Not only has the Magnon forage wagon got a moving front, but, to make it stand out from the crowd, Strautmann has used plastic tines on the pick-up. We test its crop gathering and packing ability.
There’s a developing market for large capacity forage wagons that can give a shorter crop chop length and run on ground-friendly big rubber. And a lot of these are using a moving front to boost capacity. Strautmann has the Magnon, a new wagon design that was unveiled in 2019.
Yet it isn’t just the moving headboard that’s different on the Magnon; it was presented with the new Flex-Load pick-up with plastic tines. Smooth running, less wear and better ground hugging are what the sales rep will promise. During our test, the smooth running and super easy tine changes really stood out. In normal conditions, their crop-raking ability is pretty similar to a pick-up’s with steel tines. In very short grass, such as late in the season, a thin steel tine did have a slight advantage in crop gathering.
As with many other wagons of this size, the pick-up unit is hydraulically powered with adjustable tine speed to match the conditions. In first cut, the rotor seemed to be the limiting factor, the pick-up shovelling enough forage into the wagon’s mouth. Even when the cam clutch on the rotor gearbox triggers, the tines keep firing in grass until there is no longer sufficient power and the oil escapes via the protecting pressure-relief valve.
In our opinion, when the rotor chokes, the pick-up should stop automatically. This would make it much easier to get the rotor back up and running. Also, we think the drawbar could extend directly to increase the crop intake opening, but this is a minor detail.
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