes alone adjusting pressures, not to mention dusty and oily work with valves on the inside of the wheels!
I’m not saying it’s a huge problem, but it’s more than just the process of hitching the sprayer on in my case.