Practical test: Schuitemaker Rapide 2000 silage wagon Dutch firm Schuitemaker has made Rapide forage wagons for 24 years, steadily improving and updating the ranges. With a silver anniversary on the horizon, now is a good time to take a close look at the breed. While the 2000 SW wagon featured in this extended test is big by UK standards and available only to special order, the size trend over here is upwards
Schuitemaker produces two silage wagon lines. Dairy farmers and contractors are looked after by the six-strong 100-series Rapide range, which runs from 30m3 to 42m3 DIN capacity. Above this sit three 1000-series Rapides, designed to shift high volumes of forage more quickly and topping out at 57m3 DIN capacity. All machines come with or without silage beaters (ie discharge rotors), which add either an SW (with beaters) or S to the model number.
Here we concentrate on the Rapide 2000 SW. Running on tandem axles, it’s part of the higher capacity range and comes with what the maker reckons to be a 39m3 DIN body. Looking at the paper figures, that capacity seemed on the high side and, using the published dimensions, capacity works out at 33.7m3. So we decided to measure the actual sizes.
The load area is 7.4m long, with 800mm of this given over to the discharge rotors. Multiply available body length by body width (2.20m), then by body height incl-uding extensions (2.43m), and the answer comes to 35.3m3. That’s still short of the mark. In fact the maker’s figure of 39m3 is correct only if you include the volume behind the beaters, which of course in practice is not available for the load.
