The best way to maximize the number of acres covered by a sprayer in a workday is to reduce refill times. That keeps the sprayer moving and applying product, and a few tender systems have appeared on the market over the years from a variety of brands and suppliers to speed up those refill times. However, many growers have chosen to build their own sprayer tenders, which range from a semi-retired grain truck carrying a water tank and chemical jugs to sophisticated systems.
For Saskatchewan-based Flaman Agriculture, an equipment rental and short-line retail chain, adding a purpose-built sprayer tender trailer line to its product line seemed like a good fit to the application equipment and accessories it was already offering its customers.
Read Also
Case IH, New Holland dealers to see more integration
CNH plans for “more than 15 new tractor launches, 10 combine launches, 19 crop production launches and over 30 precision technology releases between now and the end of 2027.”
“We just decided it was a good project for us,” says the company’s Mitch Flaman. “We talked to a bunch of our good customers that built (sprayer tenders) to see what they’d done and what they’d do different, what was important to them. We have an engineer on our team who went through all the Transport Canada regulations and we went from there. Coming into the fall (of 2020), we put them into production as soon as harvest was done so they could be ready for the 2021 season.”
- Read more: Farm-built sprayer tender trailer
The result of that was the introduction of the ST-9100 and ST-9200 tenders. Both are complete systems permanently built on a 53-foot Behnke step deck semi-trailer.
“We sell all the components for guys to make them, and in our experience lots of farmers were making their own units,” Flaman says. “When we thought about it, it really made sense to manufacture one with good quality and assemble them in-house.”
The tenders have a pair of water tanks — one that is 4,500 US gallons (17,000 litres) in the rear and another that is 2,200 US gallons (9,550 litres) in the front on the extended, 13-foot upper platform. Both are heavy-duty fertilizer grade tanks with internal baffles to minimize water movement during transport. Like all the components, the tanks are bolted to the deck surface, rather than held on with ordinary ratchet straps, for more secure mounting.
An elevated tote platform with lower cage area for small chemical jugs is mounted to the deck between the water tanks. It has a full-width door to make access from the deck easier. A chemical handler with a 13-horsepower motor and pre-plumbed mixing lines are mounted to the deck beside the tote platform.
A swing arm pivots off the side of the trailer to reduce the effort required to connect to the sprayer. All piping is located under the deck to reduce tripping hazards while walking on the trailer. And three-inch steel pipe is used rather than plastic for longevity and durability. Easily accessible under-deck valves allow for independent filling and emptying of the two water tanks.
“The longevity of the steel pipe underneath is better than plastic pipe and hoses that get worn out and damaged from rocks,” he adds.
The ST-9200 uses the same basic setup, but includes a “hot tank” to hold a premixed solution that can be pumped directly to the sprayer to shorten refill times.
Fold-down steps make access to the deck safe and easy, and equipment on the deck is positioned to one side to allow room for a safe walkway. Grab handles are included in key areas as well.
“We took feedback from our customers about what they wanted that was over and above what they were capable of building on the farm,” notes Flaman. “We figured if we could package it all in a unit that had some design and engineering behind it, we figured we could offer a product that was a little special and a little different than just strapping some tanks down on a trailer and going.”
Recently, the company has added a third tender model to its line, the ST-9400, which is designed to transport a sprayer as well as water.
“The 9400 is an actual sprayer hauler,” he says. “You can load the sprayer up on it. It only has a water tank on the top deck, and it still has a Chem Handler III on it. It has a 99-gallon fuel tank as well.”
For more information visit flamanagriculture.com.
