New Zealand-based Hustler Equipment has introduced its Series 2 updated line of Combi RX2 Multi-Feeder wagons. Since introducing the first series in 2019, the company says it has taken user feedback to heart and made several asked-for changes fine-tuning the design.
“The RX2 is our latest series,” Hustler’s country manager for North America, Lance Paskewitz, says. “The actual concept itself has been around for over 30 years in multiple countries.
“Most of the new stuff is upgrades here and there that the market has been asking for, different innovations we’ve added into it, like the width of the machine to increase its capability with multiple-sized bales; also, the visibility with the redesign of the front fence, so you can see all the way through the machine. The access ladder has been improved so you can get in and out of the machine.”
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Overall, there are design changes throughout the machines, including new chain guides on the cross floor that improve tracking and reduce the risk of derailing. The pusher blade has been redesigned for simplicity, reduced weight and increased strength, among other improvements.
There are two models in the Combi RX2 line. Both use a pusher design to move product forward and across onto the discharge elevator. The company says this eliminates the need for gearboxes and the kinds of adjustments typical of other feed wagons. It also reduces maintenance requirements.
“In the North American market we’ve launched both the RX178, which is a tandem axle, and the tridem axle one is the RX218,” Paskewitz says.
“Both are very similar in how they operate. Any type of bale, round or square, wet or dry, big or small. It can feed any type of bale. You can also feed loose material in there as well.”
The wider cross floor gives the Combi Multi-Feeders the ability to handle larger bales. The 178 gets a 38,865-pound (14,000-kilogram) load capacity, while the 218 can handle up to a 37,478-lb. (17,000-kg) load.
“We have some people who load the whole front end with hay and in the back they’ll put their loose product,” Paskewitz adds. “They’ll just string out hay and spin back around and top dress with whatever supplemental feed they’re feeding as well.”
The all-hydraulic drive system can be controlled from a single joystick, so the machines can handle varying feed rates with just a single control input from the operator in the tractor cab.
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“That cross floor actually has load-sensing capabilities so you can actually determine how much load is against the elevator,” Paskewitz says. “It can start and stop to adjust the flow of feed to get a good, consistent feed rate. You can adjust the tilt of the elevator and speed of the chains. So there’s a lot of variables in there.
“But it’s all been brought down to just a simple thumbstick control. So it’s all run with a joystick to make it simple but quite versatile and adjustable.”
Both machines can be equipped with the company’s app-based FeedLink scale system, which wirelessly connects to a smartphone or iPad, eliminating the need to have a fixed scale head mounted in the tractor cab.
The FeedLink system also has a geolocating function, which provides not only the amount fed but its exact location as well.
“The RX178 has been our most popular model,” Paskewitz says. “We see a lot of those going on a 140- or 150-horsepower tractor.”
The Combi RX2 Multi-feeder wagons are available from dealers now and come with a five-year front-to-back warranty.
Paskewitz says the base MSRP for the RX178 will be about C$100,000; the larger RX218 retails for about C$120,000.
