Practice report of Agri Star II tires performance in the contracting business in South Holland
Founded in 1938 and located in Hellevoetsluis in the province of South Holland, a contractor company Loonbedrijf Vijfvinkel provides a row of special services for farms, municipalities and construction enterprises. This includes contract tillage and seeding as well as earthmoving for new land reclamation and cleaning of roads. With regard to tractor tires, these working environments equally require a large footprint for powerful traction as well as high wear-resistance and comfort during on-road operation. “We have literally grown into these special services, and we have learned that the right gear is a decisive prerequisite for lasting success”, says Wouter Vijfvinkel, head of the company.
Top performance in the field
In spring 2020, Wouter Vijfvinkel was in search of new tires for his Massey Ferguson 6490 tractor. “As our services are performed on different surfaces, we were actually looking for the ‘optimum plus’ package, that is a combination of top traction on just any surface, be it clay, sand, tar or concrete, long tire life and excellent roadability.” In May 2020, the decision was made to mount Agri Star II – a newly launched radial tractor tire by Alliance. According to the contractor, these tires since deliver even more than expected.
“Autumn 2020 was particularly wet even for the Netherlands”, he recalls. “Some of our customers who work at very heavy and sticky clay soils still needed to prepare the seedbed and seed winter wheat. With the new tires, we did not have to wait for better weather. It was amazing to see that the Agri Star II made our tractor easily cope with these challenging conditions. Thanks to the powerful lugs, the high tread depth and the resulting reliable traction, we were able to continue and finish that work. The combination of tractor, tank with seeds and rotary harrow went over the wet clay soil with ease and without breaking or stopping”, he reports.
Smooth ride on roads
Wouter Vijfvinkel equally appreciates the performance of Alliance Agri Star II tires not only in the field but also during the on-road operations. In his contracting business, earth moving and cleaning roads from sand that has been blown there by heavy storms and winds account for 60-70% of the working time on paved surfaces. Agri Star II tires play a crucial role again, as they were specifically designed for the improved roadability. “However, all tires seem to be round but they still bounce on the road. Feels, like AGRI STAR II tires are really round and they deliver a much smoother and comfortable ride – thus virtually eliminating any bouncing, bumping, vibration and resulting discomfort on roads”, highlights Wouter Vijfvinkel.
The other 30-40% of time the tractor spends on the beach unloading the sand back to the coast. The whole operation is performed on the reduced tire pressure to achieve a bigger footprint and maintain good traction at the same time. “During the land reclamation and cleaning operations, we have to tow heavy loads on sandy surfaces. That is why a large footprint is also important. Reducing the tire pressure down to 0.8 or 1.0 bar further adds to the already impressive traction of the tires”, says Vijfvinkel.
High intensity of on-road operations wears the tires quicker than the in- field agricultural operations. But the wear numbers of AGRI STAR are really promising. After almost 1,000 working hours the wear of the front tire (710/70R42 173D) is 125 hrs/mm and 119 hrs/mm for the rear tire respectively (600/70R30 152D).
“In light of the mixed agricultural and on-road operations, the expected lifetime of the tires at the 95% wear is ± 6,100 hours for the front wheels and even up to 7,000 hours for the rear wheels, which is a superb result, comparable with the premium performance and efficiency”, resumes Jeroen Reedijk, sales representatives of Alliance in the Netherlands, during the tire inspection of Mr. Vijfvinkel’s tractor.
More information on the AGRI STAR II tires? E-mail: info.europe@yokohama-oht.com Website: https://www.yokohama-oht.com/
This advertorial appeared in Farmers of Europe 1-2021
