Kompactors doing same job with fewer trailers in Galway

With fuel prices at record levels and machinery prices through the roof, agricultural contractors today more than ever need to run their businesses as efficiently as possible. A key aspect to this is the equipment they operate on a daily basis.

This was something the McAllens, based near Gort, Co Galway, know all too well. Having had their eyes fixed on the HiSpec Kompactor trailer for several years, brothers Paul and Colie finally got their hands on a demo model for a day at silage in 2020.

Extremely impressed with what they saw, two new machines were ordered in advance of last year’s silage season.

This subsequently led to the purchase of a third such unit mid first-cut, which arrived in time for the second cut.

We caught up with Paul to find out how the trailers performed after their first season around the high roads and byroads of Galway and Clare.

Why a Kompactor?

Paul explained: “Over the years, the trailers contractors use have been getting bigger and bigger. Long trailers fully tipped are very high, which can be very dangerous.

“We work in a lot of small yards, many of which are somewhat uneven. I used to see trailers tipping, swaying slightly from side to side and I was always afraid that it was an accident waiting to happen. This is what initially got us interested in the Kompactor trailers.”

He added: “The huge additional carrying capacity is another massive bonus. The draws nowadays are only getting longer and longer.

“We have weighed the loads and can see that we are carrying up to 6t more forage in the 22ft K36 Kompactor in comparison to our 22ft Kane Halfpipe trailers.

“This means two loads of the K36s are almost bringing as much as three loads of the Halfpipe.

“The Kompactors are only around 500kg heavier than our conventional 22ft trailers. With our three Kompactors drawing, we are easily cutting out one man and tractor, which nowadays with huge operational costs, is a significant saving.”

The design

Renowned as a multipurpose trailer, its compaction and off-loading mechanism makes the Kompactor capable of transporting and off-loading a wide range of materials.

HiSpec claims the compaction feature means the payload can be increased by as much as 30%, while the McAllens say their experience has been more so in the region of 40%.

Paul said: “The trailers are well finished. They tow very well on the road and we find them steady on the hills. The axles are located slightly forward in comparison to the conventional trailers we have. This means they are easier to get in gateways rather than the conventional 22ft trailers.

“Our trailers are shod on 600/50 R22.5 tyres. The drawbar is hydraulically suspended and the ride height can be easily set to match the height of the tractor pulling it. I like the way all hydraulic hoses are brought to the tractor through the drawbar, rather than over it. In fairness, I can’t fault the trailer’s design or build quality.”

How does it work?

As the name suggests, the principle behind the Kompactor is to compress the material as it is been loaded. The trailer is loaded from the middle to the rear of the body.

A moving floor and headboard are manually controlled via a spool using two hydraulic cylinders. These compact the load against the rear tail door, leaving room for more forage to fit in. The moving headboard can be used to compact the load on the move as little or often as the operator chooses, but Paul reckons that in their experience it’s generally compacted when around half full and at the headlands when turning onto a new swath of grass. Once compacted, the headboard and floor retract to their original position.

In a similar fashion, the trailer is then unloaded by first opening the tail door, and then engaging the rams which move the floor and headboard to the rear, which simply pushes the load out the back of the trailer.

A large window is embedded into the headboard for operator vision.

Paul noted that unloading takes in the region of 40 seconds to a minute.

“It takes three seconds longer to unload the Kompactor in comparison to the same-sized conventional silage trailer.

“However, the Kompactor has a larger load on board and you can start moving away straight after it’s unloaded, with just the tail door to worry about. With the conventional trailer, you have to wait for the tipped body to descend.

“We also found that the Kompactor leaves a much neater load in the yard. Rather than tipping it from a height and dragging the load across a yard, the Kompactor would leave a 22ft load tipped as neatly as a 16ft conventional trailer. In small yards, this is invaluable as it’s important to leave room for the loader to operate.”

History of the Kompactor

John Kennedy, a contractor based in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, originally designed the unique Kompactor trailer. The trailer won an award at the JFC Innovation Awards in 2014. Hi-Spec Engineering in Co Carlow joined forces with the contractor to build the trailer as part of the Hi-Spec product line in 2015.

Today, the Kompactor is available in two sizes, the K36, 36m³ 22ft tandem-axle unit and the K40, 40m³ 24ft tri-axle unit.

As standard, the Kompactor comes equipped with parabolic 127mm commercial running gear, super single wheels, a swivel ring hitch, a hydraulically sprung drawbar, 420x180 brakes, air/hydraulic brakes, LED lights, strobes and reversing lights and the hydraulic tailboard.

The Kompactor is also available as a demountable machine, allowing the operator to share a tanker or trailer body to the same chassis.

Paul said: “Our first season with the Kompactors has set in concrete that our decision to go this route was a no-brainer for our business. We find the Kompactors much safer and much more efficient than conventional trailers, and you don’t need any more of a skilled operator to use them.

“Every silage outfit needs a harvester and a loader, and if you can cut out a tractor and trailer while keeping the same volume of forage shifted during the same time frame, then why would one not go this route.

“We also grow grain and use the Kompactors to deliver it direct to farmers. The push-off feature is a gift for this job as very few farmers have a shed high enough to tip a 22ft conventional trailer in.

“We’re very happy with how they have worked out. I’m surprised there aren’t more of them working in the country to be honest,” concluded Paul.

Model: HiSpec K36 Kompactor.

Capacity: 36m3.

Length: 22ft.

Width: 8.8ft.

Unladen weight: 7,200kg.

Tyres: 600/50 R22.5.

Brakes: 420x180 (air over hydraulic).

List price: €35,000 plus VAT.