Home-Built Tender Trailer Has 1,050-Acre Capacity

Home-Built Tender Trailer Has 1 050-Acre Capacity WAGONS/TRAILERS Conversions “In our farming operation we have to spray fields that are an hour or two from our farm so we needed a liquid tender that would cover our needs for a whole day on one fill ” says Mike Elsen of Elsen Homestead Farm Hecla S Dak Elsen and his farm crew built their own “supersized” tender on a 50-ft spread axle drop deck trailer They tow it with a 475 hp W900 semi tractor with a tag axle The tender has two 3 000-gal free-standing leg tanks for water two 500-gal cone bottom tanks for chemicals four 80-gal cones for pre-mixing and bed space to carry two 275-gal chemical totes All those tanks are firmly anchored to the trailer with metal rods “We sized the tanks to max out the weight limit for the tractor and trailer and give us as much capacity as possible” Elsen says “When every tank is full on the tender and our sprayer is full I can spray 1 250 acres without refilling ” Elsen says he drew a detailed schematic of the system before finalizing all the hoses fittings liquid lines and air lines for the rig Each water tank and cone mixer is plumbed with 3-in lines He has 2-in lines running from the 500-gal cone tanks and shuttles to the herbicide supply Chemicals are pumped with a 45 gpm pump into the mixing tanks All the water and chemical supply lines have check valves to prevent contamination Only one tank can be accessed at a time to prevent incorrect mixing “We built this for efficiency because it seems like we’re always spraying to beat some sort of weather event ” Elsen says He can fill his 1 200-gal sprayer in about 5 min with the 250 gpm Banjo pump It pushes the spray mixture through a 3-in hose mounted on an 80-ft retractable reel The rig is also built for easy cleanout and operator safety All tanks hoses and fittings are secured to the trailer deck Banjo flanged fittings were used throughout the setup for easy hookup and quick service Clean water reservoirs for hand washing are mounted on both sides of the trailer An enclosed box houses protective gear and field records A pressurized air system is used for agitating mixed products and cleaning lines between product fills Elsen says the tender wasn’t difficult to build and he figures it’s paid for itself in just two years “We’ve got more than $8 500 in Banjo fittings and hoses alone but the system is set up right and it works great The important thing is to be able to keep our sprayer moving and maximize our time in the field ” Elsen adds Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Mike Elsen 39612 102nd St Hecla S Dak 57446 ph 605 994-2112; elsenfrm@nvc net

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